P-4 Spouse or Child of a P Nonimmigrant
P-4 is the derivative status for the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of a P-1, P-2 or P-3 nonimmigrant, and of P essential support personnel. It runs for the same period as the principal and permits study at school or college. It does not permit employment in any form.
- Срок
- The same period as the P principal. That means up to five years for the family of an individual P-1A athlete, but only up to one year at a time for the family of a P-1B group member, a P-2 or a P-3.
- Продление
- P-4 dependants file their own Form I-539 when the principal extends on Form I-129. They cannot be extended for longer than the principal, and the 10-year ceiling on individual P-1A athletes constrains their families too.
- Работа
- No. P-4 dependants may not work in the United States. There is no EAD route. A spouse who needs to work must change to a status that allows it.
- Двойное намерение
- limited - P-4 follows the P principal, where a filed labour certification or immigrant petition is not itself a ground for denial, but the family is still expected to depart at the end of the engagement.
- Члены семьи
- Not applicable. P-4 is itself the derivative classification.
- Путь к грин-карте
- No independent route. P-4 dependants normally follow the principal's immigrant petition as derivative beneficiaries. A spouse with their own qualifications can pursue EB-1A or EB-2 with a national interest waiver independently, which is often the practical answer given the work ban.
- Срок рассмотрения
- Visa issuance tracks the principal's interview wait. Form I-539 for dependants inside the United States runs several months and has no premium processing option for P-4, so file early, particularly on one-year P-1B, P-2 and P-3 cycles.
Кто подходит
- Legally married spouse of a P-1A, P-1B, P-2 or P-3 nonimmigrant, including essential support personnel
- Unmarried children under 21 of a P nonimmigrant
- Family accompanying the principal, or following to join later
Требования
- The P principal must hold an approved Form I-129 and be in valid status
- Proof of the qualifying relationship: marriage certificate or birth certificate
- A copy of the principal's approval notice and visa
- Own Form DS-160 and MRV fee for each dependant applying abroad
- Form I-539 where the family is already inside the United States
Как подать
- 1
Gather the P principal's Form I-797 approval notice and a copy of their visa
- 2
Complete a separate Form DS-160 for each dependant and pay the $205 MRV fee each
- 3
Interview at the same post as the principal, in the country of nationality or residence
- 4
Bring the marriage certificate or birth certificates
- 5
Where already in the United States, file Form I-539 alongside the principal's Form I-129 extension
- 6
Enrol children in school or college, which is permitted
- 7
Plan a separate strategy for a spouse who needs to work, since P-4 offers none
Сборы и формы
| MRV nonimmigrant visa application fee, petition-based tier | $205 per dependant |
| Form I-539 to extend or change status inside the United States | $470 paper, $420 online |
| Public Law 119-21 visa integrity fee | $250 statutory minimum; absent from the State Department fee schedule as of September 2026, so collection is unverified |
Что изменилось в 2025 и 2026 годах
- Oct. 1, 2025: the interview waiver rollback announced Sept. 18, 2025 took effect and superseded the July 25, 2025 guidance. Almost every nonimmigrant applicant now needs an in-person interview. The standing carve-outs are A-1, A-2, C-3 other than personal staff, G-1 through G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-6, TECRO E-1, diplomatic and official visas, and 12-month renewals of B-1/B-2, Mexican border crossing cards and H-2A. Waiver-eligible applicants must also apply in their country of nationality or residence, must never have been refused a visa unless overcome or waived, and must have no apparent ineligibility. The old under-14 and over-79 age exemptions were abolished. No further update has issued as of September 2026.
- July 15, 2026: State told nonimmigrant applicants to interview in their country of nationality or residence, or at the designated processing post if their country has no routine operations. Applying elsewhere is allowed but harder to qualify, the MRV fee is non-refundable and non-transferable, and waits are much longer. A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO and diplomatic applicants are exempt.
- Jan. 1, 2026: Presidential Proclamation 10998, signed Dec. 16, 2025, took effect at 12:01 a.m. EST and replaced Proclamation 10949 (signed June 4, 2025, effective June 9, 2025). It fully suspends visa issuance to nationals of 19 countries - Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - plus holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents, across every nonimmigrant and immigrant category. It only reaches people who were outside the United States and held no valid visa at 12:01 a.m. EST on Jan. 1, 2026; no earlier-issued visa was revoked under it. P visas sit outside the partial suspension list. PP 10998 also excepts participants in certain major sporting events, and the FIFA World Cup 2026 bond waiver extends to immediate relatives of athletes and team members.
- July 4, 2025: Public Law 119-21 added non-waivable immigration surcharges on top of normal filing fees. The ones that touch nonimmigrants are the Form I-94 fee, held at $24 for FY 2026, the parole fee, adjusted to $1,020 for FY 2026, parolee EAD surcharges of $560 initial and $280 renewal, and a statutory visa integrity fee of at least $250 on nonimmigrant visa issuance. The $250 visa integrity fee is enacted but unverified as collected: it appears nowhere on the State Department fee schedule as of September 2026 and no implementing rule has published.
- Current USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055 edition 05/29/26: Form I-539 is $470 on paper and $420 online.
Где чаще всего ошибаются
- Assuming P-4 allows work. It does not, in any form.
- Forgetting that P-4 extensions need their own Form I-539 rather than riding on the principal's Form I-129.
- On one-year P-1B, P-2 and P-3 cycles the family's Form I-539 can take almost as long as the status itself lasts.
- A P-4 child turning 21 with no derivative status left.
- Assuming P-4 for an athlete's family lasts five years when the principal is on a team petition capped at one year.
- Volunteering that in substance amounts to employment.
Также в категории Athlete and entertainer
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