The eb4 visa collects Congress’s special cases: religious workers, Special Immigrant Juveniles, long-serving U.S. government employees abroad, international-organization retirees, and others. Here’s the whole journey, in plain English.
Years of denomination membership required for religious workers, plus qualifying full-time religious work.
One petition starts every EB-4 case, filed with the category’s evidence.
The Visa Bulletin row to watch: a small allocation has produced significant backlogs for some groups.
Congress wrote these categories one by one. Category fit decides everything, and these eb-4 visa requirements, along with the eb4 visa eligibility and eb 4 visa application requirements, decide it.
2 years of denomination membership and qualifying full-time religious work, with a nonprofit sponsor.
children a state court has declared dependent, with findings that reunification with a parent isn't viable due to abuse, abandonment, or neglect, and that return isn't in their best interest.
certain U.S. government employees abroad, international organization and NATO retirees and family, and more.
EB-4 reaches people the regular employment categories never could, and each eb 4 category has its own rules.
Every step of the eb4 category green card runs the same way.
Establish the category-specific foundation. For SIJ, obtain the state court order with the required findings before USCIS is ever involved.
File Form I-360 with the category's evidence. Religious-worker cases include employer attestations and often site visits.
The filing date sets the priority date. The small EB-4 allocation has produced significant backlogs for some groups in recent years, so eb 4 visa processing time varies by category; watch the Visa Bulletin.
When current, file Form I-485 (SIJ applicants are forgiven many status and entry issues) or consular process.
Interview where required, then permanent residence.
the special immigrant petition, filed with the category's evidence.
adjustment of status, the eb4 green card application, filed when the EB-4 row is current.
immigrant visa application for consular processing through the NVC.
For Special Immigrant Juveniles, the state court order with the required findings comes before USCIS is ever involved. Later, SIJ applicants are forgiven many status and entry issues at the I-485 stage.
EB-4 is the rare category where the biggest number can be zero: the entire Special Immigrant Juvenile path is fee exempt, from petition to green card to work permit. Religious worker and other special immigrant cases pay the standard petition and green card fees, with no premium processing available to buy speed. Here is the current map.
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Special immigrant petition (Form I-360) | $515 | $0 for Special Immigrant Juveniles |
| Adjustment of status (Form I-485) | $1,440 per person | $950 for a child under 14 filing with a parent; $0 for SIJ applicants |
| SIJ work permit and travel documents | $0 | The SIJ fee exemption also covers the I-765 and the I-131 |
| Premium processing | Not offered | The I-360 has no premium option in the current fee schedule |
| Consular route (DS-260) | $345 per person | Employment-based immigrant visa fee for categories processing abroad |
No government fees, at any stage: the petition, the green card application, the work permit, and the travel document are all fee exempt. The remaining costs are practical ones, like certified records and translations.
Because two clocks run before the wait even starts: the state court can only act while it still has authority over the child, and the petition must be filed before age 21. Filing early locks the priority date; everything after that is patience.
No. The law permanently bars an SIJ-based green card holder, even after becoming a citizen, from sponsoring either parent. Other relatives can be sponsored later through the ordinary family categories.
Earlier than feels necessary. The R-1 runs out at five years while the EB-4 line moves slowly, so filing early sets the earliest priority date and preserves options. Even then, some workers face a gap abroad before the green card arrives.
Yes. Long-serving officers and employees of qualifying international organizations, plus certain spouses and unmarried children, have their own lane within this eb4 green card category. The requirements turn on years of qualifying residence and status, so old passports and employment records decide these cases.
You keep your place. The priority date holds it, a pending I-485 stays pending, and work and travel permits remain renewable while the line moves. Retrogression delays the finish; it does not undo the filing.
Category fit decides these cases. Tell us your story: the evaluation is free, and we’ll tell you exactly where you fit.
