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V Nonimmigration Visas
How Do I Become a V-Nonimmigrant as the Spouse or Child of a U.S.
Permanent Resident? (V-1, V-2 and V-3 Visa Classifications)
Background
The Legal Immigration Family Equity Act and its amendments (LIFE
Act) established a new nonimmigrant category (V) within the immigration
law that allows the spouse or child of a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident
to live and work in the United States in a nonimmigrant category.
The spouse or child can remain in the United States while they wait
until they are able to apply for lawful permanent residence status,
or for an immigrant visa, instead of having to wait outside the
United States as the law previously required.
Who
is Eligible?
A person may apply at a U.S. consulate abroad for a V-1 or V-2 visa
or seek V-1 or V-2 nonimmigrant status while in the United States,
if that person:
- is lawfully
married to a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States (V-1),
or is the unmarried child (under the age of 21) of a Lawful Permanent
Resident (V-2); and
- is the principal
beneficiary of a relative petition (Form I-130) that was filed
by the Lawful Permanent Resident spouse/parent on or before December
21, 2000; and
- has been
waiting at least 3 years since the petition was filed for status
as a Lawful Permanent Resident because the petition is still pending,
or has been approved but:
- an immigrant
visa is not yet available; or,
- there is
a pending application to adjust status or application for an immigrant
visa.
The derivative
child of a V-1 or V-2 nonimmigrant is eligible for a V-3 visa or
for V-3 status.
How Do I Apply?
If outside of the United States, you should contact the U.S. State
Department consular office or embassy to apply for a visa.
If inside the United States, you must file the Form I-539, Application
to Change Nonimmigrant Status, and Supplement A, and pay the application
fee, or request a waiver of the application fee. All aliens 14 to
79 years of age who are filing Form I-539 to obtain V nonimmigrant
status must submit a service fee for fingerprinting with their application.
In addition to the instructions listed on the Form I-539, all aliens
applying for V nonimmigrant status must follow the supplemental
instructions found on Supplement A to Form I-539. Applicants must
also undergo a medical examination and submit Form I-693, Medical
Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status, without the
vaccination supplement.
Applications
should be submitted to:
U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service
P.O. Box 7216
Chicago, IL 60680-7216
Will I Get a Work Permit?
Persons in V-1, V-2, or V-3 status are eligible to apply for a work
permit. You should use INS Form I-765 (Application for Employment
Authorization) to apply for a work permit. Applicants should use
the code “(a)(15)” as the answer to question 16 on Form
I-765. You must submit the application by mailing a Form I-765 along
with the $100 application fee to:
U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service
P.O. Box 7216
Chicago, IL 60680-7216
Can
I Travel Outside the United States?
If you obtain a V nonimmigrant visa from a consular office abroad,
you may be inspected and admitted to the United States in V nonimmigrant
status after traveling abroad as long as you continue to possess
a valid, unexpired V visa and remain eligible for V nonimmigrant
status.
When you are
granted V nonimmigrant status in the United States by the INS, you
will need to obtain a V visa from a consular office abroad in order
to be inspected and admitted to the United States as a V nonimmigrant
after traveling abroad. (You will not need to apply for a V visa
abroad in order to be admitted if you have traveled to contiguous
territories or adjacent islands, have another (different category)
valid visa, and are eligible for automatic revalidation.)
A V nonimmigrant
with a pending Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence
or Adjust Status, does not need to obtain advance parole prior to
traveling abroad. This means that an alien in V nonimmigrant status
may be readmitted as a nonimmigrant despite the fact that he or
she is an intending immigrant with a filed application for adjustment
of status or an immigrant visa. The departure of a V nonimmigrants
with a, pending applications for adjustment of status is not considered
to have abandoned the adjustment application upon departure.
Important
Note: If you have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence
in the United States (or 365 days), then travel abroad and are admitted
or readmitted as a V nonimmigrant, you have triggered a 3- or 10-year
bar to admission. The law exempts V nonimmigrants from the 3- (or
10-) year bar for purposes of admission to the United States as
a V nonimmigrant but does not exempt them from the bar when they
later apply for an immigrant visa or for adjustment to LPR status.
That means that although you will be admitted or readmitted to the
United States in V status, you may be unable to adjust status to
LPR unless an individual waiver for that ground of inadmissibility
is granted.
How
Can I Check the Status of My Application?
To check the status of your application, you should be prepared
to provide the specific information about your application, such
as the ten-digit receipt number printed on your Form I-797 or your
Alien Registration Number, name, and date of birth. Please click
here for complete instructions on checking the status of your application
online.
Can
Anyone Help Me?
If advice is needed, you may contact a local lawyer for a legal
advice. Click Here to contact a lawyer.
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