Embassy of the United States Riga, Latvia

The following familial categories are eligible to qualify for immigration as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens:

• Spouse or minor child of a U.S. citizen
  An immigrant visa application may be processed for a child only if he/she has NO claim to U.S. citizenship.

• Parent of a U.S. citizen
  U.S. citizen must be 21 or over.

• Step-parent or child of a U.S. citizen
  The step-parent, step-child relationship musft commence prior to the child’s 18th birthday

• Spouse of a deceased U.S. citizen
  The spouse of a deceased U.S. citizen may be eligible for designation as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, if the couple were married for at least 2 years at the time of the citizen's death, and were not legally separated at the time of the citizen's death. In these cases, the petition must be filed within 2 years of the death of the U.S. citizen. Please contact the embassy if you require further instructions.

Note: Grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, and cousins cannot sponsor a relative for immigration.

How long does it take before my family members can immigrate?

The process for receiving an immigrant visa for your foreign-born spouse, children or parents could take anywhere from 12 WEEKS to 6 MONTHS.

How to start the immigration process?

The first step in the immigration process is filing an immigrant visa petition I-130 (except when participating in the DV lottery).  Usually, U.S. citizens must submit petitions I-130 for their eligible alien family members to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Chicago Lockbox:

Address for regular mail deliveries:
USCIS
P.O. Box 804625
Chicago, IL 60680-4107
USA

Address for express mail and courier deliveries:
USCIS
Attn: I-130
131 South Dearborn-3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60603-5517
USA

Upon receipt of a petition USCIS will distribute it to their appropriate office for processing.

U.S. citizens resident abroad, in a country with a USCIS international office

U.S. Citizens residing abroad in a country with a USCIS office have the option of sending their I-130 forms and supporting documents to the Chicago Lockbox, or they may file their Forms I-130 at the international USCIS office having jurisdiction over the area where they live. List of countries with USCIS offices is available here: http://www.uscis.gov/. There is no USCIS office in Latvia. 

Exceptional filing of I-130 petitions with the U.S. Embassy in Riga

U.S. citizens may be able to file petitions (form I-130) with the U.S. Embassy in Riga ONLY when exceptional/emergency circumstances exist. Please click on this link for more details.

What happens next?

If your petition was filed in the United States and you have your petition number, you may check the status of your petition on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) website: http://www.uscis.gov/. After your petition is approved and you have received instructions to proceed with your visa application, you must prepare and submit a packet of documents to the NVC (immigrant visa applicants) or the embassy in Riga (K visa applicants and immigrant visa applicants with locally-filed petitions).

If your petition is filed with the U.S. Embassy Riga and the consular officer determines that the petition is clearly approvable, the Consular Section then conduct the mandatory H.R.4472 Adam Walsh Act clearance on the petitioner. Once satisfactory clearance is received, U.S. Embassy, Riga approves the petition and provides guidance to the petitioner and the beneficiary about the remaining steps in the immigrant visa application process. For more information please see guidance for visa applicants with approved petitions.