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Immigrant Visas

General Information for Applicants for Immigrant Visas

General Categories of Immigrants 

Persons immigrating to the United States are divided by U.S. immigration law into two general categories: (I) those who may obtain legal permanent residence status without numerical limitation, and (II) those who are restricted by an annual limitation on the number of persons who may enter as permanent residents. The latter category is further divided into (A) family sponsored immigrants, (B)employment based immigrants, and (C) diversity immigrants.

Immigrants not numerically limited

A. Immediate Relatives of United States Citizens: The spouse and minor unmarried children of a United States citizen, and the parent of a United States citizen who is over the age of twenty-one.

B. Returning Residents: Immigrants who lived in the United States previously as lawful permanent residents are are returning to live in the United States after a temporary visit of more than one year abroad.

Immigrants with numerical limitations

Subject to certain transitionary laws, total immigration into the United States beginning in 1995 will be limited to 675,000 persons per year. However, that figure is divided into three distinct categories.

A. FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMIGRANTS: Persons who are relatives of United States citizens are lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens are limited to a total of 480,000 visas per year, (465,000 until 1995). Immediate Relatives listed in Part I above are included in this limit on the number of visas which may be issued to immediate relatives.) Preference relatives receive all of the visas not used by immediate relatives, but in no case less than 226,000 per year. Family-based preference categories subject to the numerical limitation are (minimum preference limits in parentheses)

  1. First Preference: Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and children if any. (23,400)
  2. Second Preference: Spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent resident alien. NOTE: At least seventy-seven percent of all visas available for this category will go to the spouses and children; the remainder will be allocated to unmarried sons and daughters. (114,200) (Each year between October 1, 1991 and September 30, 1994, 55,000 additional immigrant visas shall be made available to the spouses and minor children of legalized aliens).
  3. Third Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens, and their spouses and children. (23,400)
  4. Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of United States citizens, and their spouses and children, provided the U.S. citizens are 21 years of age or over. (65,000).

B. EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRANTS: A total of 140,000 immigrant visas (sub-limitations listed in parentheses) are available for this category which is divided into five preference groups:

  1. Priority Workers: Persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers; and certain multinational executives and managers (40,000).
  2. Members of the Professions: Professionals holding advances degrees, and persons of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, and business (40,000).
  3. Professionals, Skilled and Unskilled Workers: Professionals holding baccalaureate degrees, skilled workers with at least two years experience, and other workers whose skills are in short supply in the United States (40,000). (Unskilled workers are subject to a sublimit of 10,000).
  4. Special Immigrants: Certain religious workers and ministers of religion, certain international organization employees and their immediate family members, and specially qualified and recommended current and former employees of the United States Government (10,000).
  5. Investors: Persons who create employment for at least ten unrelated persons by investing capital in a new commercial enterprise in the United States. The minimum amount of capital required is normally $1,000,000, depending on the unemployment rate in the geographic area (10,000).

DIVERSITY IMMIGRANTS

Beginning October 1, 1994, 55,000 immigrant visas shall be made available annually to natives of foreign states which the U.S. Attorney General has determined to have had a previous low ratio of immigrants admitted under the other sections of the immigration law. Such immigrants will be identified by random selection each year by the Secretary of State from among persons who submit applications during a specified period. Applicants for diversity immigrant status must have a high school education or 2 years of recent work experience in a skilled job.