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Helping a family member, whether it is your spouse, fiancé(e), child, parent or brother or sister, become a permanent resident of the US, follows roughly the same procedure as
outlined below. It may seem straightforward, but there are many nuances in each type of family-based visa. Please read our
site carefully, and if you have any questions, please contact us for more information on family based immigration to the US. First, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
must approve an immigrant visa petition (I-130) for you. The US citizen relative fills this out on behalf of the foreign-born
relative. It must be accompanied by proof of the relationship and the other required documentation in order to begin the family
based immigration process. Second,
the Department of State must determine if an immigrant visa number is available for the foreign national, according to the
category of visa applied for, even if that person already lives in the United States. The third step in family based immigration, if the foreign relative is already
in the United States, he or she should apply to change his or her status to that of a lawful permanent resident after a visa
number becomes available. This is one way to secure an immigrant visa number. You can adjust your status, commonly known as
AOS, by submitting a form I-485 along with other required documentation, such as the results of medical examinations, police
certificates, etc. I-485s are considered by the USCIS directly. In this case, principal applicants, both petitioner and beneficiary
should submit their applications together (I-130 + I-485 + required documentation) through the local office rather than regional
one. If you are outside the United
States when an immigrant visa number becomes available, the foreign relative must go to the U.S. consulate to complete the
processing. This is the other way in which you can apply to secure an immigrant visa number for US family based immigration.
If a beneficiary is based outside the United States, then his / her documents are considered by the National Visa Center (NVC)
before his / her case is being sent to the US Consulate for further processing.NVC reviews the documentation and completes
the required administrative processing, such as checking backgrounds and so on.
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