Family Based Immigration
CHANGES TO FILING I-130 PETITIONS
Effective August 15, 2011, petitioners residing overseas will no longer be able to routinely file Forms I-130, Petitions for Alien Relative, with U.S. Embassies and Consulates except in locations where U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a public counter presence within the Embassy or Consulate. Petitioners residing overseas in countries where USCIS does not have a public counter presence will be required, starting August 15, 2011, to file their Forms I-130 by mail with the USCIS Chicago lockbox. U.S. Embassies and Consulates that do not have a USCIS presence will only be able to accept and process Forms I-130 in exceptional circumstances, as outlined below.
Forms I-130 that were properly filed at an Embassy or Consulate overseas where USCIS does not have a presence before August 15, 2011, will not be affected by this change.
Filing Instructions beginning August 15, 2011:
Beginning August 15, 2011, petitioners residing overseas who wish to file a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, may do so as follows:
- If the petitioner resides in a country in which USCIS has a public counter presence, the Form I-130 may be filed directly with the USCIS field office (see instructions below) or through the USCIS Chicago ockbox at one of the below addresses.
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If the petitioner resides in a country where USCIS does not have a public counter presence, the Form I-130 must be filed with the USCIS Chicago Lockbox at one of the addresses below, unless the petitioner requests and is granted an exception based on one of the criteria described below:
USCIS Chicago Lockbox addresses for regular mail deliveries:
USCIS
P.O. Box 804625
Chicago, IL 60680-4107
USCIS Chicago Lockbox address for express mail and courier deliveries:
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 visit U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services or contact USCIS by phone at 1-800-375-5283.
Filing at USCIS Overseas field offices:
From August 15, 2011, petitioners residing in a country where USCIS has a field office, with a public counter, may choose to file the Form I-130 either through the Chicago lockbox or at the USCIS field office.
Petitioners should contact the USCIS field office with any questions regarding the filing of petitions. For more information on where USCIS has overseas field offices and contact information, please visit: International Immigration Offices.
Exceptional Filing at U.S. Embassies or Consulates without a USCIS Field Office:
Beginning August 15, 2011, petitioners, who do not reside in a country with a USCIS field office, but who
believe that their situation merits an exception, may request an exception to allow the Consular Section at
the Embassy or Consulate to accept the filing. Each request for an exception will be evaluated individually.
A petitioner seeking to file a Form I-130 at an Embassy or Consulate where USCIS does not have a presence should contact the Consular Section to request consideration of the request for exception and explain the circumstances in detail. The Consular Section will then relay the request for an exception to the USCIS field office with jurisdiction over the Embassy or Consulate. The determination of whether the case presents exceptional circumstances that warrant an exception to the general filing process will be made by USCIS. USCIS will be publishing guidance on the circumstances that may qualify as exceptional on their website at: 21.12 Process for Responding to Requests by the Department of State (DOS) to Accept a Locally Filed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.
Please contact the Consular Section at ConsularLaPazIV@state.gov for further information.
Gathering Documents and Preparing for the Immigrant Visa Interview
The IV unit will send you a packet of information including a checklist of required documents. Once you have returned the checklist indicating that you have all the required documents, the IV unit will schedule the final visa interview
The Fourth Step: The Immigrant Visa Interview
The IV unit will schedule the final visa interview. You will need to have a medical exam. The fee for the medical exam is in addition to fees paid directly to the U.S. government. You pay this fee, in bolivianos, to the doctor directly. Appointments are necessary for immigrant visa interviews, but the petitioner is not required to attend.
After the Visa is approved:
If all the required documentation is in order and the interviewing officer is satisfied that the beneficiary qualifies for the immigrant visa, the visa will be authorized and printed. All your documents and your passport will be return to you by DHL courier to the city where you live in five working days of the interview date. If not, you will be instructed how to proceed with your case.
Additional information may be found on the main U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS can also be reached through their National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833).
Once you have received your immigrant visa, you must enter the United States within 6 months of visa issuance to obtain an alien registration receipt or "green" card (Form I-151 or I-551) that will allow you to live and work in the United States.
At the port of entry Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials will take the immigrant visa and stamp your passport with this number and make a notation that you are registered for an alien registration card. It normally takes several months for the USCIS to process and send the alien registration card to you.
In the interim, the passport stamp permits employment and travel until the card arrives. You may depart and return to the U.S. before you receive the alien registration receipt card, as long as the stamp in you passport has not expired. Should you wish to leave the U.S. and your stamp has expired and you have not yet received your alien card, you should contact the USCIS in the U.S. before departure to ensure permission to return to the U.S.
If, in the future, you plan to live outside the U.S. for more than 12 months, you must apply for a re-entry permit in the U.S. BEFORE departure. The maximum validity of this document is two years. If the relocation is permanent, you should formally abandon your permanent resident status by returning you "green card" to the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
Without a re-entry permit, any absence from the U.S. of 12 months or longer, or any residence established outside the U.S. is considered grounds for loss of permanent resident status.
Important Notice for Newlyweds:
If at the time of admission to the United States you will have not celebrated the second anniversary of your marriage, which is the basis of your immigrant status, you are subject to the provisions of section 216 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under these provisions, you will be granted conditional permanent residence by an officer of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at the time of your admission to the United States. You and your spouse will be required to file a joint petition (form I-751) with the USCIS to have the conditional basis of your status removed.
This petition must be filed within the 90-day period immediately preceding the second anniversary of the date you were granted conditional permanent resident status. If a petition to remove the conditional basis of your status is not filed within this period, your conditional permanent status will be terminated automatically, and you will be subject to deportation from the United States. You will be provided with written information about this status when your visa is approved and issued, which you should retain and use as a reference.