In recent years, the United States’ southern border has drawn unprecedented media attention due to record numbers of foreign individuals arriving and seeking protection and better economic opportunities. Stories and narratives about immigrants and immigration policies dominated many news and media conversations. Often, advocates and critics try to answer this question: “Why don’t immigrants just get in line and wait their turn?” Simply stated, there is no easy answer. Our immigration laws are complex, to say the least, and options are very limited for those seeking lawful status in our country. They are even more limited after individuals have crossed without documents or prior immigration records. However, is there really a “line” for immigrants?

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) governs our immigration system, defining immigrant and nonimmigrant categories of foreign nationals who can enter the United States lawfully. Immigrant visas allow foreign nationals to reside permanently in the United States while maintaining their native citizenship or nationality. Nonimmigrant visas allow foreign nationals to enter the country for a defined period and to perform specific activities, such as employment or education, but require foreign nationals to maintain an intent to return to their home country. Although some immigrant visa categories do not have annual numeric limitations, many are subject to annual caps set by statute. Two of the main pathways for foreign nationals to enter the United States are family-based and employment-based visas. Due to the complexities of our immigration system, the following overview of family-based visa categories shows current limitations and the reality of “getting in line.” For a comprehensive analysis of an individual’s circumstances, please consult an experienced immigration attorney to explore potential options.

THE BASICS OF FAMILY-BASED IMMIGRATION

As the category indicates, foreign nationals can seek and obtain immigrant visas (IVs) if they have a qualifying relationship with a U.S. citizen (USC) or lawful permanent resident (LPR). USCs may file relative petitions on behalf of their qualifying relatives, which includes spouses, children under the age of 21, parents, unmarried children over the age of 21, married children over the age of 21 and siblings.¹ Permanent residents may file relative petitions on behalf of their spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21 and unmarried children over the age of 21.² When a USC or LPR properly files a relative petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of their foreign relative, the petition is assigned a “priority date” of receipt that serves as a placeholder in the system and determines when the application will be “acted upon” for adjudication by USCIS at local field offices or by the National Visa Center (NVC) and United States Department of State (USDOS) after an interview at designated United States embassies and consulates around the world.

Certain relatives of USCs — such as spouses, children under the age 21 and parents — are not subject to numerical limitations and may qualify for adjudication of their relative petition if the foreign relative is currently in the country, entered lawfully and the foreign national is not “inadmissible.”³ Inadmissibility is a term of art that covers several bars to entering or receiving status in the United States.⁴ In many cases, the relative petition is concurrently filed with a petition to adjust the foreign relative’s status to permanent residence. However, a significant number of relative petitions benefit foreign nationals who reside in their native countries and who require consular processing, meaning that they must appear for an interview before the designated United States embassy or consulate in their country of origin.

USCIS data for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 indicates that as of September 30, 2024, there were 3,339,578 family-based relative petitions with pending decisions.⁵ The table below reflects all family-based applications received, approved and denied since October 1, 2023.⁶

 

Beyond processing delays, Congress sets annual limits for immigrant visas that USCIS and consular posts can approve. Depending on the petitioner and beneficiary’s qualifying relationship, the petition falls within a specific preference category. Preference categories have an annual limit, and for certain categories with historically high numbers of applications, there are per-country limitations, like China, India, Mexico and the Philippines.⁸

PREFERENCE CATEGORIES

INA § 203(a) defines preference categories to prioritize IVs based on the current, statutory numerical limits.⁹ The USDOS publishes its monthly Visa Bulletin showing each preference category’s available visas by tracking the priority dates for these petitions. INA § 201 sets an annual minimum limit of 226,000 visas for family-based petitions.¹⁰ There are four preference categories with annual numerical limits:¹¹

• First (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens – 23,400 plus any numbers not used by fourth preference.

• Second – 114,200 plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers.

o F2A: Spouses and children under age 21 of permanent residents (77% of the overall allocation, with 75% of these exempted from per-country limits).

o F2B: Unmarried children over age 21 of permanent residents (23% of the overall allocation).

• Third (F3): Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens – 23,400 plus any unused numbers from the first and second preferences.

• Fourth (F4): Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens – 65,000 plus any unused numbers from the first three preferences.

An important distinction on how USCIS processes relative petitions from USCs is that each beneficiary requires an individual petition on their behalf. However, petitions that fall under the preference categories allow the beneficiaries to include their spouses and unmarried minor children under age 21.¹² The qualifying beneficiaries are typically called “principal” beneficiaries, while their spouses and minor children are typically called “derivative” beneficiaries.

The USDOS tracks the annual immigrant visa allocations and provides the following numbers on visas for fiscal years 2019 to 2023.¹³

Table 1: Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas Issued at Foreign Service Posts

 

As these numbers indicate, IV allocations for all family-sponsored preference category petitions fell short of the congressional minimums between 2020 and 2021 due to lower number of approvals from pandemic-related closures at consular posts, which extended into 2021 and limited the number of interviews available around the world.

