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1. The U.S. Immigrant Visa Number
The immediate family
members of the brother or sister may apply for a Green Card with the
sponsorship of a U.S. citizen. The annual visa number available for
this preference is 65,000, plus any visas not used by the first three
preferences. To apply for a Green Card for his or her brother or
sister, a U.S. citizen must be 21 years of age or older. Furthermore,
to qualify as a brother or sister of a U.S. citizen, both the brother
or sister and the U.S. citizen must have been children of the same
parent.
U.S. immigration law
limits the number of immigrant visas that are available every year.
This means that even if the USCIS approves an immigrant visa petition
for an alien, the alien may not get an immigrant visa number
immediately. In some cases, several years could pass between the time
USCIS approves an immigrant visa petition and the U.S. Department of
State gives the alien an immigrant visa number.
In addition, U.S.
immigration law also limits the number of immigrant visas available by
country. This means an alien may have to wait longer if the alien comes
from a country with a high demand for U.S. immigrant visas.
If the number of applicants exceeds the number of visas available under
a particular category, that category is considered oversubscribed.
2. The "Priority Date" for a U.S. Citizen's
Brothers and Sisters
The filing date of the
petition is called the applicant's "Priority Date."
A visa cannot be issued until the priority date is reached. This means
that there may be a lengthy waiting period. Sometimes that period may
exceed several years. The "Priority Date" is the date that you
file the FormI-130 immigrant petition on behalf of your brother or
sister. If you have
already filed an FormI-130 immigrant petition, you can find the
"Priority Date"
on the top, left-hand corner of the Form I-797 Receipt Notice or
Approval Notice
you received after your filed Form I-130 with USCIS.
If a Priority Date is
"current", it means that there is a "visa slot" available
for your brother or sister. U.S. immigration law limits the number of
people who
enter the U.S. as Lawful Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) on
the basis
of sponsorship by a U.S. citizen sibling. Specifically, the U.S. has
65,000
"visa slots" per year reserved for individuals who are immigrating as
the brother or sister of a U.S. citizen. Each year, the number of
approved
immigrant petitions may exceed the number of "visa slots." Because of
this, a backlog has occurred.
The
Department of State processes visa applicants on a "first-come,
first-serve" basis, which is determined by when the immigrant petition
was filed. The Department of State allows visa applicants whose
immigrant petitions were filed earliest to fill all the available
slots. For this reason, it is important to file the immigrant petition
as soon as possible.
3. Check the Current Priority Date and Visa
Bulletin for Your Brothers or Sisters
The
U.S. Department of State publishes a monthly Visa
Bulletin that tells applicants when their
Priority Date is current. Your brother or sister can check if their
Priority Date is current by comparing the Priority Date that appears on
the left-hand corner of the I-797 Approval Notice for the I-130
Immigrant Petition with the date that is published in the Department of
State’s monthly Visa Bulletin.
Your
sibling can figure out what the current Priority Date is by looking at
the row marked "4th" and the column that indicates his or her country
of nationality. If the Priority Date on the I-797 Approval Notice is
the same as or earlier than the date that appears in the cell reserved
for applicants from your sibling’s country in the "4th"
Family preference category, then a visa number is available and your
sibling can proceed with the "Green Card" application.
How
long it may take for your brother or sister’s Priority Date
to become current depends in part on your brother or sister’s
country of birth. If your brother or sister was born in China, India,
Mexico or Philippines, he or she may have to wait longer than other
applicants for a visa number to become available. This is because
applicants from these four countries have historically had higher rates
of immigration to the U.S. than applicants from any other country, and
the U.S. Department of State does not permit family-based applicants
from one country to immigrate at a higher rate than immigrants from any
other country.
Your
brother or sister will not be eligible to apply for a Green Card until
his or her Priority Date is current. However, your sibling may be able
to enter the U.S. on a "non-immigrant" visa while waiting for an
immigrant visa number to become available. Please note that it will be
difficult or impossible to obtain certain "non-immigrant" visas after
an immigrant petition has been filed on behalf of your sibling.
However, certain employment-based categories allow an applicant to
enter the U.S. in a "non-immigrant" status even after an immigrant
petition has been filed.
4. How
to Use the "Dates of Filing Applications" in the Via Bulletin
The
procedures regarding immigrant visa availability have changed by U.S.
Department of State, for the benefit of intending U.S. permanent
resident (i.e., greencard) applicants. These changes are reflected in
the Visa Bulletin which may be viewed at
http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin.html
The U.S. Department of State’s (DOS’s) monthly Visa
Bulletin will now include two charts per visa preference category for
Family-based and Employment-based applicants as "Application Final
Action Dates", and "Dates for Filing Applications." In Sections 4.B.
(Family-Sponsored Preference Cases) and 5.B. (Employment-Based
Preference Cases), “Dates for Filing Applications”
are
listed.
The chart for "Dates for Filing Applications" reflects dates for filing
visa applications within a timeframe justifying immediate action in the
application process. Applicants for immigrant visas who have a priority
date earlier than the cut-off date in the chart may assemble and submit
required documents to the Department of State’s National Visa
Center, following receipt of notification from the National Visa Center
containing detailed instructions. The cut-off date for an
oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who
cannot submit documentation to the National Visa Center for an
immigrant visa. If a category is designated
“current,” all
applicants in the relevant category may file applications, regardless
of priority date
5.
The Long Waiting Time of Immigrant Visa
The
U.S. citizen's can file for a sister or brother under the 4th family
preference category, which is the lowest of all the preference
categories, and it will take the longest period of time. Numbers of
available visas in the preference categories are limited. You can check
out the Visa Bulletin which comes out each month. In
some cases, several years could pass between the time USCIS approves
the
immigrant visa petition and the State Department provides an immigrant
visa
number.
This
waiting cannot be speeded up. It it really a question of supply and
demand. And
as you can see from the Visa Bulletin waiting times, demand is a lot
higher than
the supply. It depends entirely on what country the person is from.
Some
countries have so many applicants for immigration lined up, so it can
take 10
or 12 years. Other countries have fewer applicants and shorter waiting
times.
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Family Green Card Application
Service, www.greencardfamily.com