![](https://zaaflaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/family-immigrant-1024x683.jpg)
American citizens and lawful permanent residents can bring their loved ones to the United States. Here, family immigration plays a vital role, which is an essential part of the country’s immigration system.
Benefits
The benefits of family-based immigration, the various family visa kinds, the application procedure, and the eligibility requirements will all be covered in this guide, regardless of whether you want to sponsor a spouse, kid, or other family members.
What is Family Immigration?
American citizens and lawful permanent residents can bring their loved ones to the United States. Here, family immigration plays a vital role, which is an essential part of the country’s immigration system. The benefits of family-based immigration, the various family visa kinds, the application procedure, and the eligibility requirements will all be covered in this guide, regardless of whether you want to sponsor a spouse, kid, or other family members.
Different Family-Based Visa Types
Family immigration visas are divided into two categories:
- Family preference visas
- Immediate relative visas
Each one has different processing times and requirements.
Family Preference Visas
Visas granted under the family preference category are subject to annual quotas for given relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. The visas are:
- First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of American citizens above the age of 21.
- Second Preference (F2A): Sons and daughters under the age of 21 of lawful permanent residents, along with their spouses, get second preference (F2A).
- Third Preference (F2B): Unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents above the age of 21 are given third preference (F2B).
- Fourth Preference (F3): Sons and daughters of U.S. citizens get the third preference (F3).
- Fifth Preference (F4): Siblings of US citizens (if the US citizen is 21 years old or older) are the fourth preference (F4).
Waiting periods for family preference visas can be highly variable, depending on the visa type
and origin nationality of the applicant, and can span several years or more.
Immediate relative visas
For immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, the process of immigration is straightforward. Because
there is no annual limit for these visas, they are generally processed more quickly than family
preference visas. Immediate relatives include the following:
- U.S. citizen spouses.
- Unmarried children under 21 years old of U.S. citizens.
- Parents of U.S. citizens (if the citizen is at least 21 years old).
Since family members are given priority when it comes to visa issuance, it offers the fastest processing timeframes.
Eligibility for Family-Based Immigration:
The following are the basic requirements to sponsor any relative:
- Sponsor's Status: The sponsor must be either a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident.
- Financial Support: The sponsor must provide an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) verifying his/her financial capability to support the family member. This protects said family member from becoming a public charge.
- Proof of Relationship: The sponsor must submit supportive documentation to prove their blood relationship to the family member being sponsored.
- Admissibility: Being in the USA requires that a family member is not inadmissible for certain grounds—they cannot have a history of very serious criminal offenses or immigration violations.
One of the most effective ways for citizens and lawful permanent residents to bring their loved ones to the United States is through family immigration. You can handle the process more skillfully if you are aware of the various visa types, the application procedures, and the requirements for eligibility.
Send Us A Message
We’re here to assist you with your immigration needs. Feel free to reach out by filling out the form below to send us an email.