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IMMEDIATE RELATIVES ARE DEFINED AS:
• the spouse of a U.S. citizen (IR1/CR1);
• the unmarried children under age 21 (who have no claim to U.S. Citizenship) of a U.S. citizen (IR2/CR2);
• the parents of a U.S. citizen who is 21 years of age or older (IR5); and
• the widow/widower of a U.S. citizen (IW1). For further information on category IW1, please contact CopenhagenIV@state.gov.
For a stepchild to qualify as a child for immigration purposes, the stepparent/stepchild relationship must occur before the child's 18th birthday.
To establish IR/CR immigrant visa classification for an immediate relative, an American citizen must file a petition (Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative). Each applicant must have their own separate petition!
Please see our instructions here for on filing the immediate relative petition.
PROCESSING TIME - HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
If you are eligible to file your petition directly with the Embassy, the estimated processing time of the entire immigrant visa process, from petition filing until the immigrant visa is ready for pick-up, is approximately 5 months. The following circumstances may result in a much longer processing time:
• if administrative processing is required;
• if the applicant needs a waiver of an ineligibility;
• the applicant requires police certificates from other countries than Denmark; or
• the applicant's failure to comply promptly with instructions.
We cannot estimate the processing time of petitions filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If the petition was filed with USCIS, the Embassy does not get involved in the processing of the case until the following steps have taken place:
• USCIS approves the petition and sends a Notice of Approval (Form I-797) to the petitioner. USCIS forwards the petition to the National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing.
• NVC provides detailed instructions to the petitioner and the applicant and eventually (once all instructions have been complied with and all fees have been paid), NVC will send an Appointment Letter notifying the visa applicant of the date and time of the interview. NVC is in charge of scheduling all interviews at this Embassy. The Embassy cannot advice you on when NVC might schedule your interview.
• Once NVC has scheduled the interview, the case file is forwarded to the Embassy in the country where the applicant resides.
Please note: Immigrant visas must be applied for in the country where the applicant resides.
If the applicant is temporarily residing in the U.S. on a nonimmigrant status, the applicant can either apply for adjustment of status through a USCIS office, or the applicant can apply for the immigrant visa at the American Embassy in the consular district of the applicant's last foreign residence. (The place of application is determined by residence, not country of nationality).
Extensive information regarding the immigration process can be found on http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/immigrants_1340.html
For information on the adjustment of status process, please consult directly with the USCIS or visit the USCIS website: www.uscis.gov
Other information of interest: Please see "K3 Nonimmigrant Visas for Spouses of U.S. Citizens".