1. Useful Tips on How to Get Immigrant Visas
A foreign national must get an immigrant visa to immigrate to the United States and to live
there permanently. There are different types of immigrant visas that are available for the
people who wish to immigrate to the United states. It is not a very easy task to immigrate to
America and it involves filing various USCIS forms and various steps are involved in the
immigrant visa process.
Generally, to immigrate to the United States and to apply for an immigrant visa, a foreign
national must be sponsored by a US citizen relative, US Green Card holder or by a potential
employer. Once you decide to immigrate to the United States, the first step that you must take
is to file an immigrant visa application with the USCIS. An appropriate form depending on your
category must be filed.
If the foreign national is sponsored by a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident sponsor
who is residing in the United States, the person who is sponsoring must file Form I-130,
Petition for Alien Relative, with the USCIS Chicago or the Phoenix Lockbox facility. If a US
employer is offering a job to a foreign national, the potential employer must file Form I-140,
Petition for Alien Worker.
The immigrant visa petition filed by the US citizen family member or the employer must be
approved by USCIS. After the immigrant visa petition is approved by USCIS, the preliminary
processing of the visa with the Department of State, National Visa Center, will begin.
It is the duty of the National Visa Center(NVC) to provide instructions to the sponsors and visa
applicants. The NVC will review the required Affidavit of Support forms submitted by the
sponsors. It will receive the required fees, application forms and other supporting documents
that are required. Certain immigrant visa categories are assigned a numerical limit. For such
categories, the NVC will contact the applicant after the priority date becomes current.
After verification of the required documents, the NVC will schedule an interview with US
Embassies or Consulates. The immigrant visa case files of the applicants will be sent by the
NVC, to the US Embassy or the Consulate, where the interview is scheduled. After you get an
interview appointment from the NVC, you must get prepared for the immigrant visa interview.
You must prepare for the medical exam and make sure that you possess all the required
original documents to be submitted at the time of the interview.
Diversity Visa Program is another way through which a foreign national may obtain an
immigrant visa to immigrate to the United States. This program provides visas to applicants
drawn from countries with low immigration rates to America. The other immigrant types
require a US sponsor, but the Diversity Visa (DV) program does not require a US sponsor. It
also does not require a visa petition.