V Nonimmigrant
The Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act provisions of 2000 created the V nonimmigrant category that allow the spouse or child of a permanent resident to live and work in the United States while waiting to obtain immigrant status.
To qualify for a V visa, the spouse or child of the permanent resident needs a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, filed on their behalf on or before December 21, 2000 by the permanent resident relative. The spouse or child also must have been waiting for at least 3 years after the form was filed for their immigrant status—either because a visa number was not available or because we had not yet adjudicated the Form I-130 or Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
In most cases, V nonimmigrants will eventually adjust status as the spouse or child of a permanent resident when a visa number becomes available and the Form I-130 and Form I-485 have been adjudicated.
You may be eligible to receive a green card as a V nonimmigrant if you:
- Are the beneficiary (as the spouse or child) of an immigrant visa petition that was filed by a permanent resident by December 21, 2000
- Obtained V status either in the United States or abroad and have continuously maintained your status while in the United States
- Continue to remain eligible to adjust status as the spouse or child of a permanent resident (or U.S. citizen, if your spouse or parent has now naturalized)
- Have an immigrant visa immediately available
- Are admissible to the United States
To obtain a green card, you need to file Form I-485. You do not need to file for advance parole prior to traveling abroad while your Form I-485 is pending; however, you must obtain a V visa from a consular office abroad in order to be readmitted to the United States as a V nonimmigrant. Departure from the United States at any time after having accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence will render you inadmissible to the United States to adjust status unless you obtain a waiver. Therefore, before traveling outside the United States while your Form I-485 is pending, please carefully consider any possible consequences.
For more information, see Sections 101(a)(15)(V), 214(q) and 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and 8 CFR 214.15, 245 and 248.