The U.S. immigration system provides a specific pathway for U.S. citizens to sponsor their siblings for lawful permanent residency and a green card. The Family-Based Fourth Preference (F4) category is for the brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens.
While this is a popular route for family reunification, the waiting time for the F4 category is the longest of all family-based visa categories to annual visa quotas and high global demand.
How the Wait Time is Shown on the U.S. Visa Bulletin
The wait time for an immigrant visa in the F4 category is determined by the United States Department of State’s Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin lists the priority date https://enterimmi.com/en/2022/09/29/what-is-a-priority-date-in-u-s-immigration/ for each preference category, which is the date on which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) received the Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (“Form I-130”) filed by the U.S. Citizen petitioner on behalf of the brother or sister. The priority date determines a foreign national’s place in line for an immigrant visa which is made available in the order in which their priority dates become current.
The Visa Bulletin is updated on a monthly basis and by reviewing the priority dates, we can estimate the current wait time for each preference category. This is determined by the number of immigrant visas that are available in the category, and the demand for visas from individuals who are waiting in line.
Table A
Important Note: For February 2026, USCIS has confirmed that family-based applicants should use the Dates for Filing (Table B) chart to determine when they can begin submitting documents to the National Visa Center. Verify your visa category’s priority date “Date for Filing” in Table B.
Table B
Managing the Long F4 Visa Processing Time
If you filed a Form I-130 today, the F4 category visa waiting time for nationals of some countries can exceed 20 years. Thus, it is crucial to remember the following:
∙ Non-Linear Movement: Priority dates do not move forward by one month every month. They can stall or even move backward (retrogression).
∙ Derivative Beneficiaries: Children of the sibling may “age out” during this long wait. Consulting with a S. immigration lawyer is vital to understand protections under the Child Status Protection Act which was enacted to try to protect children from “aging out” (turning 21 years old) and become ineligible.
The waiting time for an immigrant visa in the family-based fourth preference immigrant visa category can be extremely long, but it is possible to immigrate to the United States through this category if you are the sibling of a U.S. citizen. Contact Enterline Immigration Consulting if you have questions about U.S. visas at info@enterimmi.com and speak with an experienced U.S. immigration lawyer.
If you have question about the F4 Visa Bulletin Update: Waiting Time for Family-Based Sibling Immigration, contact us at info@enterimmi.com