Similarly, a sharp drop in applications for a particular chargeability area when the application was filed might result in priority dates that advance two months at a time. Immediate relatives of United States citizens are parents, children under 21 and spouses. This category is not subject to any limits, and visas are always immediately available to those within it. The family 2A preference is for spouses and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents, and presently has a backlog of about four years. The family 2B preference is for unmarried children over 21 of permanent residents, and presently has about a seven-year backlog.
Employment based immigration is divided into five preference categories.
The first preference category is for priority workers such as outstanding professors and researchers, aliens of extraordinary ability and multinational executives and managers. This category is presently current for all countries. The third preference covers skilled workers, professionals and other workers. This category is presently current for all countries. The fifth and final preference category is for entrepreneurs, commonly known as immigrant investor visas.