Reality Check - How long do immigrant families wait in line?

Let's say you're an immigrant who has successfully become a U.S. Citizen and you want to sponsor your unmarried, adult son or daughter  to come to the U.S.  Good news --You fall into the FIRST PREFERENCE category for one of the 226,000 family-sponsored visas available annually under the Immigration and Nationality Act! 

Bad news -- So what does that really mean?  If you're from Mexico, it will be about an 18 year long wait.  From the Phillipines, 15 years.  Other countries, maybe 7 years.

Check out this article and the accompanying graphic for a breakdown of the current wait times for family-sponsored visas and employment-based visas. 


It’s no secret that applying for residence in the United States can be a complicated process. Even when all the paperwork is in, there’s still a long wait involved, a wait that is determined by a complicated equation that balances the demand and supply of employment and family-unification visas the U.S. grants. As a result, some applicants have been waiting in line for more than 10 years, others for more than 20 years, according to the State Department’s most recent count.

Read entire article at  http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/07/visa.html