Table 1.

Immigrant Visa Classifications.

Visa or Immigrant Type	Example Visa Category (if Applicable)	Number of Visas Allotted per Year	Notes
Immediate relative (IR) visa	IR1, IR2, IR3, IH1, IR4, IH4, IR5 CR1, CR2, VI5, IW	Unlimited*	Spouse, parent, or child (under 18 years old) of current U.S. citizen (U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2022)
Family sponsored (F) visa	F1, F2A, F2B, F3, F4	226,000 (minimum)	Children, parents, or siblings of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents (U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2022)
Employment sponsored visa	E1, E2, E3, E3, E4, E5	140,000	Permanent immigrants sponsored by employers in the U.S. (U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2022)
Refugee visa or Lautenberg visa	Various	Various	Refugees are individuals who fleeing their country due to persecution or harm related on the basis of race, religion, nationality, or affiliation with a political opinion or social group. Must apply for “refugee status” prior to arrival in the U.S. Lautenberg visa-holders represented a special case of refugees who were religious minorities in the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2017)
Asylum seeker or NACARA	Various	Not applicable	Asylum seekers are individuals who request protection to enter the U.S., but did not apply in their country of origin NACARA represents a special case for immigrants and asylum seekers from Guatemala, El Salvador, as well as the former Soviet Union and its holdings (e.g., East Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia)
Other Cuban visa	Various	Not applicable	Former H1 nurses in Cuba and their family
Diversity visa	DV	50,000	Immigration visas allotted to individuals from countries with low immigration to the U.S.; typically done via a lottery. (U.S. Department of State—Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2022)
Born abroad to U.S. Parents or Amerasian visa	AM1, AM2, AM3	Not applicable	Children who were born outside of the U.S. to U.S. citizens Amerasian visas represent special case of children who were fathered by U.S. servicemen and Asian nationals during the Korean and Vietnam wars (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2022)

Note.

^*A total of 480,000 family reunification visas are allotted between IR and F visas. However, visas are allocated to IR visas first, followed by F visa-holders. Asylum seekers do not arrive to the U.S. with a visa, but instead apply to obtain refugee status. NACARA = Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. “Visa Category” provided is not an exhaustive list of all possible visas.