Notwithstanding the closures around the world, the number of relative petitions filed with USCIS remained significant in 2020, 2021 and 2022. For example, in the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, USCIS had 1,452,157 alien relative petitions awaiting a decision, after receiving a total of 110,547 petitions during that period.¹⁴ On September 30, 2021, USCIS had 1,519,983 petitions pending, after receiving 757,206 in fiscal year 2021.¹⁵ On September 30, 2022, USCIS had 1,808,240 petitions pending, after receiving 873,073 in fiscal year 2022.¹⁶ Despite the pandemic closures, USCIS received a constant number of alien relative petitions, while processing delays and backlogs continued to increase. Thus, our current adjudication process, limited by both statute and agency staff available, creates a perceived “waiting line.”

As of this writing, the average processing time for a USC’s petition for a spouse or minor child is 17 months.¹⁷ After USCIS reviews the petition, reaches a decision and issues an approval, the beneficiary’s physical presence determines the process: If the beneficiary resides outside the United States, USCIS forwards the approved petition to the NVC for additional processing and scheduling of an interview at the applicable embassy or consulate; if the beneficiary resides in the United States, USCIS adjudicates concurrent applications for adjustment of status for those who are eligible. Foreign nationals who are working with the NVC to process the remainder of their case must refer to the USDOS Visa Bulletin for additional guidance to complete their case. The USDOS updates the Visa Bulletin¹⁸ monthly and lists dates applicable to family-sponsored preference categories to take further action.

CONGRESSIONAL LIMITATIONS ON FAMILY-BASED VISA PETITIONS IN PREFERENCE CATEGORIES

INA § 202 limits countries with a historically high number of petitions from receiving more than 7% of the available visas for each preference.¹⁹ For April 2025, the Visa Bulletin lists these Final Action Dates chart for family-based petitions (see table 2).²⁰

For example, a USC’s petition filed on behalf of his brother (F4 preference), who resides in and is a citizen of the Philippines, becomes eligible under the Final Action Dates chart if the priority date assigned to the petition is earlier than January 1, 2005.²¹ Thus, unless the priority date is earlier than the final action date listed, the case cannot proceed to a consular interview at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines. The consular process requires the beneficiary to complete a consular electronic system registration, appear at a consular interview and be admissible into the United States. Each principal beneficiary and each derivative beneficiary, who are approved and allocated an immigrant visa, count toward the annual limits set for each preference. In our example above, if the brother in the Philippines is married and has two minor children at the time they are approved, they will use four visas out of the 65,000 allowed for the F4 preference.

For petitions that are not current under the Final Action Dates chart, the beneficiaries must watch the Dates for Filing chart that directs them to begin assembling their documents if they have received a notification from the NVC. For April 2025, the Visa Bulletin lists the following in the Dates for Filing chart for family-based petitions (see table 3).²²

Table 2: Final Action Dates chart for family-based petitions

 

Table 3: Final Action Dates chart for family-based petitions

 

Following our example above (Filipino brother, F4), only beneficiaries whose petitions have a priority date earlier than January 1, 2008, can begin assembling documents if the NVC has requested further action. Upon first impression, the priority dates that are “current” for further action under the Dates for Filing chart in the April 2025 Visa Bulletin appear to be more than seventeen years behind. However, the reality is that these dates advance as petitions are adjudicated and immigrant visas are issued, and subject to the preference category and per-country limits. Consider that on December 31, 2021, the date for filing an application under F4 preference for Filipino siblings of USCs was February 1, 2004,²³ while the date for the same preference category and country at the end of December 2020 was September 1, 2002.²⁴ Currently, although 39 months have passed since December 2021, the April 2025 dates in the Visa Bulletin for this specific preference category and country have only advanced to January 1, 2008, which illustrates the increased delays and wait times for relative petitions. In other words, there are significant delays in adjudicating petitions in family-based petitions.

IS THERE A WAITING LINE?

Our immigration system is very complex, and any significant changes and updates require congressional action to amend the INA. Although popular belief suggests that foreign nationals can “get in line” to apply for status in the United States, the reality is that there is no path for foreign nationals to simply “get in line and wait their turn.” As discussed, a main avenue for foreign nationals to obtain lawful status in the United States is through family-based petitions, which have annual, numerical, and country-specific limits for specific preference categories defined in the INA. Thus, unless a foreign national has qualifying relatives who are USCs or LPRs, the foreign national must follow the applicable “line” based on their relative preference category or country of residency and citizenship, or seek an entirely distinct pathway to lawful status in the United States, such as asylum, withholding of removal, protected status as victims of crimes committed in the United States, or some other temporary and discretionary relief, such as Deferred Action or Temporary Protected Status. Consequently, family-based immigration and the preference categories demonstrate the labyrinth of “lines” that each beneficiary may fall into. There is no one “line”; this is just a myth. There are many efforts, at all levels, to develop a sensible immigration policy because there is no “line to get in” and wait a turn, but each administration focuses on different priorities. Currently, the focus remains on enforcement action and removal operations, but this may change at any time.