Family-Based Immigration Attorney Helping You through the Immigration Process

Under certain circumstances, having a family member who is a citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States can make it easier for you to get a visa to come to the U.S. from your home country. If you are the sibling, parent, child, or spouse of a U.S. citizen or the spouse or child of a Green Card holder, your relative is able to sponsor your immigration to the United States, provided that they are 21 years of age or older, can support you financially once you get here, and can prove that you are related to them.

Once your relative in the United States has filed the required documents with the United States Citizenship and Immigration System (USCIS), you will be in line for a visa number. Immediate relatives (child, parent, spouse) visas are not limited in the number given out each year. Family preference category visas, however, which are for relatives of Legal Permanent Residents to include spouses and children, and adult sons/daughters of United States citizens and siblings of United States citizens, are subject to annual limits, and you may have to wait some time before a visa number becomes available.

The immigration attorneys at Sessoms Law Group, LLC are ready to use their experience and knowledge of the U.S. immigration system to bring your immigration case to the best possible conclusion. Call our Atlanta office today at 678-853-7402 to get started.

What Are the Preference Categories for Family-Based Immigrant Visas?

While the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are not subject to preference categories, more distant relatives or the relatives of Green Card holders are. Under the preference system, the first preference for family-based immigrant visas goes to United States citizens’ unmarried adult children (meaning over age 21). The second preference at the first level (2A) goes to spouses and unmarried minor children of Lawful Permanent Residents (Green Card holders), and at the second level (2B), to unmarried adult children of Green Card holders. The third preference goes to any married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, regardless of age, and the fourth preference goes to brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens.

What Happens Once a Visa Number Becomes Available?

If you are in the United States when a visa number becomes available, you will apply for an adjustment of status by filing the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status with the United States Citizenship and Immigration System (USCIS). If you are not in the United States when your visa number becomes available, your visa number will be sent to the nearest U.S.

Consulate by the National Visa Center. Once your visa number is received, you will go through the consular process, which usually includes an interview to determine your eligibility for the visa. If your immigrant visa is granted while you are outside the U.S.,

Do I Need to Contact the National Visa Center?

In most cases, it is not necessary to contact the National Visa Center (NVC) while you wait for your visa number to be released. Situations in which you should contact the NVC do occasionally arise, however. If you should change your address, turn 21 years of age, or change your marital status after the petition for family-based immigration has been filed, or if the Petitioner has become a United States citizen you should contact the NVC to inform them of the changes. An experienced family-based immigration lawyer can answer any questions you have as you go through this often-confusing immigration process. Call Sessoms Law Group, LLC today at 678-853-7402.

How Can an Immigration Attorney Help Me with Family-Based Immigration?

Immigration law in the United States is a constantly-changing maze of paperwork and red tape. An attorney who is experienced in family-based immigration can help to ensure that you fill out and file all required forms and applications correctly to avoid possible delays due to errors. Questions will certainly come up as you go through the process, and the knowledge and skill of a family-based immigration attorney will be quite helpful in answering those questions. Whether you are a citizen of another country hoping to gain a visa to live in the U.S., or a United States citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident hoping to reunite with your family, a skilled and compassionate family-based immigration attorney from Sessoms Law Group can help.