Why do I have to wait many years in order to bring a family member here on a green card?

The number of visas available each year is set by the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). Immigrant visas for immediate relatives of United States Citizens – such as spouses, unmarried children under 21 years of age, and parents of United States Citizens at least 21 years old – are unlimited and always available.These cases do not have an additional waiting period of time other than the traditional processing times for the case at the time. However, immigrant visas for other family members who are not immediate relatives are numerically limited. When the demand for a green card is higher than the supply of granted cases for a given year, a wait list or backlog is created. Once an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative is filed on your behalf, you will be given a priority date that will be used to determine when an immigrant visa is available to you.