V Spouse or Child of a Lawful Permanent Resident under the LIFE Act
The V visa was created by the LIFE Act of 2000 to reunite families separated by long waits in the family second preference queue. It only ever applied where a lawful permanent resident filed Form I-130 for a spouse or child on or before Dec. 21, 2000. Those priority dates became current years ago, so the State Department does not foresee issuing any further V visas. It survives as a statutory provision that no longer has eligible applicants.
- Duration
- V-1: up to two years. V-2 and V-3: up to two years, or to the day before the child's 21st birthday, whichever comes first. Where the priority date is current but no application is pending, admission is for six months, or to the day before the 21st birthday.
- Extensions
- Apply on Form I-539 for a further period of up to two years, or to the day before a V-2 or V-3 child's 21st birthday, whichever is sooner. Someone in the United States with a current priority date but no pending application may get a one-time extension of up to six months.
- Work
- Yes with an application. A V nonimmigrant may file Form I-765 for employment authorisation, granted for a period equal to the authorised admission as a V nonimmigrant.
- Dual intent
- true - V status exists only as a bridge to an already-filed immigrant petition, so immigrant intent is the premise of the category.
- Dependents
- V-3 covers the dependent child of a V-1 spouse or V-2 child accompanying or following to join. There is no derivative status beyond that, and V-3 status terminates when the principal's does.
- Path to a green card
- That is the whole point of the category. The V holder waits for the Form I-130 priority date to become current, then adjusts status on Form I-485 or takes an immigrant visa abroad. If the LPR petitioner naturalises, V status continues to the end of the current admission period and the spouse or child becomes an immediate relative, which is faster.
- Processing time
- Not meaningfully measurable. US embassies and consulates have not issued V visas for several years, because everyone with a qualifying pre-2001 priority date has long since become current and processed as an immigrant.
Who qualifies
- V-1: spouse of a lawful permanent resident
- V-2: child under 21 of a lawful permanent resident
- V-3: dependent child of a V-1 or V-2 accompanying or following to join
- In every case the LPR must have filed Form I-130 for that spouse or child on or before Dec. 21, 2000
Requirements
- Form I-130 filed with USCIS by the LPR spouse or parent on or before Dec. 21, 2000
- The petition's priority date must be at least three years old
- The priority date must not be current
- You must not already have had, or be scheduled for, an immigrant visa interview
- The petition must not already be at a US embassy or consulate for immigrant visa processing
- You must otherwise be eligible as an immigrant
How to apply
- 1
Confirm the LPR filed Form I-130 for you on or before Dec. 21, 2000. If not, you are not eligible and no workaround exists
- 2
Check the Visa Bulletin: the priority date must be at least three years old and must not yet be current
- 3
Confirm you have not had and are not scheduled for an immigrant visa interview, and the petition is not already at a consular post
- 4
Complete Form DS-160 and apply at the post with jurisdiction
- 5
After admission, file Form I-765 for employment authorisation
- 6
File Form I-539 to extend before the two-year period ends
- 7
When the priority date becomes current, file Form I-485 or take the immigrant visa abroad
Fees and forms
| MRV nonimmigrant visa application fee, non-petition-based tier | $185, in the unlikely event a V visa is issued |
| Form I-539 to extend V status | $470 paper, $420 online |
| Form I-765 for employment authorisation | $520 paper, $470 online |
| Form I-485 adjustment of status | $1,440 paper, $1,390 online |
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- No V-specific change in 2025 or 2026. The State Department's own guidance continues to state it does not foresee any V visas being issued because no potential applicant can meet the Dec. 21, 2000 filing criterion and still have a non-current priority date.
- 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.
- 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.
- Feb. 26, 2026 and Aug. 5, 2026: State guidance on preventing public benefits reliance and public charge bonds for immigrant visa applicants would apply to the underlying immigrant case any V holder is waiting on.
- Current USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055 edition 05/29/26: Form I-539 is $470 on paper and $420 online, and Form I-765 is $520 on paper and $470 online.
Where it goes wrong
- Assuming V is a general route for LPR spouses. It is not, and there is no modern equivalent; LPR spouses wait abroad in the family second preference queue.
- The Dec. 21, 2000 filing date is absolute. A petition filed a day later never qualified.
- V-2 and V-3 status ends the day before the child's 21st birthday regardless of the two-year grant.
- Status terminates 30 days after the I-130 is denied, withdrawn or revoked, after the immigrant visa or adjustment application is denied or withdrawn, after a V-1's divorce becomes final, or after a V-2 or V-3 marries.
- Working before the Form I-765 employment authorisation document is issued.
- Confusing V with K-3, which is for the spouse of a US citizen rather than of a permanent resident.
- Paying anyone who claims to be able to obtain a V visa today.
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