Immigrant Visa Availability & Priority Dates

Immigrant visa for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are unlimited, so they are always available. Immediate relatives include:

The spouses of U.S. citizens;
The children (unmarried and under 21 years of age) of U.S. citizens;
The parents of U.S. citizens at least 21 years old; and
Widows or widowers of U.S. citizens if the U.S. citizen filed a petition before they died, or if the widow(er) files a petition within two years of the citizen’s death.

However, immigrant visa for family-sponsored preference immigrant visas are limited to 226,000 visas per year. The following are family-sponsored preference categories and usually have a 3-16 years wait or backlog for immigrant visa availability.

First preference (F1) – unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age and older) of U.S. citizens;
Second preference (F2A) – spouses and children (unmarried and under 21 years of age) of lawful permanent residents;
Second preference (F2B) – unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age and older) of lawful permanent residents;
Third preference (F3) – married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and
Fourth preference (F4) – brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age and older).

When the demand is higher than the supply of visas for a given year in any given category or country, a waiting list or backlog forms. To distribute the visas among all preference categories, Department of State (DOS) allocates the visas according to a prospective immigrant’s preference category, country of chargeability, and priority date. DOS uses the priority date to determine an immigrant’s place in the visa waiting list or backlog. When the priority date becomes available, or is “current,” immigrants may be able to apply for adjustment of status (or apply for an immigrant visa with DOS if they are outside the U.S.) and obtain lawful permanent resident status, if otherwise eligible.

If you are a prospective immigrant, you can find your priority date of the Form I-130 receipt notice that was sent to the petitioning family member who submitted the Form I-130 and paid the filing fees. An immigrant visa must be available before you can take one of the final steps in the process of becoming a lawful permanent resident. Because more prospective immigrants want lawful permanent residency than the limited numbers of immigrant visa allow, not everyone can immediately get an immigrant visa. How long you must wait depends on your priority date, preference category, and the country to which the immigrant visa will be charged.

An immigrant visa is available to you when your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown for your preference category and country of chargeability in the applicable chart in the Visa Bulletin.

For more information on immigrant visa,

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