The V visa applies to individuals who applied for an immigrant relative petition on or before December 21, 2000 (Date in which LIFE became effective). You may still apply for a V visa if you application has already been approved and it was filed more than three years ago and there are no available immediate immigrant visas. (Includes pending immigrant visas or adjustment of status.) If the pending application is denied the V visa status ends 30 days after the date of denial. V visa holders are given employment authorization. Applicants for a V visa who are outside the US at the time of the application will not be subject to the three and ten year bars on reentering the US following a period of unlawful presence. Applicants who are in the US are likewise not subject to the bars, nor are they subject to two other grounds of inadmissibility, entering the US without inspection and entering the US without the proper documentary requirements.
V visa holders will be eligible to apply for adjustment of status when an immigrant visa becomes available. However, if after obtaining the V visa, the person ever falls out of valid status, they will not be allowed to apply for adjustment of status. The person must include a $1000 penalty fee if they would be subject to the fee under section 245(i).
