Permanent
Residence and Immigration Status
Categories of
Immigrants
Immigrants to the United States
are of two types:
1) those who may obtain an
immigrant visa without numerical limitation: this category includes Immediate
Relatives (The spouse, widow(er) and minor unmarried children of a United
States citizen, and the parents of a United States citizen who is 21 or older)
and Returning Residents (Previous U.S. lawful permanent residents who are
returning to the U.S. after a stay of more than one year abroad)
2) those whose immigration
status is subject to an annual limitation: this category includes family-sponsored
individuals, employment-based immigrants, and diversity
immigrants.
Subject to certain transitional
laws, the United States, beginning in 1995, has set the number of people who may
be able to immigrate to the US at 675,000 persons per year. This figure is
divided into three sub-categories.
A. Family-Based: Preference relatives may receive all of the
visas not used by Immediate Relatives, but no less than 226,000 visas per year.
Family-based preference categories (with minimum limits in parentheses) include:
1. First Preference: Unmarried
sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and children if any. (23,400)
2. Second Preference: Spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters
of lawful permanent resident aliens. (114,200)
3. Third Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their
spouses and children. (23,400)
4. Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, and their
spouses and children, provided the U.S. citizens are over 20. (65,000)
B. Employment-Based
A total of 140,000 immigrant visas
yearly are available for this category which is divided into five preference
groups (percent of yearly limit):
1. Priority Workers:
Persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or
athletics; outstanding professors and researchers; and certain multinational
executives and managers (28.6%).
2. Members of the Professions: Professionals holding advanced degrees, and
persons of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, and business (28.6%).
3. Professionals, Skilled and Unskilled Workers: Professionals holding
baccalaureate degrees, skilled workers with at least two years experience, and
other workers whose skills are in short supply in the United States (28.6%).
4. Special Immigrants: Certain religious workers, ministers of religion,
certain international organization employees and their immediate family members,
and qualified, recommended current and former U.S. Government employees. (7.1%).
5. Investors: Persons who create employment for at least ten unrelated
persons by investing capital in a new commercial enterprise in the United
States. The minimum capital required is between $500,000 and $1,000,000,
depending on the employment rate in the geographic area (7.1%).
C. Diversity Immigrant Visa
Lottery
The Diversity
Lottery makes available 55,000 immigrant visa numbers annually to persons
selected at random from countries with low rates of immigration to the United
States. There is a separate registration for each year's visas. Information on
registration for the lottery is announced each year by the State Department.
How to apply
Certain applicants such as
priority workers, investors, certain special immigrants, and diversity
immigrants can petition on their own behalf. All others must have a relative or
potential employer petition for them.
Applicants for family-sponsored
immigrant visas should request the U.S. citizen relative to file a petition Form
I-130 with the nearest Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). In some
cases, if the U.S. citizen is residing abroad, he or she may file the petition
with a consular officer at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
Applicants for employment-based
immigrant visas may require an approved petition Form I-140 from the INS.
Priority workers may petition on their own behalf with the INS, while others
must have their prospective employers file the petitions. Prior to filing a
petition with the INS, members of the profession, professionals, skilled and
unskilled workers, must obtain certifications from the Department of Labor that
there are no qualified workers available for the proposed employment in the U.S.
Special immigrant returning
residents and U.S. Government employees must apply to the Secretary of State
through a U.S. consular office abroad. All other special immigrants must file
the I-360 petition with INS.
An investor must file a Form-I-526 petition with the INS.
Diversity immigrants must file an
application with the U.S. Department of State. Information on registration will
be announced each year by the State Department.
The State Department will advise
the beneficiary of the petition (the applicant for a visa) when it is received
from the approving office. The visa applicant will receive further instructions
at that time.
Visa Inelligibility and Visa
Waiver
The immigration laws of the United
States, in order to protect the health, welfare, and security of the U.S.,
prohibit visa issuance to certain applicants. This includes persons who have a
communicable disease such as tuberculosis, or have a dangerous physical or
mental disorder, or are drug addicts; have committed serious criminal acts,
including crimes involving moral turpitude, drug trafficking, and prostitution
or procuring; are terrorists, subversives, members of a totalitarian party or
former Nazi war criminals; are likely to become public charges in the U. S.;
have used fraud or other illegal means to enter the U.S.; or are ineligible for
citizenship. Some former exchange visitors must live abroad 2 years. Physicians
who intend to practice medicine must pass a qualifying exam before receiving
immigrant visas.
If any of the above restrictions
might apply, then a statement regarding the facts should be submitted to the
consular officer, who will advise the applicant if the law provides for some
form of waiver.
Documentation
Documents for Application
All applicants must submit certain
personal documents such as passports, birth certificates, police certificates,
and other civil documents, as well as evidence that they will not become public
charges in the U.S. The consular officer will inform visa applicants of the
documents needed as their applications are processed.
Medical Examinations
Before the issuance of an
immigrant visa, every applicant, regardless of age, must undergo a medical
examination. The examination will be conducted by a doctor designated by the
consular officer. Examination costs must be borne by the applicant.
Visa Fees
The cost of each formal immigrant
visa application is US$260 and issuance is US$65. Fees must be paid per person
regardless of age, and are not refundable. Local currency equivalents are
acceptable. Fees should not be sent to the consular office unless specifically
requested. The INS charges additional fees for filing petitions.
Numerical Limitations
Whenever there are more qualified
applicants for a category than there are available numbers, the category will be
considered oversubscribed, and immigrant visas will be issued in the
chronological order in which the petitions were filed until the numerical limit
for the category is reached. The filing date of a petition becomes the priority
date. Immigrant visas cannot be issued until an applicant's priority date is
reached. In certain oversubscribed categories, there may be a waiting period of
several years before a priority date is reached. For the latest priority dates,
call 202-663-1541.
Miscellaneous
Since no advance assurances can be
given that a visa will be issued, applicants are advised not to make any final
travel arrangements, not to dispose of their property, and not to give up their
jobs until visas have been issued to them. An immigrant visa is valid for four
months from date of issuance.
With few exceptions, a person born
in the U.S. has a claim to U.S. citizenship. Persons born in countries other
than the U.S. may have a claim, under U.S. law, to U.S. nationality if: Either
parent was born or naturalized in the United States, or Either parent was a U.S.
citizen at the time of the applicant's birth.
Any applicant believing that he or
she may have a claim to United States citizenship should not apply for a visa
until his or her citizenship has been determined by the consular office.
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