Regular Immigrant Visas

Overview of Family-Based Immigration Cases and Refugee/Asylee Cases

For family-based petitions, a U.S. family member (spouse, parent, child, brother or sister), the petitioner, must file a petition for their relative, the beneficiary, to join them in the United States. The immediate relative petition (I-130) must be filed with the USCIS office responsible for the petitioner's place of residence. Once a filed petition is approved, the petitioner and beneficiary will be given further instructions regarding required documentation and the visa interview. This time frame varies from country to country and could be as short as six months or as long as several years depending on the volume of immigration from that particular country. The beneficiary will work with the Consular Section to provide all the necessary documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, financial support, police records, and medical reports. After all documentation is submitted, a Consular Officer will conduct a visa interview.

Kinshasa Beneficiaries with IV Cases Pending

Residents of Congo who already are beneficiaries of approved family-based or refugee/asylee cases should contact the Consular Section to determine the status of their case file. Pending IV cases generally fall into one of three categories:

1. The file is located at the Consular Section in Kinshasa.
2. The file is located at the National Visa Processing Center in the United States. 
3. The file is located at another American Embassy that has agreed to process the case.

Once the Consular Section in Kinshasa is able to determine the location of the file, the Consular Section staff will advise as to the next steps. For those files located in Kinshasa, the beneficiary will be given instructions to complete the necessary documentation required, including the medical examination, before the visa interview can take place. For those files located in the United States, the Consular Section will notify the beneficiary when the file is transmitted to Kinshasa for processing. For those files located at other Embassies, the beneficiary can either travel as planned for case processing elsewhere, or request to have the file transferred to Kinshasa for processing.

Additional Information and Questions

Additional information on individual IV cases can be provided and questions can be answered by the Embassy Consular Section staff. Inquiries may be made by telephone or in person as follows:

• Telephone: Call 081-880-5847 on Mondays from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• In Person: Applicants who have confirmed that their petition is in Kinshasa may visit the Consular Section on Thursday from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.