What happens to my Non-Immigrant Visa when I apply for an Immigrant Visa? Hi, I'm Jim Hacking, immigration lawyer practicing law throughout the United States at our offices in St. Louis, Missouri and San Diego, California. One of our members of the Immigrant Home Facebook Group was wondering, why did my Non-Immigrant Visit Visa to the United States get canceled when I applied at the embassy to get my Immigrant Visa stamped? That's an interesting question that comes up from time to time. People seem to get confused, but you have to remember something that we talk about often on these videos, which is immigrant intent. Once you have demonstrated the immigrant intent, it is very, very difficult to get a Visit Visa and/or a Student Visa, any Non-Immigrant Visa. It can also lead to the cancellation of Non-Immigrant visas that you have already received. So, in this scenario, the person had a multiple-entry, several year-long Visa that allowed them to come and go to the United States to visit.
Their sibling had filed for them for an Immigrant Visa, and the visa number had finally become current. So, the non-immigrant sibling overseas began the processing of their Immigrant Visa to come and stay in the United States. An Immigrant Visa is when you're applying for a Green Card, when you want to come and stay and reside permanently, and that's inconsistent with the purposes of a Visit Visa. Now, this doesn't always make a lot of sense, and as my wife just said to me, "Out on that beach over there, what do they care? Why does the State Department care who's going to come on a Visit Visa or who has a Non-Immigrant Visa? It really shouldn't matter either way." So, I get that frustration. But the fact of the matter is, is that as soon as you start dabbling in immigrant visas, if someone files an i-130 petition for you, the chances of you're ever getting a Visit Visa or a Student Visa after that are very, very small.
So, if you're trying to do both, you should always do the Non-Immigrant Visa first. But in answer to this member's question, you should not be surprised if you apply for an Immigrant Visa, and thereby wave your hand and say, "Hey, I want to live in the United States," that by demonstrating immigrant intent, that any Non-Immigrant Visas you have could be subject to revocation, and it might make it very difficult for you ever to get a Non-Immigrant visa again. So, if you have questions about this or wondering about the interplay between Non-Immigrant visas and Immigrant Visas, feel free to give us a call (314) 961-8200. You can email us at [email protected]. Be sure to join us on our Facebook group, which is called Immigrant Home, the one I just mentioned a little earlier. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and every Tuesday and Thursday we're live in the YouTube channel and on our Facebook group, usually at noon Central, answering as many of your immigration law- related questions as possible. Thanks a lot, and we'll see you next time.
