Huntersville Family Immigration Attorney

Huntersville Family Immigration Attorney

Navigating the U.S. immigration system to obtain legal status for a family member can be tedious and sometimes frustrating. At Vestal Immigration Law, we have experienced Huntersville family immigration attorneys who help clients who are looking for immigration benefits for themselves or for their family members.

Family immigration is divided into two broad categories, and these are “immediate relatives” and “preference” category family members.

Immediate Family Members

Under U.S. immigration laws, an immediate relative is someone who has a close family relationship with a U.S. citizen, such as spouse, child, or parent. If it is a child, the child must be under the age of 21 years old.

For those who qualify, this is the best category under which one can obtain legal status to live or remain in the United States. This is because, unlike all other categories of immigration, there is no limit on how many visas can be issued to family members under this category. This, in turn, means one applying under this category will obtain their visa quickly as opposed to waiting for a long time to get a visa in the other family categories.

Preference Family Category

If a family member does not qualify to obtain a visa under the immediate relative category, then they may qualify in the second group of family relations under which U.S. immigration law allows family members to migrate to the US. This category is known as the preference category and is available for family relations in the following situations:

• F1 preference applies to unmarried children of U.S. citizens who are over 21 years
• F2A preference involves spouses and children of green card holders who are not married and under the age of 21
• F2B preference relates to unmarried sons and daughters of green card holders who are 21 years of age and older,
• F3 preference includes married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and
• F4 preference is brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 years old

Petitioning for a Relative and Application Process

If you are a U.S. citizen or green card holder and have a relative who meets the above criteria, you can petition for them to be given the legal status of permanent resident (green card holder). However, filing a petition for your relative is only part of the process. If the petition is approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), the agency which handles these cases, then your relative can apply for their green card based on the approved petition.

Where the relative applies for their green card after the petition is approved and how long it will take them to go through the process and have the green card approved will depend on where the relative lives and applies.

If the relative is in the United States, then they will submit their green card application here under what is known as adjustment of status process. However, before applying, the relative should check to make sure they meet eligibility requirements.