The V Visa What does the "new" V visa mean? The new V1 and V2 nonimmigrant visas allow certain spouses of lawful permanent residents and the children of those spouses to travel to and from the US and to reside in the US while they wait for the final completion of their immigration process. It does not matter whether that process will be completed by adjusting status in the US or in securing an immigrant visa overseas. The spouse and unmarried children of lawful permanent residents who qualify for the V1 and V2 visas will be able to visit and reside with their lawful permanent resident family member. The V visas for adults will be valid for multiple requests for entry for ten years; for children under the age of 11, these visas will also be issued for multiple entries and with a 10 validity date; for children 11 years old or older, the visa will be valid for multiple requests to enter and will remain valid until the holder's 21st birth day. Moreover, holders of V1 and V2 visas may apply for employment. Click Here to obtain information on authorization documents to work in the US. Other benefits available with V1 and V2 status after admission or after INS has changed an alien's status Who does not benefit from the V visa? Among those who do not directly benefit from this "new" V visa are: Brothers and sisters of lawful permanent residents; Parents of US citizens; Grandchildren of lawful permanent residents; Beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant visa petitions; Individuals whose priority date is current and whose I-130 petition is already at an overseas post and who either have already been interviewed by a consular officer or have an interview date already set with a consular officer overseas. To qualify for a V1 visa, an applicant must be the spouse of a legal permanent resident. To qualify for a V2 visa the applicant must be the child of a V1 visa applicant or have been separately petitioned for by his or her lawful permanent resident parent (a child is defined in the law as an unmarried son or daughter under the age of 21). Though the Department of State has identified all individuals presently in its files who might qualify for either visa, there will be others whose cases will emerge as INS discovers files that it has not forwarded to the Department and still other cases will, with the passage of time, become eligible. Petitioners, their beneficiaries, and their legal representatives should examine the circumstances and timing in cases involving the circumstances set out below, to see if they meet or will meet sometime in the future the requirements for this new category of nonimmigrant visa. Eligibility for Spouse (V1): The spouse of a lawful permanent resident of the United States (a "green card" holder) may apply for a V1 nonimmigrant visa overseas, if the following conditions are met: The lawful permanent resident filed an immigrant visa petition for his or her spouse on or before December 21, 2000, and The spouse has waited three years since the filing of the petition and has not been scheduled for an immigrant visa interview. The spouse may be waiting either for INS approval of the petition or, if the petition was approved by INS, for availability of a visa number in order to complete immigrant visa processing. Eligibility for Children (V2): For the child of a V1 applicant to qualify for a V2 visa, it must be established that: he/she is the child of a principal applicant who qualifies for V1 issuance, or He/she is the child of an lawful permanent resident who filed an I-130 petition in his or her name, and the priority date and the three-year waiting period since the filing of the petition both meet the requirements of V eligibility.