IR2 Child Visa

What Is the IR2 Visa?

The IR2 Visa is a US immediate relative visa for unmarried children under 21 years old of a US citizen. It can also be given if the child is under the Child Status Protection Act and is treated as if he or she were under 21 years old.

IR2 child Visa applicants will receive ten year permanent residence shortly after their arrival in the US.

Some of the advantages of getting an IR2 visa for the child include:

• The child can live in the U.S as well as attend school and continue studies. Ultimately, the child has a Green Card and will be able to work without the need for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) in the future
• Also, the benefit of the IR2 visa and all the Immediate Relative Immigrant Visas in general, as compared to the Family Preference Immigrant Visas, is that they do not have an annual cap. Therefore, if the applicants meet the conditions and requirements of the visa, they can obtain the IR2 visa.
• Children who enter the U.S with an IR2 visa have the opportunity to become U.S citizens immediately. If the child who has an IR2 visa is under 18 years old, then they will get U.S citizenship immediately when they enter the U.S and state that they will live in the U.S with their parents. Those who are over 18 years old become permanent residents and receive their IR2 Green Cards, and can apply for citizenship when they are eligible.

IR2 Visa Processing Time

The processing time can take from 3 to 12 months to get an IR2 Visa from the initial application to the time the visa is granted. Since the IR2 visa does not have annual caps, the processing times are also much shorter than the Family Preference Visas. However, it is important to mention that the processing time varies depending on certain factors like:

• The country the alien belongs to.
• The current workload of the USCIS and the NVC.
• Unforeseen events like natural disasters.
• The accuracy and completeness of the petition that you have submitted.

After our FREE Initial Consultation I will be able to give you a more specific idea on how long should this Visa process take for your specific case, based on your particular set of circumstances.