Gloria grew up in Mexico. She and her siblings were raised by their parents Jose and Silvia in a loving home, and although they were poor and didn’t always have the resources they needed, they were happy and overcame their challenges together as a family. When Gloria was 20, she fell in love with a man from the United States. They got married, he petitioned for her, and she has been living in the United States as a citizen ever since. Gloria misses her family in Mexico every day. Recently she felt the occasional visit to their home in Jalisco was enough to sustain them and her. However, Gloria’s father passed away a few months ago, and now she is worried about her mother. When they talk on the phone, Gloria can hear the pain and worry clouding Silvia’s voice. Gloria’s siblings are busy trying to make ends meet for their own families. Gloria is beginning to realize that without her father, the best place for her mother is by her side in the United States.
If you’re in a situation like Gloria and Silvia, you have options, and we can help. We have heard hundreds of stories like this and we are passionate about helping families like yours navigate the complex immigration process.
If you have a relative (or potential relative) you want to bring to the US, or you want to immigrate and have a qualifying relative petition for you, an Immediate Relative Immigrant Visa is a good option for you. The process is simpler than many other types of Visas, and there are no limits on the number that are issued each fiscal year. This blog offers an overview of this option so you can become informed and determine if you qualify.
Who Qualifies for an Immediate Relative Visa?
The immediate relative immigrant Visas are reserved for those with a close family relationship with a US citizen. The following relationships qualify for this type of Visa:
Petitioning for a Visa
Whenever seeking a Visa, the first step is having the sponsoring relative file a Petition for Alien Relative with the Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The sponsor of the person who needs the Visa must be a US citizen who is at least 21 years old for petitions for siblings or parents. The age requirement does not apply for other categories of immediate relative immigrant Visas. The Sponsor must also have their principal residence in the United States.
Here for you every step of the way
While Immediate Relative Immigrant Visas are easier to qualify for than most other types, you still need to be able to navigate the often complex immigration process. Should anything be handled improperly during this process, it can cause significant delays or event denials of the Visa. If you are seeking a Visa, or you have a loved one who is, it is important to get the legal help you need. We have extensive experience helping people from around the world successfully petition for their Visa.
Contact us for more information.
Hillary Walsh is one of America’s foremost immigration attorneys — a nationally recognized advocate whose career has been built case by case, client by client, in the most challenging corners of immigration law.
For over a decade, Hillary has represented immigrants, asylum seekers, trafficking survivors, and families facing deportation in proceedings before the Ninth, Sixth, and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and immigration courts across the country. Her legal expertise spans removal defense, asylum, VAWA, T Visa, U Visa, green cards, and naturalization — the full breadth of immigration law, with particular depth in protection-based relief for vulnerable populations.
Her work has reached the highest levels of American jurisprudence. Hillary was invited to author an amicus curiae brief for a U.S. Supreme Court case — a distinction extended to attorneys whose command of immigration law is recognized at the national level.
Hillary founded New Frontier Immigration Law in 2019 with a simple but radical belief: that every person deserves a fighting chance, and that there is a solution for every problem. That legal philosophy has guided thousands of client outcomes across Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and communities nationwide.
She doesn’t just represent clients in immigration court; she shapes how immigration law is argued, understood, and applied.
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