The F2B visa is a Family Preference visa that issued to the unmarried adult children of Green Card holders. An adult child is defined as the birth or adopted a child of an LPR who is over the age of 21 years old and is unmarried.
F2B visa gets 34,260 visas or less than 30% of the total number of Family Preference visas.
What are the Requirements for the F2B Visa?
The following are the criteria for the applicant of the F2B visa:
- The applicant should be the child of a Lawful Permanent Resident.
- The child should be over 21 years old and unmarried.
- The parent must be a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States, and have a verified address inside the country.
Supporting Documents for the F2B Visa
The documents file must contain the following:
- Your valid passport for more than 6 months after your planned entry into the US
- A signed Form I-864, Affidavit of Support from the US petitioner or LPR (applicant’s parent)
- Form DS-260 confirmation page
- Medical examination and vaccination documents
- Two photographs according to the Photo Requirements for a USA visa.
- Your valid birth certificate or adoption certificate
- Court and criminal records and/or police certificate
- If you have been previously married, you must bring divorce or certificates of death to prove the marriage was officially terminated
- If you served in the military, you must bring your military records
How to Apply for the F2B Visa?
The application for the F2B visa is completed in two parts:
- The US Lawful Permanent Resident petitions for their adult child to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
- The applicant must apply to a US Embassy or Consulate in their home country.
Filing the Petition
The Lawful Permanent Resident must file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative to USCIS. The petition is then processed by USCIS and an answer on approval or denial is then sent to the petitioner.
If the petition is approved, the documents will then be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing. If the petition is denied, there will be a reason as to why it was denied so that the LPR can then adjust any problems and file again.
The NVC will send the approval documents to the petitioner and to the applicant (spouse or child) with a case and an invoice identification number, as well as instructions on what to do next. The documents will also contain all the information about what fees to pay and how to pay them.
Applying for the F2B Visa
The application process for the F2B visa goes as follows:
File Form DS-260
Form DS-260, Immigrant Visa Electronic Application is the form which all applicants for immigrant visas must submit. The application is online and will go through your personal or background information and why you want to immigrate to the US. You can access it by entering your NVC case number and invoice ID number. Fill in the sections that are necessary and after submitting it, you will get a confirmation page and number which you must submit to NVC as part of your documents file.
Complete medical examination and vaccination
If you are planning to immigrate in the US, then having a medical examination and taking the necessary vaccines is mandatory. The NVC will send you a list of the check-ups that you must get from a licensed doctor as well as a list of what vaccines you need. You must complete both of them and have the documents ready to send to NVC.
Compile documents file
Besides the application forms and medical documents, you must also send the NVC supporting documents that prove you qualify for the F2B visa.
Attend interview
The interview is the last step before you can get your visa. When the NVC processes all your documents and determines that you fulfill the requirements, they will schedule your interview at the US Embassy or Consulate in your country of residence. You must go there on that date and the right time. An official from the Embassy will interview you to determine whether you can get the F2B visa or not.
Receive NVC packet and travel to the US
If your visa is approved then the US Embassy will stamp it in your passport and you can now immigrate to the US. Also, the Embassy will give you a sealed packet, which you cannot open under any circumstances. When you travel to the US, you must take the packet with you and have a US immigration official open it.
What Are the F2B Visa Fees?
The amounts vary and are set by USCIS, the Department of Homeland Security and the individual US Embassy or Consulate where you are applying. The main categories of fees that must be paid are as follows:
| Category | Description | Estimated Cost (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Form I-130 | Filing Fee for Petition | $535 |
| Form DS-260 | Immigrant Visa Application Processing Fee | $325 |
| Medical Exam | Required for Visa Applicants | $200 – $500 |
| Translation and Document Fees | Translation of Supporting Documents | $100 – $300 |
| USCIS Immigrant Fee | Fee for Producing Green Card | $220 |
| Total Estimated Cost (approximate) | $1,380 – $1,880 | |
How Long is the F2B Visa Processing Time?
Unfortunately, there is no set time that can be used to determine how long it will take to process the F2B visa. Because there is a limited amount of visas, many people end up waiting for 2 or more years, with extreme cases having waited for 7 years. That is why you must only wait until your date becomes current and then start the application process.
What if the Petitioning LPR Gets US Citizenship While the F2B Visa is Processing?
Because it takes so long for the F2B visa dates to become current, in the meantime the LPR might get a US Citizenship.
This means that the children qualify for a different type of visa, which is the Immediate Relative IR2 visa.
Since the Immediate Relative visas do not have a cap the processing will be much faster.