The Wait Behind the Welcome: How Long Family Members Wait for a U.S. Visa by Category
Wait times reflect the approximate number of years between the current Final Action Date cutoff for each preference category and country and the date of publication. Family preference visa categories and annual numerical caps were established under the Immigration Act of 1990 and have not been meaningfully revised since. Mexico and the Philippines maintain separate earlier cutoff dates due to per-country demand exceeding the statutory 7% annual visa cap. The worldwide column applies to all other countries not individually listed in the Visa Bulletin, including India and China. Wait times reflect visa queue time only and do not include the additional 11 to 14 months of I-130 petition processing required before the visa queue wait begins.
Chart: The Mendoza Law Firm