Visa Categories

Preference Cases

Family-Sponsored Immigrant Visas

Grown children (over 21) and siblings of American citizens, as well as the spouse, and unmarried children of permanent resident aliens, are eligible for immigrant visas (IV).  Stepchildren are also eligible if the step-relationship was formed before the child's eighteenth birthday.  The first step is for the U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien sponsor (petitioner) to file an immigrant petition Form I-130 for his or her foreign relative (beneficiary) with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security(DHS), Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). At the petition stage the CIS determines if the relationships and identities of the petitioner and beneficiary satisfy the requirements of immigration law.

The I-130 contains detailed instructions on how to complete the form and what kind of supporting documents are needed. Further details are available at http://www.uscis.gov/.

• Blank I-130 forms can be obtained on-line, directly from CIS offices in the United States or at U.S. Embassy Seoul. U.S. Forces Korea personnel may obtain I-130s from their personnel or legal offices.

Please note that Congress sets an annual cap on the number of family IVs with further limits on the number that can be issued to persons from any one country. Family preference IVs are processed according to the date the I-130 fee was accepted by CIS. To learn the waiting period for such visas, please refer to cut-off dates.

USCIS forwards all approved petitions to the U.S. State Department's National Visa Center (NVC) for IV processing.  As each petition reaches its qualifying date, NVC will contact the applicant and petitioner with instructions for submitting the appropriate processing fees.  After the appropriate processing fees are paid, the NVC will again contact the applicant and petitioner to request that the necessary immigrant visa documentation be submitted to the NVC.  The petitioner will have been sent instructions concerning completion of the Affidavit of Support (form I-864) and supporting documents needed for financial sponsorship.  The applicant may want to contact the applicant’s petitioner to ensure that these documents are completed and returned to NVC as directed.

Applicants whose priority dates are prior to the cut-off dates listed on http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html, and who have completed the necessary forms and submitted documents to the National Visa Center (NVC) for their visa appointments, will be scheduled for interviews.

Approximately one month before the applicant’s scheduled interview appointment with a consular officer, the applicant will receive an appointment letter containing the date and time of the applicant’s visa interview along with instructions for obtaining a medical examination.

Learn more about the processing in NVC

The NVC cannot guarantee how long it may be before the applicant is scheduled for an appointment for a visa interview.  Please call or write to the NVC (NVC Contact Information) if the circumstances of the applicant’s application change.  For example:

• Change of address
• Change of marital status
• Death of petitioner
• Birth or adoption of additional children, or
• NVC has requested additional information
  

The U.S. Embassy is closed on both U.S. and Korean holidays.

Updated May 6, 2008