Updated by Ilona Bray , J. Certain categories of green card applicants must, after their initial visa petition is approved by U. Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS , wait for their priority date to become current before continuing on with their green card application.
Basically, that means you must wait until your number comes up on a waiting list, owing to the fact that numerous immigrants are in line ahead of you in a green card category that's subject to annual limits. Here, we'll discuss how that priority date is created and what it means for your case. Not everyone faces numerical limits or a wait; for example, green card applicants in the immediate relative category receive unlimited numbers of visas annually.
And sometimes demand for visas is low enough that even in other categories, no waiting list develops. The people who will be given priority dates, and potentially face a wait, include those in the family-based or employment-based preference categories.
Their initial visa petition would have been filed by either their family member on Form I "Petition for Alien Relative" , or by an employer on Form I "Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers" following a successful application for labor certification.
Certain highly qualified employees can self-file the Form I petition. Once someone has a priority date, it's a matter of tracking it, month by month. Only when your priority date becomes "current" can you take the next step: either apply for adjustment of status if you are already in the United States in legal status or otherwise eligible to use the adjustment of status procedure, or apply for an immigrant visa at an U.
Embassy or Consulate in your home country. Both lead to U. In the employment-based categories, you are issued a priority date based on when your employer files a PERM application with the Department of Labor, or if no PERM application is required, by the date that an I visa petition is filed on your behalf. You can stay up-to-date with the waiting times in the Visa Bulletin and other immigration news by subscribing to our Free E-Mail Newsletter. Great Work! Zoom Consultations Available!
There is an annual limit to the number of visas that may be issued to immigrants seeking permanent resident status in the US. Immigrant visas for individuals in a preference category are however limited in numbers set by the Immigration and Nationality Act INA. Now, with your priority date and family preference category, we can show you how to read the visa bulletin.
Example: Felipe F2A. Felipe is a citizen of Brazil, and he is the spouse of a U. So Felipe is in the F2A category. He has an approved I petition with a priority date of January 29, Example: Ravi F3.
Ravi is a citizen of India, and he is the married, adult son of a U. Therefore, Ravi is in the F3 category. He has an approved I petition with a priority date of June 15, Example: Jennifer F1. Jennifer is a citizen of the Philippines, and she is the unmarried, adult daughter of a U.
Therefore, Jennifer is in the F1 category. She has an approved I petition with a priority date of September 20, Visa Retrogression. Generally, the cut-off dates on the visa bulletin move forward in time. But sometimes they go backwards. Visa retrogression occurs when more people apply for a visa in a particular category or country than there are visas available for that month. Retrogression typically occurs toward the end of the fiscal year as visa issuance approaches the annual category, or per-country limitations.
Sometimes a priority date that meets the cut-off date one month will not meet the cut-off date the next month. When the new fiscal year begins on October 1, a new supply of visas is made available and usually, but not always, returns the dates to where they were before retrogression.
Apply for a Green Card. If your I petition is now current, you may apply for permanent residence green card in the United States. There are two basic ways to apply for your green card: consular processing or adjustment of status. Consular Processing. If you are currently outside the United States, the only path for immigrating to the U.
Consular processing refers to the process of applying for an immigrant visa green card through the U. Consular processing is the most common path to obtain a green card. Learn more about consular processing. Adjustment of Status. Form I, Petition for Alien Relative. Therefore, it's important to get it right. STEP 1. STEP 2. STEP 3. I Petition for Alien Relative. I Application for Travel Document. I Adjustment of Status Application.
I Remove Conditions on Residence. I Application for Employment Authorization. I Affidavit of Support.
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