Immigrant Visas

Family Based Visas

Preference Categories: People who are close relatives of U.S. citizens and legally admitted permanent resident aliens are limited to a total of 480,000 visas per year. Immediate relatives are included in this number, as are preference relatives, but there is no limit on the number of visas which may be issued to immediate relatives. Preference relatives receive all of the visas not used by immediate relatives, but in no case less than 226,000 visas per year. Family-based preference categories subject to the numerical limit are divided into four preference categories:

• First preference: unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and their children;
• Second preference: spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters of legal permanent resident aliens;
• Third preference: married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, their spouses and their children;
• Fourth preference: the brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, their spouses and their children, provided the U.S. citizen is twenty-one years of age or older.

Petitions

Applicants for family-sponsored immigrant visas who believe they are entitled to immigrant status based on a relationship to a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident alien should request that relative to file a petition (Form I-130) with the nearest office of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) in the United States. The U.S. Embassy in Skopje accepts a limited number of petitions only for spouses and children of U.S. citizens resident in Macedonia or Kosovo. Petitions for all other visa categories must be filed with the BCIS. 

To schedule an appointment to file an I – 130 petition.

If you have been continually residing in Macedonia or Kosovo for at least six months and wish to request an appointment to file I-130 petition, please send an email message to consularskopje@state.gov. You will need to provide your full name, your spouse's name or child's name and your telephone number. Please see the IV Appointments page for more details on filing a petition at the embassy. If you are not a resident of Macedonia or Kosovo, please contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the United States to file an I-130 petition.

» Documents required at the time of filing an I-130 petition.
» Read more about family-based immigrant visas.