Family Reunification

The immigrant visa process begins when an American Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident files a petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security. American Citizens may file petitions for their fiancé(e), children, spouses, parents, and siblings. Legal Permanent Residents may file petitions for children and spouses.

-The U.S. Interests Section (USINT)

Simply reducing the number of people admitted under each of the family categories would serve to reduce overall immigration, but would do so simply by increasing the waiting lists, making our immigration process even more dishonest and opaque than it already is...The only way to construct a transparent system which admits fewer family immigrants is to eliminate entire categories, and admit everyone in the remaining categories... family immigration should be limited to the spouses and unmarried minor children of Americans. Husband, wife, and young children constitute the family core, and these should be the only relationships which should trigger special immigration rights.

-Mark Krikorian, Executive Director at CIS