USCIS

IMMIGRANT CLASSES OF ADMISSION A lawful permanent resident (LPR) or “green card” recipient may live and work anywhere in the United States and may apply to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain eligibility and admissibility requirements. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides several broad classes of admission for foreign nationals to gain LPR status, the largest of which focuses on admitting immigrants for the purpose of family reunification. Other major categories include economic and humanitarian immigrants, as well as immigrants from countries with relatively low levels of immigration to the United States. Immediate Relative Petitions Family Preference Petitions Employment Petitions Refugee & Asylum Diversity Visas Other IMMEDIATE RELATIVE PETITIONS The largest category of new LPRs consists of immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, children, and parents of U.S. citizens age 21 and older). Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are not subject to numerical limits and typically account for more than 40 percent of new LPRs annually. IR1 Spouses, new arrivals IR6 Spouses, adjustments CR1 Spouses, new arrivals, conditional CR6 Spouses, adjustments, conditional IB1 Spouses, new arrivals, self petitioning IB6 Spouses, adjustments, self petitioning IW1 Spouses, widows or widowers, new arrivals IW6 Spouses, widows or widowers, adjustments CF1 Spouses, entered as fiance(e), adjustments, conditional IF1 Spouses, entered as fiance(e), adjustments IR2 Children, new arrivals IR7 Children, adjustments CR2 Children, new arrivals, conditional CR7 Children, adjustments, conditional AR1 Children, Amerasian, new arrivals AR6 Children, Amerasian, adjustments IB2 Children, new arrivals, self petitioning IB7 Children, adjustments, self petitioning IB3 Children of IB1 or IB6, new arrivals IB8 Children of IB1 or IB6, adjustments IW2 Children of IW1 or IW6, new arrivals IW7 Children of IW1 or IW6, adjustments CF2 Children of CF1, adjustments, conditional IF2 Children of IF1, adjustments IH3 Children adopted abroad under the Hague Convention, new arrivals IH8 Children adopted abroad under the Hague Convention, adjustments IH4 Children to be adopted under the Hague Convention, new arrivals IH9 Children to be adopted under the Hague Convention, adjustments IR3 Orphans adopted abroad, new arrivals IR8 Orphans adopted abroad, adjustments IR4 Orphans to be adopted, new arrivals IR9 Orphans to be adopted, adjustments IR5 Parents of adult U.S. citizens, new arrivals IR0 Parents of adult U.S. citizens, adjustments IB5 Parents battered or abused, of U.S. citizens, new arrivals, self petitioning IB0 Parents battered or abused, of U.S. citizens, adjustments, self petitioning FAMILY PREFERENCE CATEGORIES Family members not included in the immediate relative class of admission may be eligible for immigration under family-sponsored preferences. Categories are organized by priority. A11 Unmarried Amerasian sons/daughters of U.S. citizens, new arrivals A16 Unmarried Amerasian sons/daughters of U.S. citizens, adjustments F11 Unmarried sons/daughters of U.S. citizens, new arrivals F16 Unmarried sons/daughters of U.S. citizens, adjustments B11 Unmarried sons/daughters of U.S. citizens, new arrivals, self petitioning B16 Unmarried sons/daughters of U.S. citizens, adjustments, self petitioning A12 Children of A11 or A16, new arrivals A17 Children of A11 or A16, adjustments F12 Children of F11 or F16, new arrivals F17 Children of F11 or F16, adjustments B12 Children of B11 or B16, new arrivals B17 Children of B11 or B16, adjustments F21 Spouses of alien residents, subject to country limits, new arrivals F26 Spouses of alien residents, subject to country limits, adjustments B21 Spouses of alien residents, subject to country limits, new arrivals, self petitioning B26 Spouses of alien residents, subject to country limits, adjustments, self petitioning C21 Spouses of alien residents, subject to country limits, new arrivals, conditional C26 Spouses of alien residents, subject to country limits, adjustments, conditional FX1 Spouses of alien residents, exempt from country limits, new arrivals FX6 Spouses of alien residents, exempt from country limits, adjustments BX1 Spouses of alien residents, exempt from country limits, new arrivals, self petitioning BX6 Spouses of alien residents, exempt from country limits, adjustments, self petitioning CX1 Spouses of alien residents, exempt from country limits, new arrivals, conditional CX6 Spouses of alien residents, exempt from country limits, adjustments, conditional F22 Children of alien residents, subject to country limits, new arrivals F27 Children of alien residents, subject to country limits, adjustments B22 Children of alien residents, subject to country limits, new arrivals, self petitioning B27 Children of alien residents, subject to country limits, adjustments, self petitioning C23 Children of C21, C22, C26, or C27, subject to country limits, new arrivals, conditional C28 Children of C21, C22, C26, or C27, subject to country limits, adjustments, conditional B23 Children of B21, B22, B26, or B27, subject to country limits, new arrivals B28 Children of B21, B22, B26, or B27, subject to country limits, adjustments F23 Children of F21, F22, F26, or F27, subject to country limits, new arrivals F28 Children of F21, F22, F26, or F27, subject to country limits, adjustments C25 Children of C24 or C29, subject to country limits, new arrivals, conditional C20 Children of C24 or C29, subject to country limits, adjustments, conditional B25 Children of B24 or B29, subject to country limits, new arrivals B20 Children of B24 or B29, subject to country limits, adjustments F25 Children of F24 or F29, subject to country limits, new arrivals F20 Children of F24 or F29, subject to country limits, adjustments C22 Children of alien residents, subject to country limits, new arrivals, conditional C27 Children of alien residents, subject to country limits, adjustments, conditional FX2 Children of alien residents, exempt from country limits, new arrivals FX7 Children of alien residents, exempt from country limits, adjustments BX2 Children of alien residents, exempt from country limits, new arrivals, self petitioning BX7 Children of alien residents, exempt from country limits, adjustments, self petitioning CX3 Children of CX2 or CX7, exempt from country limits, new arrivals, conditional CX8 Children of CX2 or CX7, exempt from country limits, adjustments, conditional BX3 Children of BX1, BX2, BX6, or BX7, exempt from country limits, new arrivals BX8 Children of BX1, BX2, BX6, or BX7, exempt from country limits, adjustments FX3 Children of FX1, FX2, FX7, or FX8, exempt from country limits, new arrivals FX8 Children of FX1, FX2, FX7, or FX8, exempt from country limits, adjustments … Read more