You’ve been eager to come to the United States, knowing that your family would have better opportunities here. You know that you need to submit a petition for your family to get a visa, but you may not be aware of the preference categories that affect your application. There are five of these categories that you should know about.
The five preference categories include:
- Unmarried children belonging to citizens of the United States
- Spouses and unmarried children of legal permanent residents
- Unmarried children of permanent residents
- Married children of a U.S. citizen
- Siblings of citizens in the United States
Spouses, parents and children of U.S. citizens are called “immediate relatives.” With this designation, they are able to apply for permanent residency in the United States immediately with no further time restrictions. For others, there may be visa availability issues to work with.
Visa availability is dependent on a few factors, such as:
- Your national country of origin
- The submission of your family petition
- The category of the relationship you have submitted
What kinds of visa applications can attorneys work with?
Your attorney will be able to help you with various types of visa applications. Working with an attorney won’t necessarily help you get a visa faster, but it will help you make sure that your applications don’t have any significant errors that could slow down the visa and immigration process. Our website has more information about getting a visa to come to the United States and how you can help your family immigrate as soon as possible. This can be a long process, but the right help can make a difference.