Family based Immigrant Visas Petitions are used in order for United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to bring family members from other countries to live permanently in the United States.

US citizens may only sponsor their spouses, children, parents (if the citizen is 21 years or older), and brothers and sisters (if the citizen is 21 years or older). Lawful permanent residents may only sponsor their spouses and unmarried children.

It is important to understand that neither citizens nor permanent residents can sponsor extended family members such as grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Family members eligible for sponsorship are divided into two categories based on their sponsor.

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, and parents) are exempt from visa quotas and can therefore be admitted as their applications are being processed.

Unlike those family members that fall under the immediate relative classification, unmarried children over the age of 21, married children, and brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens are subject to the yearly visa cap set forth in Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. U.S. citizen family members are classified in order of “preference” and  are accordingly granted family-based Immigrant Visas based on their application filing date.

Lawful permanent residents can only sponsor spouses as well as their minor and adult unmarried sons and daughters. These eligible family members of lawful permanent residents are subject to the yearly visa cap and are similarly classified in order of “preference” and application filing date.

In order to account for the mass number of applicants and the limited number of visas available each year, The United States Department of State publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin that identifies which family based and employment based immigrant visa applicants have an available visa number.

Family Based Immigrant Visa Chart