The United States V Visa

Created by the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act in December 2000, the V visa is a type of nonimmigrant visa. It allows the spouse and children of a lawful permanent resident, or Green Card holder, to enter the United State and reunite with their lawful permanent resident spouse or parent while their own immigration process is completed. While not simple in terms of procedure and process, the right immigration lawyer can provide you and your family the right counsel and advocacy to secure a V visa that the United States is a home for all of you together.

• New York Immigration Lawyers: From Visas to Green Cards and Naturalization

The V-1 visa is for the spouse of the lawful permanent resident while the V-2 visa is for the child of the lawful permanent resident. A V-3 visa also exists and is intended for the child of the spouse who is eligible for the V-1 visa. Depending on the needs of your family members, each of these visas are means to bring family residing overseas to New York or wherever you may live.

Merely because a parent or spouse is in the United States does not mean that a husband, wife or child automatically has the ability to obtain a visa. To qualify for a V visa, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

• Be the spouse or child of a lawful permanent resident. Alternatively, the applicant can be the child of the spouse of the lawful permanent resident.
• If the applicant is a child, the child must be less than 21 years of age and unmarried.
• The applicant’s priority date must be at least three years old. In other words, the applicant must have been waiting for a visa for at least three years since their lawful permanent resident spouse/parent completed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.
• The applicant hasn’t already had, or isn’t already scheduled for, a visa interview.
• The applicant’s Form I-130 must not already have been processed and sent to a US Embassy or Consulate for visa processing.
• The lawful permanent resident must have filed Form I-130 on behalf of the applicant on or before December 21, 2000.
• The applicant must otherwise be eligible to immigrate to the United States.

The exact application process will depend on where the applicant is physically located. If they are already in the United States, two more Forms must be completed:

• Form I-539, Application to Change Nonimmigrant Status, and Supplement A. 
• Form I-693, Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status.

If the applicant is located outside the United States, consular processing will be required.

Regardless of where the applicant is located, the lawful permanent resident must first complete Form I-130.

No, because all applicants who meet all the eligibility requirements for a V visa would have had the opportunity to apply for their V visas as of several years ago.

There is no reason a wife and husband should not be together and a child should be separated from any parent. There is far more to life than work and living whether it is in the United States or in your native country. Simply, home is more than an address, but where you and your family create a life, memories and a future. With the right immigration lawyer and legal advocate, a V visa can do just that.

Call the New York immigration lawyers and former New York City prosecutors at (212) 312-7129 or contact us online today.