Immigrant Visas

General Information

Persons immigrating to the United States are divided by U.S. immigration law into two general categories:

1. Those who may obtain legal permanent residence status without numerical limitation, and;
2. Those who are restricted by an annual limitation on the number of persons who may enter as permanent residents. The latter category is further divided into (A) family sponsored immigrants, (B) employment based immigrants, and (C) diversity immigrants.

Immigrants Not Numerically Limited

Immediate Relatives of United States Citizens: The spouse and minor unmarried children of a United States citizen, and the parents of a United States citizen who is over the age of twenty-one.

Returning Residents: Immigrants who lived in the United States previously as lawful permanent residents and are returning to live in the United States after a temporary visit of more than one year abroad.

Immigrants Subject To Numerical Limitations

Family Sponsored Immigrants:

1. First Preference: Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and children if any;
2. Second Preference: Spouses, children and unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent resident alien;
3. Third Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and children;
4. Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of United States citizens, and their spouses and children provided the U.S. citizens are 21 years of age or over.

Employment Based Immigrants:

1. Priority Workers: persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers (applicants in this category must have extensive documentation showing sustained national or international acclaim and recognition in the field of expertise.); and certain multinational executives and managers;
2. Members of the Professions: Professionals holding advanced degrees, and persons of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, and business;
3. Professionals, Skilled and Unskilled Workers: Professionals holding baccalaureate degrees, skilled workers with at least two years of experience, and other workers whose skills are in short supply in the United States;
4. Special Immigrants: Certain religious workers and ministers of religion, certain international organizations employees and their immediate family members, and specially qualified and recommended current and former employees of the United States Government;
5. Investors: Persons who create employment for at least ten unrelated persons by investing capital in a new commercial enterprise in the United States. The minimum amount of capital required is between $500,000 and $1,000,000, depending on the employment rate in the geographic area.

Diversity Immigrants:

Diversity Visa/Green Card Lottery

Official Information is ONLY available on the State Department website.  Specific instructions on how to enter the Diversity Lottery are available in October of each year, and the Lottery is run each November/December.  Electronic entry forms can ONLY be accessed via the State Department (see below).

Conditions of entry are subject to change each year, therefore Consular Posts are unable to provide detailed information, or accept applications. 

To be eligible to enter, the applicant must have completed a minimum of twelve years education including FOUR years of high school which must be the equivalent of a U.S. High School diploma (e.g. completition of 6th Form/year 12 in New Zealand) or qualify under Grade 7 employment standards as set by the U.S. Department of Labor.