Updated November 11, 2026

American immigration visa: eligibility categories, priority dates, consular processing and adjustment of status

An American immigration visa leads to a Permanent Resident Card, known as a Green Card, which lets you live and work permanently in the United States. If you are outside the US, you apply at a Department of State consulate through consular processing, and if you are already inside the US, you apply through USCIS adjustment of status on Form I-485. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, USCIS states that visas for immediate relatives of US citizens are unlimited, while annual caps limit family-sponsored preference visas to 226,000 and employment-based preference visas to 140,000.

Consular processing vs. adjustment of status: the two paths

Once you are the beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition and a visa number is immediately available, USCIS gives you two ways to apply for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status.

If you are outside the United States, or inside the United States but ineligible to adjust status, you apply for an immigrant visa at a US Department of State consulate abroad. This pathway is called consular processing. After a consular officer grants your immigrant visa, you travel to a US port of entry, where a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer inspects you and decides whether to admit you as a lawful permanent resident.

If you are already physically present in the United States and meet the eligibility rules for your category, you can apply for a Green Card without returning to your home country. This pathway is called adjustment of status, filed with USCIS on Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

Comparison of the two Green Card application pathways from USCIS guidance

Major eligibility categories for a Green Card

To apply for an immigrant visa or adjust status, you must fit one of the eligibility categories established in US immigration law. Most people qualify through a family member or an employer who files a petition on their behalf, while others qualify through humanitarian protection, registry or special immigrant provisions.

Family-based immigration splits into two main groups. Immediate relatives of a US citizen have no annual visa cap and include the spouse of a US citizen, an unmarried child under 21 of a US citizen, and the parent of a US citizen who is at least 21 years old. Widows and widowers of US citizens also qualify if the citizen filed a petition before dying or if the survivor files within two years of the citizen's death.

The second family group is the family-based preference system, which covers other relatives of US citizens (unmarried sons and daughters 21 or older, married sons and daughters, and brothers or sisters of a US citizen who is at least 21) and certain relatives of lawful permanent residents (spouses, unmarried children under 21, and unmarried sons and daughters 21 or older). Separate family provisions cover a fiance(e) of a US citizen and their child admitted on K-1 or K-2 nonimmigrant visas, and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioners who are abused spouses, unmarried children under 21, or parents.

Employment-based categories cover five preference tiers and physician waivers. First preference covers workers with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, outstanding professors or researchers, and multinational managers or executives. Second preference covers members of a profession requiring an advanced degree, workers with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business, and those seeking a national interest waiver (including a Physician National Interest Waiver for clinical practice in an underserved area).

Third preference covers skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers. Skilled worker positions require at least 2 years of training or work experience. Professional roles require at least a US bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent. Unskilled worker roles require less than 2 years of training or experience.

Immigrant investors qualify under the employment-based fifth preference when they have invested or are actively investing at least $1,050,000, or $800,000 in a targeted employment area or infrastructure project (uscis.gov, as of November 2026), in a new US commercial enterprise that will create full-time positions for at least 10 qualifying employees.

• Special immigrants: religious workers for a nonprofit religious organization, Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJ) who have been abused, abandoned or neglected by a parent, qualifying Afghanistan or Iraq nationals (such as translators, interpreters, or employees of the US government or ISAF, including Iraqis employed on or after March 20, 2003 for at least one year), international broadcasters for the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), and retired officers or employees of eligible international organizations or NATO-6 and their family members.
• Refugees and asylees: individuals admitted as a refugee at least 1 year ago or granted asylum status at least 1 year ago.
• Human trafficking and crime victims: current holders of a T nonimmigrant visa (trafficking victims) or a U nonimmigrant visa (crime victims).
• Other categories: several distinct laws provide permanent residence for specific groups. Diversity Immigrant Visa Program lottery selectees and individuals adjusting under the Cuban Adjustment Act qualify under separate statutory rules. Dependent or abused family members may adjust under the Haitian Refugee Immigrant Fairness Act (HRIFA). Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) covers Liberian nationals continuously present in the United States since November 20, 2014. Additional pathways cover Lautenberg parolees and Indochinese Parole Adjustment Act of 2000 beneficiaries paroled on or before October 1, 1997. Canadian-born American Indians with at least 50% American Indian blood who live in the US also qualify. Further provisions cover individuals born in the US to foreign diplomats and Section 13 foreign diplomats unable to return home. Finally, Registry allows individuals who have lived continuously in the US since before January 1, 1972 to register as permanent residents.

