V1 visa symbol meaning.

What V1 means in 22 CFR 41.12

Section 41.12 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations is titled “Classification symbols”. It opens: “A nonimmigrant visa issued to an applicant within one of the classes described in this section shall bear an appropriate visa symbol to show its classification. The symbol shall be inserted in the space provided on the visa.” Table 1 to that section then lists each symbol with its class and the section of law. The row for V1 is:

The statute behind the symbol

The “section of law” column points to the Immigration and Nationality Act. Most rows cite INA 101(a)(15), codified at 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15), the definition of “immigrant”, which lists the classes of nonimmigrant aliens by letter and begins: “The term “immigrant” means every alien except an alien who is within one of the following classes of nonimmigrant aliens”.

The V1 row cites “INA 101(a)(15)(V)(i) or INA 101(a)(15)(V)(ii)”. Subparagraph (V) reads, in the part the row relies on:

“subject to section 1184(q) of this title, an alien who is the beneficiary (including a child of the principal alien, if eligible to receive a visa under section 1153(d) of this title) of a petition to accord a status under section 1153(a)(2)(A) of this title that was filed with the Attorney General under section 1154 of this title on or before December 21, 2000, if— (i) such petition has been pending for 3 years or more; or (ii) such petition has been approved, 3 years or more have elapsed since such filing date, and—”

Source: INA 101(a)(15)(V)

Reading the V1 row against its neighbours

The V symbols come in three rows. V1 is the Spouse of a Lawful Permanent Resident Awaiting Availability of Immigrant Visa, V2 is the Child of a Lawful Permanent Resident Awaiting Availability of Immigrant Visa, and V3 is the Child of a V1 or V2. V1 and V2 cite the same pair of clauses; V3 cites them “& INA 203(d)”.

The statute is written around a petition filed “on or before December 21, 2000”. That date is part of the text. The page does not say how the provision is applied now, whether it is still used for new cases or what the agencies do with it; those are questions for the agencies and for an attorney.

Notice that the class name in the table (“Awaiting Availability of Immigrant Visa”) is a descriptive label and not statutory language. The statute itself talks about a petition “pending for 3 years or more” or “approved” with a three-year gap and an immigrant visa that is not immediately available because of a waiting list.

What this page does not tell you

A visa symbol is a label. Table 1 says what each class is called and where the classification comes from in law. It says nothing about who qualifies, what evidence is needed, how long anyone may stay, whether work is allowed or what an application costs. Those answers sit in other regulations and in agency guidance and they change, so use the lookup above to read the label and then take the question to the State Department’s visa pages (travel.state.gov, which blocked automated reading on November 2, 2026, so we have not cited its contents) or a licensed immigration attorney.

For other codes seen on immigration paperwork, see the EAD category code lookup, which covers a different code set, and the I-94 number format checker.

• M1 visa symbol meaning: M1, another symbol that Table 1 describes by reference to one clause of the statute.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 22 CFR 41.12 Classification symbols, Table 1 (current text; last amended 2023-09-12 per the eCFR version history) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR renderer API, the same section as machine-readable text (read November 2, 2026)
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: 8 U.S.C. 1101, definitions, subsection (a)(15) (read November 2, 2026)