The Immigration and Nationality Act sets out the categories for Family visa sponsorship. The Immediate Relative category is where U.S. Citizens sponsor their parents, spouses, or unmarried children under 21 years of age. There is no limitation to the number of Immediate Relative immigrant visas that can be granted in a year, so there is no waiting period for a visa to come available. Getting a green card still requires processing by USCIS and perhaps the National Visa Center, but there is no lengthy wait for the visa to come available. Preference categories are the other categories set out in the Act. They are: Family 1st-for unmarried children of U.S. Citizens over 21; Family 2A – for spouses and unmarried children under 21 of Permanent Residents; Family 2B- for unmarried children of Permanent residents over 21; Family 3- for married children of U.S. Citizens over 21; and Family 4 – for brothers and sisters of U.S. Citizens. Because of the limited number of immigrant visas authorized in the preference categories, there are substantial waiting periods before visas are available. Visa availability is listed on the U.S. State Department’s Visa Bulletin each month.