Immigrant Visa Information

All persons who plan to travel to the United States to establish permanent residency must obtain an immigrant visa prior to entering the United States. In general, any applicant for an immigrant visa must be the beneficiary of an approved petition. Certain applicants such as priority workers, investors, certain special immigrants, and diversity immigrants can petition on their own behalf. All other intending immigrants must have a relative or potential employer petition for them in the United States. Please visit the Department of State’s web site to learn more about the different processes for the major immigrant categories.

There are three key stages that almost all prospective immigrants must go through to obtain an immigrant visa. While the length of time and procedures may change depending on the visa category, all prospective applicants pass through some version of each of the following stages to obtain an immigrant visa.

STAGE 1: PETITIONS

In most cases, the immigration process starts with someone filing a petition on your behalf with the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (US CIS).

Diversity Visa (DV) applicants do not have to file a petition. Instead, your entry into the Diversity Visa Lottery will serve as your petition. Visit Travel.State.Gov for more information on filing a Diversity Visa Lottery application.

Petitions must be filed with the USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over the petitioner's place of residence. Visit USCIS to obtain more information about how to file a petition and the required documentation.

Petitioners residing overseas must file immigrant visa petitions (Form I-13) with the USCIS Chicago Lock Box. The U.S. Embassy in Lusaka can only except petitions in strictly-defined exceptional circumstances. Consular officers may accept I-360 petitions from widow(er)s of deceased U.S. citizens and I-600 adoption petitions from U.S. citizens when accompanied by an approved from I-600A.

The USCIS Chicago Lockbox address for regular mail deliveries is:

USCIS
P.O. Box 804625
Chicago, IL 60680-4107

The USCIS Chicago Lockbox address for express mail and courier deliveries is:

USCIS
Attn: I-130
131 South Dearborn-3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60603-5517

For additional information about how to file a Form I-130 with the USCIS Chicago lockbox, please see the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov or contact USCIS by phone at 1-800-375-5283.

STAGE 2: PREPARATION FOR THE IMMIGRANT VISA INTERVIEW

Once the petitioned is approved, you will be notified that the petition is being sent to the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC) or the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC), where it will receive a case number. If your petition is current, meaning that the State Department can process your visa application, you will receive instructions on how to prepare for your interview. For more information about priority dates, IV numerical limitations and cut-off dates please visit the Visa Bulletin.

If you have learned that your case file has been sent to the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka and you have not yet received instructions, please email consularlusaka@state.gov and include your case number in the subject line of your email. Once we receive your case file, we will email you instructions on how to prepare for and schedule your immigrant visa interview, including scheduling the medical exam. Please visit the following sites for additional medical examination information and details on required vaccinations.

STAGE 3: THE IMMIGRANT VISA INTERVIEW

Once your interview has been scheduled by the National Visa Center (or in K-1 fiancé cases, by the U.S. Embassy), arrive at the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka at your appointed time. Bring complete and organized documentation. An Embassy employee will review your documents and prepare your file for your interview with a consular officer. Screening time averages approximately 30 minutes to one hour. Incomplete and unorganized documents can delay the process. When your case file has been fully screened, a consular officer will call you to an interview window for an interview. If your case is approved, the visa will usually be issued for pickup at the Embassy in approximately 3 business days. This processing time is an average; timing will vary based on the individual circumstances of each case.

We cannot expedite immigrant visa interviews except in cases of emergency, such as military deployment or medical emergencies. In these cases, please inform us immediately by email so that we may do our best to be of assistance.

Applicants requiring additional administrative processing after the interview may experience delays (from several weeks to several months). We will inform applicants when this processing applies. For information about timeframes for cases requiring administrative processing, visit here.

If you are found ineligible for an immigrant visa, the consular officer will inform you of the reasons for the visa denial and advise you if the law provides for a waiver of your ineligibility. For information about cases refused 221(g) and ineligibilities under 212(a), please visit the Department of State’s web site. Following a 221(g) refusal, applicants can write ConsularLusaka@state.gov to reschedule for a follow-up appointment after they have collected the necessary documents or information that the consular officer requested in the original interview. Appointments will be usually scheduled within 1-2 weeks.

Adoptions

If you are considering adopting in Zambia, please note that Zambia is not a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect to Intercountry Adoption.  There are currently interim adoption procedures in effect pending final changes to adoption-related legislation.  As such, adoptive parents may find inconsistencies in timeframes and other aspects of the adoption process.  Please see our information on adoptions in Zambia.  If you decide to proceed with adoption in Zambia, please contact us early at acslusaka@state.gov so that we can ensure you receive the latest guidance and are prepared for the immigrant visa stage of the process.