Apply for Family-Based Immigration:

 

1.  Your sponsor must submit Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) for you at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) center, along with documentation to prove that:

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• He/she is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the US.

• Your relationship to him/her qualifies you for the grant of the Form I-130 visa petition.

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2. Once USCIS receives your visa petition from your sponsor, it will be approved or denied. The length of time it takes USCIS to render a decision will vary based on the particular USCIS Service Center adjudicating the petition and the family relationship at issue. In the event the petition is approved, USCIS will notify your sponsor.​​

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3. If you are subject to a preference category or you are unable to adjust your status in the US, USCIS will send the approved visa petition to the Department of State’s National Visa Center. The NVC notify you when the visa petition is received and when an immigrant visa number becomes available. The allocation of available immigrant visas in the Family-Based Preference Categories is found in the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin.