Opinion ID: 809268
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Family-based immigration overview

Text: We begin with an overview of family-based immigration. Family-sponsored immigration allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (“LPRs”) to file visa petitions on behalf of certain qualifying alien relatives. The Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) limits the total number of family-sponsored immigrant visas issued each year to 480,000, and directs that natives of any single foreign state may not receive more than seven percent of these visas. 8 U.S.C. §§ 1151(c), 1152(a)(2). The INA also establishes preference categories based on the relationship between citizens or LPRs and their alien relatives, and limits the number of family-sponsored immigrant visas that can be granted to members of each preference category. Id. § 1153(a). Unlike other types of family-sponsored visa applicants, children, spouses, and parents (i.e. “immediate relatives”) of U.S. citizens are not subject to the annual visa limits. Id. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i). For non-immediate relatives of citizens, the INA establishes the following family visa preference categories: F1: Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens F2A: Spouses and children of LPRs F2B: Unmarried sons and daughters of LPRs F3: Married sons and married daughters of U.S. citizens F4: Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens Id. § 1153(a). After a U.S. citizen or LPR files a visa petition on behalf of a relative, USCIS determines if a qualifying relationship 11818 DE OSORIO v. MAYORKAS exists between the citizen or LPR petitioner and the alien relative who is the primary beneficiary. If so, USCIS puts the beneficiary “in line” in the appropriate visa category. The beneficiary’s place in line is determined by the date the petition is filed, which is known as the “priority date.” Due to statutory limits for each visa category and a substantial backlog, it may be many years before a petition’s priority date becomes “current,” meaning that a visa is available for the beneficiary named in the petition. See, e.g., U.S. Dep’t of State, Visa Bulletin, August 2012, available at http:// www.travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_5749.html (showing delays for members of all visa categories, including waits of over 10 years for nationals of several countries in certain categories). A petition can also include the spouse or children of the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary’s spouse or children may then receive derivative visas at the same time that the primary beneficiary receives a visa. 8 U.S.C. § 1153(d) (“A spouse or child . . . shall . . . be entitled to the same status, and the same order of consideration provided in the respective subsection, if accompanying or following to join, the spouse or parent.”). The INA defines a “child” as an unmarried person under the age of twenty-one. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(b)(1). The primary beneficiary’s son or daughter can only receive a derivative visa if he or she is under twenty-one when the parent’s priority date becomes current. Often children who qualify for derivative visas at the time a petition is filed on their parent’s behalf are over the age of twenty-one by the time their parent receives the visa, and therefore may not immigrate to the United States with their parent. This is referred to as “aging out” of visa eligibility. Aging out also affects children who are the primary beneficiaries of F2A petitions, as they are no longer eligible for an F2A visa (for spouses and children of LPRs) once they turn twenty-one. Because some delays are many years long, children may age out even if they were very young when a petition was filed on their parent’s behalf. DE OSORIO v. MAYORKAS 11819