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Immigrant Visas

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is the minimum Age Requirement for the Petitioner?

There is no minimum age to file a petition for a spouse for immigration. However, you must be 18 years of age and have a domicile in the U.S. before you can sign the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for an immigrant visa for spouses and other relatives of U.S. sponsors.

Is a U.S. Domicile Required?

Yes, you must have a domicile (residence) in the United States before we can issue an immigrant visa to your spouse. This is because U.S. domicile is required to file an Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for all spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR-1) immigration cases.

What Does the National Visa Center Do?

After a Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) office in the United States approves the petition, it sends the petition to the National Visa Center (NVC). NVC does the following:
  • Assigns a case number
  • Sends Form DS-3032 Choice of Address and Agent to the applicant (your relative in Yemen). The applicant selects an agent. The agent can be anyone, including the applicant.
  • The NVC will mail all future letters (except for the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864) about processing the immigrant visa case to the agent. Make sure the postal address is correct and is kept up-to-date.
  • Sends the bill for the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support processing to the petitioner
  • Sends the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support to the petitioner after the petitioner pays the I-864 processing fee
  • Sends the bill for immigrant visa (IV) processing fee to the agent after the applicant sends form DS-3032 Choice of Address and Agent, to the NVC
  • Sends an instruction package to the agent after the agent pays the immigrant visa application processing fee, form DS-230
  • Reviews information for technical correctness and completeness.
  • Sends the petition to the embassy or consulate where the applicant will apply for a visa when the case file is complete

Note:It is important to follow instructions from the NVC carefully. Send the NVC only those things that it asks for.



How Do I Pay the Fees for the National Visa Center (NVC) Services?

The NVC sends bills for certain fees at the appropriate time in the immigrant visa process. It sends bills for these services to the following people:

Bill for processing the I-864, Affidavit of Support to the petitioner
Bill for immigrant visa processing to the agent
The NVC sends a correctly addressed, return envelope with the bills.

Remember these important things:
  • It is important that you use the return envelope provided to you when paying the fees
  • Don't forget to put the correct postage on the envelope
  • Don't pay the bill until the NVC tells you to do so
  • Don't send payments to the NVC at Portsmouth, New Hampshire
For further information see National Visa Center.

How can I upgrade a Petition - If I was an LPR and Now am an American Citizen?

Suppose you filed a petition for your spouse when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR). Now you are an U.S. citizen. You must upgrade the petition from family second preference (F2) to immediate relative (IR). You can do this by sending proof of your citizenship to the National Visa Center (NVC). To prove that you are a U.S. citizen, you can send:
  • A copy of the biodata page of your U.S. passport; or
  • A copy of your certificate of naturalization

 

What Is Conditional Residence?

If you have been married for less than two years when your spouse enters the United States on an immigrant visa, the permanent resident status is considered “conditional.” The immigrant visa is a CR (conditional resident) visa, not an IR (immediate relative) visa.

You and your spouse must apply together to the Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) to remove the “condition” within the ninety days before the two year anniversary of your spouse’s entry into the United States on an immigrant visa. The two-year anniversary date of entry is the date of expiration on the alien registration card (green card). See How Do I Remove the Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage?


How Long Does the process Take?

The length of time varies from case to case according to its circumstances, and cannot be predicted for individual cases with any accuracy. Some cases are delayed because the applicants do not follow instructions carefully. Sometimes the petitioner cannot meet Affidavit of Support requirements. In addition, the consular section may need administrative processing for your case. Administrative processing takes time.

  

What Can Be Done If the Petition Gets Lost?

We don’t want this to happen, but occasionally it does. Files can get misfiled; shipments of visa files have been lost. Usually a misfiled petition can be located, but in an emergency an embassy or consulate can issue a visa from the computer record and an original Notice of Action approval (Form I-797) from the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS).

Give the consular section time to locate the file, and it probably will. But all is not lost if the petition is really gone. Be sure to keep all correspondence you receive from the BCIS.


What If the Applicant Is Ineligible for a Visa?

Certain conditions and activities may make you, the applicant, ineligible for a visa. Examples of these ineligibilities are:
  • Drug trafficking
  • Having HIV/AIDS
  • Overstaying a previous visa
  • Practicing polygamy
  • Advocating the overthrow of the government
  • Submitting fraudulent documents
The consular officer will inform you if you are ineligible for a visa, whether there is a waiver of the ineligibility and what the waiver procedure is. See Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas for more information.

How Do I Find the Regulations about Immigrant Visas?

To read the relevant Department of State regulations on immigrant visas in 9 FAM 40.1 Note 1 and 9 FAM 42, select Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM)

What Is the Effective Date of the Child Citizenship Act?


The effective date of the Child Citizenship Act is February 27, 2001. Children who met these requirements on that date automatically became American citizens. Children who were 18 years of age or older on that date did not acquire American citizenship from the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.

Must the Child Get a Certificate of Citizenship?

Another section of the Child Citizenship Act provides that children (biological or adopted) of American citizens who are born and reside abroad, and who do not become American citizens at birth can apply to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security (BCIS) for a certificate of citizenship if the following conditions are met.
  • At least one parent of the child is an American citizen by birth or naturalization.
  • The American citizen parent has been physically present in the United States for a total of at least five years, at least two of which are after the age of 14. If the child's American citizen parent cannot meet the physical presence requirement, it is enough if one of the child's American citizen grandparents can meet it.
  • The child is under the age of eighteen.
  • The child lives abroad in the legal and physical custody of the American citizen parent and has been lawfully admitted into the United States as a nonimmigrant.
Children who acquire citizenship under this new provision do not acquire citizenship automatically. They must apply to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security (BCIS) and go through the naturalization process. 

How Does the Child Get a Passport Under the Child Citizenship Act?

You will need the following when the child applies for a passport:
  • Proof of the child's relationship to the American citizen parent. For the biological child of the American citizen this will be a certified copy of the foreign birth certificate (and translation if not in English).
  • The child's foreign passport showing the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security (BCIS) I-551 stamp in the passport, or the child's permanent resident card (green card);
  • Proof of identity of the American citizen parent(s)
  • Passport application, passport photographs and fees. Go to Passport Services for forms and full instructions.