Immigrant Visas

Part 1. File the Petition With USCIS

The first step to apply for a family-based immigration visa is for the U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) to file a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The U.S. citizen or LPR is called the "petitioner" throughout the process.

You can file a petition for a relative if your relationship meets one of the Immediate Relative or Family Preference descriptions. See our Immigrant Visa page for those descriptions. The foreign relative of the U.S. citizen or LPR is called the "visa applicant" or "beneficiary" throughout the process.

Most family-based petitions are initiated with the I-130 form, which is the petition form. Check with USCIS for the details on what form to file, how to file, where to file, and what documentation to submit with the filing.

Once the petition is filed with USCIS, the petition is stamped with a date. That date, the "filing date" is also called the priority date. The priority date is very important for Family Preference visas.

Part 2. The Petition is Approved

Once the petitioner files the I-130 or other petition, USCIS will review it for completion, and possibly request more documentation from the petitioner. When all the required documentation is received, USCIS will approve the petition.

Part 2a. The Petition is Approved: Immediate Relative Visas

If the relationship between the petitioner and the visa applicant qualifies for an Immediate Relative visa, the petition will be sent immediately from USCIS to the National Visa Center for further processing.

Part 2b. The Petition is Approved: Family Preference Visas

If the relationship between the petitioner and the visa applicant qualifies for a Family Preference visa, USCIS will keep the petition until "the petition becomes current". The petition will only be sent to the National Visa Center for further processing after it "becomes current".

When does a case or petition "becomes current"?

The petition "becomes current" when visas become available according to your visa category (F1, F2A. F2B, F3, or F4). Only a certain number of visas for each visa category are available each year. When they run out, Family Preference visa applicants have to wait until next year when more visas become available for their visa category.

Visas are available when your petition's priority date for your visa category arrives according to the Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin is updated monthly.

If you know your Family Preference visa category (1st, 2A, 2A, 3rd, 4th) and your priority date, check the Visa Bulletin to see what priority dates are now being interviewed for your visa category.

When the date in the Visa Bulletin reaches your priority date, you case "is current", and will be sent from USCIS to the National Visa Center for further processing.

Part 3. Schedule the Visa Interview and Get Ready

Once USCIS sends the case file to the National Visa Center (NVC), NVC will contact the petitioner and beneficiary to inform what documents they need to collect from the applicants before scheduling the beneficiary’s visa interview at the Consular office at the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon.  Please note that on the appointed interview date, if there are any documentary insufficiencies or the medical exam has not been completed, then the case will be administratively refused until all documentary and medical requirements have been fulfilled.  The panel physician who performs the medical exams for immigrant visa cases in Rangoon is the International SOS Clinic at the Dusit Inya Lake Hotel, 37 Kaba Aye Pagoda Road.  SOS Clinic’s phone number is (95-1) 667-879.

Part 4. Interview With the Consular Officer

On your interview date, bring all the evidence you have that proves your relationship to the petitioner. This may include your birth certificate, family registration, educational degree, national registration card, photos, phone receipts, evidence of communication with the petitioner, and other things. Bring original documents, or duplicates issued by the correct authority if the original is lost. If the petitioner has the original documents in the U.S., have them sent to you to bring to the interview.

Before the interview, you will be asked to take an oath affirming that all the information in your case file, and all the information you tell the Consular Officer during the interview, is true and complete.

Lying to the Consular Officer or submitting fraudulently obtained documents is a serious offense that can result in long delays or refusal of the visa. See our information on fraud.

At the end of the interview, if the consular officer approves the visa, it is usually available for pickup the next day. Skip the next part if your visa is approved at the interview.

Part 5. Visa Refusals

If your visa is not approved at the interview, the Consular Officer will give you a blue sheet of paper, called the OF-194. The OF-194 explains the basis for the refusal, and what steps the applicant must take to continue processing the visa application.

Most immigrant visa refusals are based on 221(g) of the INA.  Click for more information on 221(g).

Immigrant Visas are valid for six months. You must enter the U.S. before:

• Your Immigrant Visa expires
• Your medical exam expires
• Your police clearance expires
• Your passport has less than six months validity

NOTE: The relationship to the petitioner that qualified you for the visa CANNOT change before you enter the U.S.  If it does, you may lose your eligibility to enter the U.S. on your immigrant visa.  For example, F1 visa recipients cannot immigrate if they get married before entering the U.S. 

Congratulations!  When you arrive at the airport, you must turn in the packet given to you by the Consular Office with your visa.  The immigration official will ask you to wait in a special line.  Your Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) card (or "green card") will be sent to you in the mail.  Be sure to talk to the immigration official about when and where your LPR card will be sent.