The petitions of visa applicants who will be processed at a US Consulate are forwarded by CIS to the Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC). Applicants in categories that have a numerical limit are registered on the visa waiting list. Each case is assigned a priority date based on the filing date accorded to the petition. Visa issuance is possible only if the applicant's priority date is within the cut-off dates which are published each month by the Department of State in the Visa Bulletin.
226,000 immigrant visas are available each year. There is also a per-country limit on preference immigrants. This limit places a maximum on the amount of visas which may be issued in a single year to applicants from any one country. The 2012 per-country limit will be approximately 25,900.
This report shows only the number of petitions which the NVC has received. It does not include the large number of petitions that are waiting for processing at the CIS Offices.
Worldwide, there are 4.5 million applicants waiting for their petitions to become current. Compare that number to the 226,000 visas available each year.
Here are the numbers of applicants waiting for visa processing throughout the world:
· FAMILY FIRST (Adult, single children of US citizens): 290,000
· 2A-Spouses/Children of Permanent Residents: 360,000
· 2B- Adult Sons/Daughters of Permanent Residents, unmarried: 550,000
· FAMILY THIRD (Married children of US citizens): 850,000
· FAMILY FOURTH (Sisters and Brothers of US citizens): 2,500,000
In the Immigrant Visa waiting list of all the countries, Vietnam comes in third with 280,000 applicants waiting for their petitions to become current. Only Mexico, the Philippines and India have more waiting applicants than Vietnam.
Vietnam is seventh among the countries with the highest F1 waiting list. Visa numbers for unmarried adult sons and daughters will be approximately 26,250 during FY 2012. The waiting list far exceeds the annual limit. In Vietnam, there are about 9,500 F1 applicants waiting for an interview.
The annual visa limit worldwide for the married sons and daughters of US citizens is 23,400. Vietnam is third among the top ten waiting list for F3 visas, with over 77,000 applicants waiting their turn for visa interviews. Only Mexico and the Philippines have more F3 waiting applicants than Vietnam.
Siblings of US citizens are in the F4 category. There are 2.5 million siblings and their families waiting for visas worldwide, but only 65,000 F4 visas are available each year. The waiting period for the Family FOURTH preference is longer than any other category because the demand severely exceeds the number of available visas. The growing waiting period in this preference is now more than eleven years for most countries and as much as 15 or 20 years for countries like the Philippines or India.
Vietnam is in fourth place of the F4 waiting list countries, with 180,000 applicants waiting for visa processing.
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Q.1. Is there any way that the US Consulate can issue an immigrant visa before the petition becomes current (eligible for visa processing) ?
A.1. No. Immigrant Visas can never be issued before the petition becomes current. If a person needs to go to the US for medical treatment, then the Humanitarian Visa application would be the correct form to apply with.
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Q2. Are there any options for children who will lose eligibility because they reach 21 years of age before visa processing?
A.2. Right now the only option is the CSPA (Child Status Protection Act). This allows the CIS processing time of a petition to be deducted from the child’s real age at the time when the petition becomes current.
ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com
Immigration Support Services-Tham Van Di Tru
9070 Bolsa Avenue, Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888
6930 65th St. Ste. #105, Sacramento CA 95823 (916) 393-3388
42 Dang Thi Nhu, P. Nguyen Thai Binh, Q1, HCM (848) 3914-7638
226,000 immigrant visas are available each year. There is also a per-country limit on preference immigrants. This limit places a maximum on the amount of visas which may be issued in a single year to applicants from any one country. The 2012 per-country limit will be approximately 25,900.
This report shows only the number of petitions which the NVC has received. It does not include the large number of petitions that are waiting for processing at the CIS Offices.
Worldwide, there are 4.5 million applicants waiting for their petitions to become current. Compare that number to the 226,000 visas available each year.
Here are the numbers of applicants waiting for visa processing throughout the world:
· FAMILY FIRST (Adult, single children of US citizens): 290,000
· 2A-Spouses/Children of Permanent Residents: 360,000
· 2B- Adult Sons/Daughters of Permanent Residents, unmarried: 550,000
· FAMILY THIRD (Married children of US citizens): 850,000
· FAMILY FOURTH (Sisters and Brothers of US citizens): 2,500,000
In the Immigrant Visa waiting list of all the countries, Vietnam comes in third with 280,000 applicants waiting for their petitions to become current. Only Mexico, the Philippines and India have more waiting applicants than Vietnam.
Vietnam is seventh among the countries with the highest F1 waiting list. Visa numbers for unmarried adult sons and daughters will be approximately 26,250 during FY 2012. The waiting list far exceeds the annual limit. In Vietnam, there are about 9,500 F1 applicants waiting for an interview.
The annual visa limit worldwide for the married sons and daughters of US citizens is 23,400. Vietnam is third among the top ten waiting list for F3 visas, with over 77,000 applicants waiting their turn for visa interviews. Only Mexico and the Philippines have more F3 waiting applicants than Vietnam.
Siblings of US citizens are in the F4 category. There are 2.5 million siblings and their families waiting for visas worldwide, but only 65,000 F4 visas are available each year. The waiting period for the Family FOURTH preference is longer than any other category because the demand severely exceeds the number of available visas. The growing waiting period in this preference is now more than eleven years for most countries and as much as 15 or 20 years for countries like the Philippines or India.
Vietnam is in fourth place of the F4 waiting list countries, with 180,000 applicants waiting for visa processing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.1. Is there any way that the US Consulate can issue an immigrant visa before the petition becomes current (eligible for visa processing) ?
A.1. No. Immigrant Visas can never be issued before the petition becomes current. If a person needs to go to the US for medical treatment, then the Humanitarian Visa application would be the correct form to apply with.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q2. Are there any options for children who will lose eligibility because they reach 21 years of age before visa processing?
A.2. Right now the only option is the CSPA (Child Status Protection Act). This allows the CIS processing time of a petition to be deducted from the child’s real age at the time when the petition becomes current.
ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com
Immigration Support Services-Tham Van Di Tru
9070 Bolsa Avenue, Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888
6930 65th St. Ste. #105, Sacramento CA 95823 (916) 393-3388
42 Dang Thi Nhu, P. Nguyen Thai Binh, Q1, HCM (848) 3914-7638
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