The Legal Immigration Family Equity Act (LIFE Act), enacted on December 21, 2000, created a nonimmigrant visa category, the V visa, with specific provisions for certain spouses and children of U.S. lawful permanent residents (LPRs).  The purpose of the LIFE Act was to reunite families who had been or could be separated for long periods during the process of immigrating to the United States.  V visas, therefore, allowed these family members to be in the United States with their LPR spouses and parents while waiting to complete the immigration process.

To qualify for a V visa, a spouse or child (under age 21) of a U.S. lawful permanent resident (LPR) must meet all of the following criteria:
1.The U.S. LPR spouse and/or parent MUST have filed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of his or her spouse/child(ren) on or before December 21, 2000;
2.The petition’s priority date must be at least three years old;
3.The priority date must not be current;
4.The applicant must not have already had an immigrant visa interview or be scheduled for an interview;
5.The petition must not already be at a U.S. embassy or consulate for immigrant visa processing; and;
6.The applicant must be otherwise eligible as an immigrant.

U.S. embassies and consulates have not issued any V visas for the past several years because applicants with priority dates on or before December 21, 2000, were able to apply for immigrant visas as their priority dates became current.  Review the Visa Bulletin for information on the priority dates of petitions for spouses and children of U.S. lawful permanent residents that are currently being processed for immigrant visas.