Visa availability, annual caps and priority dates

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, immigrant visas for immediate relatives of US citizens are unlimited and always available. By contrast, family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories have annual numerical caps. Family-sponsored preference visas are limited to 226,000 per year, and employment-based preference visas are limited to 140,000 per year, though statute allows those limits to be exceeded when certain visas from the previous fiscal year were not fully used.

The law also limits the percentage of visas allotted to any single country of chargeability, which is usually your country of birth.

When demand exceeds supply for a category and country, a queue forms, and the Department of State (DOS) tracks your place using your priority date. You can find your priority date on the Form I-797, Notice of Action, for the petition filed on your behalf.

How your priority date is set depends on your category:

• Family-sponsored preference cases: the date Form I-130 (or Form I-360 in certain instances) is properly filed with USCIS.
• Employment-based cases requiring a Department of Labor (DOL) labor certification: the date DOL accepts the labor certification application for processing. To keep that priority date valid, the petitioner must file Form I-140 with USCIS within 180 days of the DOL approval date.
• Employment-based cases not requiring a labor certification: the date USCIS accepts Form I-140 for processing.
• Fourth preference special immigrants (including religious workers): the date USCIS accepts Form I-360 for processing.
• Fifth preference immigrant investors: the date USCIS accepts Form I-526 for processing.

How to read the monthly Visa Bulletin and retrogression

Each month, the Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin with two charts: the Application Final Action Dates chart and the Dates for Filing Applications chart. You must use the Application Final Action Dates chart to determine when you can file Form I-485 with USCIS. You may only use the Dates for Filing Applications chart if USCIS designates on its website that extra visas are available for the fiscal year.

Your priority date is current when it is earlier than the cut-off date listed on the applicable chart for your preference category and country of chargeability. As USCIS illustrates, if the chart shows 15DEC07 for China in the F1 family preference category, visas are available to applicants with a priority date earlier than December 15, 2007. A letter C on the chart means the category is current for all qualified applicants, while a U means visas are temporarily unavailable.

Sometimes a priority date that is current one month moves backward to an earlier cut-off date the next month. This is called visa retrogression, and it happens when more people apply in a category than there are visas available for that month, or when the annual limit for a category or country is about to run out. When the new federal fiscal year begins on October 1, a fresh supply of visa numbers opens, which usually returns cut-off dates to where they were before retrogression.

Consular processing: the 8 steps outside the United States

If you live outside the United States, or live in the US but choose to apply abroad, you follow the eight consular processing steps outlined by USCIS:

• Step 1, Determine your basis to immigrate: confirm which family, employment, special immigrant or humanitarian category you fit.
• Step 2, File the immigrant petition: a relative files Form I-130, an employer files Form I-140, an investor self-petitions on Form I-526, or you or a sponsor file Form I-360 for special categories. Most humanitarian programs do not require an immigrant petition.
• Step 3, Wait for a decision on your petition: if USCIS approves the petition, it sends the approved petition to the Department of State's National Visa Center (NVC), where it stays until an immigrant visa number is available.
• Step 4, Wait for notification from the NVC: the NVC collects visa application processing fees (often called fee bills) and supporting documentation. It notifies both the petitioner and the beneficiary when the petition arrives and again when a visa number is about to become available.
• Step 5, Go to your consular appointment: once a visa is available or your priority date is current, the consular office schedules your interview and decides whether you are eligible for an immigrant visa.
• Step 6, Notify the NVC of changes: you do not need to contact the NVC unless your address changes, you turn 21 years old, or your marital status changes, any of which can affect your eligibility or visa availability.
• Step 7, Receive your Visa Packet and travel: if approved, the consular officer hands you a sealed Visa Packet. Do not open this packet. Pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online before departing for the US, then hand the unopened Visa Packet to the CBP officer at the US port of entry. Once CBP inspects and admits you, you hold lawful permanent resident status.
• Step 8, Receive your Green Card in the mail: after you pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee and enter the US, USCIS mails your Green Card. If it does not arrive within 90 days of arrival, call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 or submit an online e-Request for non-delivery.

Adjustment of status: the 9 steps inside the United States

If you are physically present in the United States and eligible to adjust status, you complete your Green Card process domestically with USCIS in nine steps:

