The US V-3 Family Visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows the children of a V-1 or V-2 visa holder to enter the United States and await an immigrant visa.
US Family Visa V-3 – Benefits:
You can enter the United States immediately, while the current waiting period for an immigrant visa for spouses and children of Green Card holders is approximately five years;
You can apply for an Employment Authorization by filing USCIS Form I-765 and apply for a job;
You are free to travel within and outside the United States while your V-3 visa is valid.
The lack of an immigrant visa may be due to lengthy processing or due to an annual restriction on the number of visas issued.
US Family Visa V-3. Requirements and Documents
Requirements.
You can acquire V-3 status if you:
You are an unmarried child (under the age of 21) of the main V-1 visa holder or applicant;
You are the primary person on Form I-130 – Petition for Alien Relative that was filed by a U.S. resident prior to December 21, 2000;
have waited for at least the past three years to obtain resident status, but the application is still pending, or has been approved, but the immigrant visa is not yet available.
The National Visa Center will send a special Notice to all applicants who applied before December 21, 2000 inclusively and waited at least three years. There will be presented the necessary documents and instructions for applicants for an immigrant visa, as well as contact information. Documents for registration.
To apply for V-3 status, you must:
prove that you have waited at least three years for a decision from USCIS (the petition must have been filed before December 21, 2000);
Show that you have not received your V-3 visa turn even if USCIS has approved your application, or that your immigrant visa case is still pending;
provide Form I-539, Application for Renewal or Change of Nonimmigrant Status, and Supplement under letter A;
undergo a medical examination and provide Form I-693 – Medical Examination of Foreigners;
pay the required fee;
provide evidence of local family relationships to establish the reality of these relationships;
provide health and criminal records.
US family visa V-3. Duration of stay:
You can stay in the United States with a V-3 visa for two years. You can apply for a visa extension for up to two more years if there are free visas. You can stay in the United States on a V-3 visa for a maximum of 10 years, or upon reaching the age of 21.