QUOTE(greeneclipse @ Apr 12 2007, 06:50 PM)

What does this statement from USCIS actually mean ?
"...The immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, which includes parents, spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21, do not have to wait for an immigrant visa number to become available once the visa petition filed for them is approved by USCIS. An immigrant visa number will become immediately available."
Once the petition is approved is a visa immediately granted to spouses of US citizens?
How does this affect the wait time from filing of and I-130 to visa-in-hand?
thanks all for the help
Greeneclipse,
What that paragraph is refering to, is the number of visa that are available in a specific country by a number of different catogeries.
A person applying for a spousal visa is exempt from the visa limits set by the US state department, and therefore, once the I-130 has been approved, you would be able for a spousal visa "immediately" i.e the NVC process.
If for example a U.S. citizen is applying for a sibling, once the I-130 is approved, it could be as long as 10+ years before a "visa number" is available (due to the limitations set by the State Department) i.e. the NVC process.