The Family-Based Immigration Process

First, the USCIS must approve an immigrant visa petition (I-130) for you. The US citizen relative fills this out on behalf of the foreign-born relative. It must be accompanied by proof of the relationship and the other required documentation in order to begin the family based immigration process.

Second, the Department of State must determine if an immigrant visa number is available for the foreign national, according to the category of visa applied for, even if that person already lives in the United States.

The third step in family based immigration, if the foreign relative is already in the United States, he or she should apply to change his or her status to that of a lawful permanent resident after a visa number becomes available. You can adjust your status, commonly known as AOS, by submitting a form I-485 along with other required documentation.

If you are outside the United States when an immigrant visa number becomes available, the foreign relative must go to the U.S. consulate to complete the processing. If a beneficiary is based outside the United States, then his/her documents are considered by the National Visa Center (NVC) before his/her case is being sent to the US Consulate for further processing. NVC reviews the documentation and completes the required administrative processing.