There are many people in the United States who have achieved citizenship but who may have immediate relatives who are not U.S. citizens. These relatives may not even currently live in the U.S. but may wish to. Fortunately for them, there may be a way of obtaining a visa to enter the country legally through the citizenship of their family member as explained by the United States Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, there are five different situations in which a person may qualify for an immediate relative visa. One of these is when the non-citizen is the parent of a citizen who is over 20 years old and another is when the non-citizen is the spouse of the U.S. citizen. Any child who is 20 years old or young of a person with American citizenship may also qualify for an immediate relative visa.
An American citizen may apply for an immediate relative visa for an alien child who is orphaned and that who the citizen wishes to adopt. The orphan may be in the United States or in another country. Unlike with some other types of visas, a citizen may apply for as many of these visa as they would like in a given year.
If you are a citizen of the United States and would like to learn more about bringing your non-U.S. citizen family members to this country, please feel free to vist the immediate relative visa page of our Kentucky immigration website.