Visa Categories

Glossary

As in many specialized fields, "immigration" has its own special vocabulary. Understanding the basic terminology can make applying for your spouse's or family member's visa easier. We present this glossary of common terms in hopes that it makes the visa process more understandable for you.

• Beneficiary - The person, such as a foreign-born spouse, named in the petition, who seeks U.S. immigrant status.
• CONS - The U.S. Department of State's Consular Affairs Bureau, which is responsible for adjudicating visa and passport applications. 
• Immediate Relatives - The parent, spouse and certain natural, step or adopted children of U.S. citizens whose immigration is not numerically limited. See also "Preference Cases", defined below.
• CIS - U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), which is responsible for adjudicating petitions, entry into the U.S. and waivers of visa ineligibility.
• Packet 3 - Information that CONS sends to intending immigrant visa applicants after receiving an approved petition from CIS. This contains instructions for the documents that must be obtained and presented at the immigrant visa interview.
• Packet 4 - The immigrant visa appointment package that CONS sends to intending immigrant visa applicants who have been determined to be documentarily qualified and for whom an appointment has been scheduled.
• Petitioner - The U.S. citizen or lawful permanent alien (LPR) who is sponsoring a foreign citizen to enter the U.S. as an immigrant by filing a petition with CIS.
• Petition - A CIS form used to identify the person who will immigrate to the U.S.   All CIS forms (i.e., forms beginning with an 'I' ) are available on the Internet to download. 
• Preference Cases - Categories of persons eligible for immigration where the number of visas available each year is numerically limited, such as the siblings and adult children of U.S. citizens, the spouses and children of alien residents, and workers.

Immigrant Visa (IV) Categories - IV categories are defined by law and are based on the relationship between the petitioner and the beneficiary. Detailed explanations are available on the internet at www.uscis.gov. Some of the major visa categories include:

CR-1 - Spouse of a U.S. citizen when the couple have been married less than two years.   See Conditional Alien Registration or Visas for the Spouse of an American Citizen for more information.

IR-1 - Spouse of a U.S. citizen when the couple have been married two years or longer.   See Visas for the Spouse of an American Citizen for more information.

CR/IR2 - Children of a U.S. citizen

IR3/4 - Orphans adopted abroad or to be adopted in the U.S. by a U.S. citizen. See Adoptions for more information.

IR5 - Parent of a U.S. citizen

K-1 Visa - Fiancee of a U.S. citizen.   Follow this link for more information.

K-2 Visa - Minor children of a K-1 visa holder

K-3 Visa - Spouse of a U.S. citizen whose petition (I-130) was already filed but not approved.

K-4 Visa - Minor children of K-3 visa holder.

F1 - Unmarried son or daughter of a U.S. citizen

F2A - Spouse or child of an alien resident

F2B - Unmarried son or daughter of an alien resident

F3 - Married son or daughter of a U.S. citizen

F4 - Brother or sister of a U.S. citizen

E1 - Persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers; and certain multinational executives and managers.

E2 - Professionals holding advanced degrees, and persons of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts and business (28.6%)

E3 - Professionals holding baccalaureate degrees and skilled workers with at least two years experience.

EW - Workers with less than 2 years experience

For immigrant visa (IV) inquiries,  please e-mail us at seouliv@state.gov.

The U.S. Embassy is closed on both U.S. and Korean holidays.

Updated 2006-02-27