Family Preference Immigrant (F) Visas for the U.S.

Overview

Family immigrant permits are for those who desire to reside their household members in the U.S. The government of U.S however permits only direct family members to join. Immediate family members are measured husband or wife, children, parents and siblings. Other relations, such as grandparents or cousins, do not meet the requirements. The household members in the U.S should have permitted status in the country. If they are in the U.S illegitimately, they cannot appeal to bring their family affiliates to the U.S. For these permits hey must at least be Legal Permanent Residents (LPR), which signifies they have a Green Card. Those who are U.S residents can join with family affiliates by accomplishing the Immediate Relative (IR) Visas too. The family-based immigrant permits will permit you to reside in the U.S. You can do a job and attend school or university. You can also possess assets and get a driving license. Lastly, you can journey in and out of the U.S for specific durations of time. These permits have several aids, but they are also partial. Each visa has an annual boundary and claimants receive filtering on a first come first serve base. As early as you apply, the better the probabilities for obtaining the permits. Once appeals get to the yearly cap, the other get processing in the next years.

Types of F Visa

The family preference visa types are:

• Family First Preference (F1): Single sons and daughters of U.S. residents, and their minor children, if any.
• Family Second Preference (F2): Husband or Wife, infant children, and unwedded sons and daughters (age 21 and over) of LPRs. At least 77% of all visas accessible for this class will go to the spouses and children; the rest is allocated to single sons and daughters. They are of two groups:
  • F-2A permits for spouses and infant children under 21 years old;
  • F-2B permits for adult children over 21 years old
• Family Third Preference (F3): Married sons and daughters of U.S. residents, and their spouses and infant children.
• Family Fourth Preference (F4): Siblings of U.S. residents, and their husband or wife and dependent children, provided the U.S. residents are at least 21 years of age.

Eligibility

Each of these categories of visas has its own perquisition. The list is as follow: 

• For the F-1 visa, the preconditions are:
  • The U.S national must have birth or adoption records to verify the relationship with sons/daughters
  • The U.S national must have a legal U.S address;
  • Sons/daughters must have birth or adoption records of their dependent children to show relations. The children need to be under 21 years old to meet the requirements.
  • The sons and daughters must be unwedded.
• For the F-2A visa, the essentials are:
  • The LPR should be a minimum of 18 years old;
  • The LPR should have a legal U.S address;
  • The LPR’s children should be under 21 years old and single;
  • The LPR should have valid birth or adoption records to verify a relationship with the children.
• For the F-2B visa, the prerequisites are:
  • The LPR must show the affiliation through a valid birth or adoption record;
  • The LPR must have a legal U.S address;
  • The adult child should be over 21 years old and single.
• For the F-3 visa, the demands are:
  • The U.S national should verify affiliation by providing a legal birth or adoption certificate;
  • The U.S national should have a valid U.S address;
  • The U.S national’s child should be over 21 years old;
  • The U.S national’s child must show they are married through a legal wedding certificate;
  • If the U.S national’s child also has dependent children, they should verify the relationship through a valid birth or adoption record.
• For the F-4 visa, the needs are:
  • The U.S resident must be at least 21 years old;
  • The U.S resident must have a legal U.S address;
  • The U.S resident must verify the relationship with brothers and sisters through legal birth or adoption certificates;
  • Brothers and Sisters with infant children must verify relationship through valid birth or adoption records;
  • Wedded siblings required to verify the relationship through a valid marriage certificate.

All candidates must reach the necessities for their visa. If you do not accomplish them, the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) could reject your application.

How to Apply

The visa appeal procedure for family-based immigrant visas is very alike. The method must initiate from the U.S national or LPR, and then the person in the foreign nation must apply. The stages for the visa appeal are as follows.

File the appeal: The U.S national or LPR must file the appeal for the family members at USCIS. They must forward in Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. USCIS evaluates the appeal and chooses to accept or reject. If approved, the case drives to the National Visa Center (NVC). When the request gets its turn for processing, the NVC sends a package to the claimant. The package has directions for application. This indicates that the priority date became current for that applicant. The NVC also allocates a case number and an invoice I.D. to the applicant.

Submit Form DS-260: After the applicant receives the directions, they have to apply for the visa. They must submit Form DS-260, Online Immigrant Visa Application online and get the validation letter and a bar code.

Complete medical test and vaccination: The U.S entails specific medical tests and vaccines for those who desire immigrant visas. The candidate must go to a certified physician or hospital to complete them and keep the records.

Gather supportive documents file: The candidate must also have other supportive documents. These documents will verify the applicant reaches the standards for the visa. These papers can be different conditional on the sort of family visa. Examples of documents in the file are:

• A legal passport for more than six months afterwards your planned departure to the U.S;
• A duly signed Form I-864, Affidavit of Support from the U.S applicant or LPR;
• Form DS-260 validation page;
• Medical test and vaccination records;
• Two U.S. Visa photos that follow the U.S Photo Necessities;
• Wedding certificates for those who are married;
• Birth or adoption records to verify relations with children or siblings;
• Court and criminal histories and/or police record;
• Those who were married before must bring separation or death certificates to verify the marriage ended;
• If the claimant served in the military, they must bring military records.

Appear in the interview: The U.S Embassy will request the applicant for an interview. The inquiries will be on the background and the claim. In the end, the officers will decide whether to accept the application or not.

Accept the NVC packet and travel to the U.S: If the Embassy accepts the visa, the NVC will send another package to the applicant. The applicant is not allowed to open this package. At the U.S port of arrival, the border officers will open the package and decide whether to let the person in the country or not.

Visa Fees for F Visa

There are several charges to compensate for family immigration visas. The applicant and the petitioner pay different dues. These payments are:

• Form I-130 filing fee: USD 535;
• Processing fee for the Form DS-260: USD 230;
• Medical test and vaccination charges;
• Costs to get and translate all supportive documents;
• USCIS Immigrant Fee: USD 220.