The new law does not set a time limit for people in V nonimmigrant status. The thinking appears to be that they may remain in the United States until their immigrant visa petition is approved. During that time they may work. The LIFE Act waives certain grounds of inadmissibility for V nonimmigrants, including periods of unlawful presence in the United States. While enactment of the V visa recognizes the need to provide relief to people in long immigration backlogs, it is available only to family members for whom an application has been filed as of the date of enactment.
Future applicants are ineligible.
Further, the V visa is only available to beneficiaries in the family 2A category. Unlike other family-sponsored immigrant visa categories, the immediate relative category has no annual cap on the number of people who can immigrate this way. But it can still take up to a year to enter the country in this category because of processing delays. During that time, those relatives, because they are intending immigrants, may find it hard to gain admission to the United States even for short visits. To remedy this problem the LIFE Act expands the existing K nonimmigrant visa category.