Family
Immigration ability is based on four factors. These four factors are related directly to the family- based immigration status.
The first factor is the immigration status of the relative. This means the determination between whether the relative already in the US is a citizen or a lawful permanent resident. If the relative is a U.S. citizen, they have greater benefits to reach out to alien relatives.
The second factor is the nature of the family relationship. The closer the relatives are to one another, the higher the likelihood of that relationship being set up in the favor of immigration. Not every familial relationship even applies for family based status. Generally spouses, children, and sibling relationships are the only ones that qualify for benefits.
The third factor is the alien’s country, also known as country of chargeability. Typically this refers to the country where the alien was born.
The fourth factor is related to the third, because it refers to the amount of backlog in immigration that the US currently has for that chargeability country. For those immigrating, the goal is to figure out which category has the least amount of backlog.
These factors break down further into preference categories, which again demonstrate the importance of a close family relationship to receive higher preference for immigration. Speaking with an immigration official can also clue you in to which form must be used on the petition and give you a sense of how long the wait for that particular category may be. In general, the longer a relationship has been in existence, the higher the chance that immigration will be successful and completed more quickly.
There are two steps for the procedure of immigrating under family based status. The first step is a petition, which must be completed. The petition helps to establish the relationship between the two parties and it’s important to remember that a separate petition must be filed for every alien beneficiary trying to immigrate to the US. that being said, no petition would be required for the beneficiaries “derivatives”. This term refers to a spouse and any unmarried minor children. The marriage classification is an important one because if those children become married during the process, they can effectively be shifted to another “preference class” that has more delays. Even though these “derivatives” can be admitted without a petition, it might be more helpful to apply for separate petitions anyways.