Immigrants to the U.S.

Immigrants to the U.S.


Immigrating to the United States  to live here permanently is an important, and complex decision. This section provides information to help foreign citizens desiring to permanently immigrate to determine the visas, requirements, and related materials they will need to apply to immigrate to the United States. For information on who can immigrate to the U.S., click on  Visa Types for Immigrants .  Click on the links below for information on visa forms, the Affidavit of Support, other requirements, and related materials for immigrants. 

Effective March 20, 2007, consular posts abroad are again authorized to accept petitions for immediate relative immigrant classification from American citizens who are resident in their consular districts, U.S. service members, emergency cases involving life and death or health and safety considerations, and others determined to be in the national interest. See announcement about consular offices abroad accepting I-130 immigrant visa petitions. 

Immigrant Visa Processing - The National Visa Center (NVC)
After the immigrant petition has been approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the petition is forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) for processing .  NVC plays an important role in the next steps of the U.S. immigration process.  NVC provides instructions to petitioners and sponsors, and receives from sponsors, the required Affidavit of Support forms, fees, other required documents, and much more.  For numerically limited family preference petitions, NVC contacts the petitioner once the petition’s immigration wait nears end, and the priority date is about to come current . 

Learn more about the Affidavit of Support information and the National Visa Center .

See Visa Information for Immigrants for more information about the Visa Bulletin, required vaccinations, DNA testing and more.