Immigrant Visa Number

Permanent immigration gives the authority for one to live and work in the US. The Immigrant Visa Number is an important part involved in the issuance of the permanent resident status. The Immigrant Visa Number is issued by the Department of State after your call petition is sanctioned. Any type of visa call petition can be further pushed for the next step only with the Immigrant Visa Number which will be immediately made available the sooner the petition is sanctioned irrespective of whether you are in the U.S. and applying for Adjustment of Status or if you are applying for Consular Processing.

There is a limitation regarding the total number of Immigrant Visa Number that should be issued each year. Sometimes even if the USCIS approves the call petition for the visa you may not get the immigrant visa number, the reason behind this should be that the visa number quota for that year has been exhausted. You might have to wait until the next issue when the consecutive year starts, sometimes the issuance may even extend to a couple of years.

The immigrant visa number issuance is also limited in number for each country. This limitation charges the high interest population who wish immigration to United States with a wait a little more than others. There is no limitation of the numerical limit of immigrant visa number for immediate relatives of the U.S. citizens; however, relatives who are not immediate ones and those who wish to apply via employment also might have to face delay in immigrant visa number issue due to quota status.

For some categories the priority date determines the issue of the immigrant visa number. Priority date refers to the position that you currently hold in the queue for the green card. The priority date is a measure that rates the waiting list for the permanent residency status. Priority date in most cases is with reference to your country of citizenship and the date of birth. Current priority refers to that fact that no waiting will be involved in receiving the immigrant visa number. A delayed priority date means the quota for that immigrant visa number for that region is exhausted and would require more waiting.

AOS applications will not be processed until the priority date for the immigrant visa number is current. Filing the AOS is no guarantee for permanent residency interview until actually the priority date is current. Priority date refers to the date when your call petition was initially received by the USCIS.