Notice: Change in Visa Procedures

CONSULAR OFFICES ABROAD RESUME ACCEPTING
I-130 IMMIGRANT VISA PETITIONS

Effective March 20, 2007, consular posts abroad are again authorized to accept petitions for immediate relative immigrant classification (spouse, parent or minor child) from American citizens, who are resident in their consular districts and for certain other emergency cases.

To demonstrate residency in a consular district, American Citizen petitioners must be able to show that they have permission to reside in the consular district and that they have been doing so continuously for at least six months before filing the petition.  Individuals who are in the country on a temporary status, such as student or tourist, would not be considered to meet the residency standard.

In mid-January, U.S. consular offices overseas were instructed to cease accepting certain immigrant visa petitions because consular officers lacked the means to perform criminal background checks on American citizen petitioners, as required by the Adam Walsh Act.  In the weeks since, the Department of State and USCIS have developed a mechanism whereby USCIS will perform the required “Adam Walsh Act” checks for petitions accepted abroad by consular officers.

U.S. lawful permanent residents and American Citizens who are resident in the United States must file I-130 petitions at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Center having jurisdiction over their place of residence, as indicated on the USCIS website:  http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-130.pdf.