• Step 1, Determine eligibility: verify that you meet the rules for a specific Green Card category.
• Step 2, File an immigrant petition: have a sponsor file Form I-130, Form I-140, Form I-730 (Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition), Form I-918 or Form I-929 (U nonimmigrant status), or file Form I-360, Form I-526 or Form I-589 (asylum). In eligible categories where a visa is immediately available, you can use concurrent filing to submit Form I-485 at the same time as Form I-130 or Form I-140. Immediate relatives of US citizens can always file concurrently.
• Step 3, Check visa availability: confirm your priority date is current under the USCIS-designated Visa Bulletin chart before filing Form I-485, unless your category is exempt from numerical caps.
• Step 4, File Form I-485: submit your application by mail to the proper direct filing address or online if eligible. Applicants adjusting under INA section 245(i) must also submit Form I-485 Supplement A.
• Step 5, Attend your Application Support Center (ASC) appointment: USCIS sends a biometrics notice for your fingerprints, photograph and signature to run security and background checks. You must also sign an acknowledgment certifying your application was complete and true. Missing the ASC appointment without rescheduling or refusing to sign can result in denial.
• Step 6, Attend your interview (if scheduled): if USCIS requires an interview, you and the petitioning family member (if applicable) appear at a USCIS office to answer questions under oath. Bring originals of all documents submitted with Form I-485, including passports, travel documents and Form I-94, whether or not they are expired.
• Step 7, Respond to any Request for Additional Evidence (RFE): if documents are missing, expired or need clarification, USCIS sends an RFE with a response deadline and mailing address.
• Step 8, Track your status: check your case online or call 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833) with your receipt number, A-Number, name and date of birth.
• Step 9, Receive a written decision: if approved, you receive an approval notice followed by your Permanent Resident Card. If denied, the notice explains the reasons and whether you can appeal or file a motion to reopen or reconsider on Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion.

Paying the USCIS Immigrant Fee and post-approval rules

Immigrants entering through consular processing must pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online so USCIS can process the immigrant visa packet and produce the physical Green Card. USCIS strongly encourages paying after you pick up your immigrant visa from the Department of State and before you depart for the United States. A family member, friend, employer, attorney or accredited representative can also pay on your behalf.

To pay online, you need two numbers handed to you at the embassy or consulate: your Alien Number (the letter A followed by 8 or 9 numbers) and your DOS Case ID (3 letters followed by 9 or 10 numbers, or for Diversity Visa immigrants, 4 numbers followed by 2 letters and 5 more numbers, such as 0000AB01234). You can pay for yourself and immigrating family members in 1 transaction using a credit card, debit card, a single pre-paid debit card with enough funds for everyone, or a US bank checking and routing number (ACH).

If you do not pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee, you still become a lawful permanent resident upon admission by CBP, but USCIS will not mail your physical Green Card. Instead, your only proof of permanent resident status will be the temporary I-551 stamp CBP places in your passport at entry, which is valid for only 1 year from your admission date.

Several groups are exempt from paying the USCIS Immigrant Fee:

• Children entering under the orphan or Hague adoption programs
• Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants
• Other Afghan nationals (through September 30, 2024)
• Returning lawful permanent residents (SB-1s)
• K nonimmigrants

Supporting requirements and pre-filing checklist

Across both consular processing and adjustment of status, USCIS highlights several core requirements that protect your application while it is pending. Use this checklist built by our team from USCIS procedure guides to stay on track from petition to card delivery:

• Affidavit of Support and public charge: for required categories, have your sponsor submit an Affidavit of Support to show you have the financial means to live in the US without needing government welfare or financial benefits and will not become a public charge.
• Immigration medical examination: schedule and complete your required medical exam and forms with an authorized doctor.
• Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) check: if a child beneficiary turns 21 after the petition is filed, check whether CSPA protects their eligibility as a child, and notify the NVC if you reach age 21 during consular processing.
• Work and travel while Form I-485 is pending: apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) if you need US work authorization, and review USCIS travel document rules (such as advance parole, a Refugee Travel Document, or a re-entry permit) before leaving the country.
• Mandatory 10-day address update: if you move while your application is pending or after arrival, you must report your new address to USCIS within 10 days of moving, and tell the CBP officer at the port of entry if your mailing address for your Green Card has changed.

Practice example

Has anything in your application, marital status, address or eligibility changed since your petition and forms were filed, and do you have the original documents to verify your entries?

A strong, honest answer states clearly whether every detail on your immigrant visa or Form I-485 application is still accurate today, or names any update right away. If you moved within the last 10 days, turned 21, or had a change in marital status or employment, state the exact date of the change and show the supporting record. Have your organized folder ready so you can hand over the originals of all documentation submitted with your application without delay. For an adjustment of status interview, make sure you and the family member who filed the immigrant petition on your behalf attend together and bring your original passports, government travel documents, and Form I-94 arrival-departure records, even if those documents have expired. Keep your explanation direct, factual, and consistent with the signed acknowledgment from your biometrics appointment.

The officer is checking under oath that the facts establishing your eligibility category, priority date, and admissibility remain true and complete, and verifying your submitted copies against original civil and travel documents.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.