Two groups of family-based immigrant visa categories, immediate relatives and family preference, are provided under the provisions of United States immigration law, specifically the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). You can learn more about these two categories of immigrant visas on usvisas.state.gov.
To apply for an immediate relative or family preference immigrant visas, follow the steps on the Immigrant Visa Process on usvisas.state.gov. Once you have completed those steps, review the instructions given to you by the National Visa Center (NVC), along with the information presented on this website for further guidance and instructions. .
After Your Immigrant Petition Is Approved
After your petition is approved and you have received instructions to proceed with your visa application, you must prepare and submit a packet of documents to the NVC (immigrant visa applicants) or the embassy in Riga (immigrant visa applicants with locally-filed petitions).
- When preparing documents for the NVC, please follow guidance provided on the following website: ImmigrantVisas.State.Gov. Note: you only need to send photocopies of documents to NVC. You will be required to present the originals at the embassy on the day of your interview.
- Immigrant visa applicants with locally-filed petitions should proceed as described here: Instructions for immigrant visa applicants (PDF-193 KB).