Embassy of the United States

Before reviewing the materials on Fiancee Visas please read the attached document for important information about the rights available to you if you become a victim of Domestic Violence while in the U.S.  If english is not your primary language, please go to http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/pamphlet/pamphlet_5725.html where there may be a copy of this pamphlet in your native language.

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.

I-130 Petitions – filing for immediate relatives:

After August 14, 2011 Consular posts abroad are no longer authorized to accept I-130 petitions for spouses / immediate relatives, for immigrant visa classification,  from American citizens residing abroad.  ALL Petitions must be filed in the U.S. at the USCIS Chicago Lock Box.  Please check the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service website  at www.uscis.gov  for full instructions.

Consular Processing

Only in extreme emergencies, with PRIOR approval of our Regional USCIS Office, can Petitions be filed at the Consulate General.  Email the Consulate General in Auckland for further advice:  AucklandIV@state.gov

Family-sponsored Immigrant Visas

Applicants who believe they are entitled to immigrant status based on a relationship to a United States citizen or lawful resident alien, should request that relative to file a petition with the nearest office of the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) in the United States.

For detailed information please see the family immigration information page. 

To obtain the Petition form see the form I-130 page, USCIS website.

The Visa Application Process through NVC:

Once USCIS approves the petition, it is forwarded it to the National Visa Center (NVC) for preprocessing the visa application. NVC provides detailed instructions to the petitioner and the applicant and eventually (once all instructions have been complied with and all fees have been paid), NVC will send an Appointment Letter notifying the visa applicant of the date and time of the interview. The Embassy cannot advice you on when NVC might schedule your interview. Once NVC has scheduled the interview, the case file is forwarded to the Embassy in the country where the applicant resides.  Additional information regarding the visa application process by NVC is available on the NVC website.

The Immigrant Visa Interview:

Appointments are necessary for immigrant visa interviews, but the petitioner is not required to attend.

Applicants whose applications were processed by NVC should bring their valid passports, the medical examination report provided by the Embassy's panel physician, as well as any other documentation not already provided to NVC, to their visa interviews. Applicants whose applications were processed at the Embassy should carefully review the instructions they have received from the Embassy to ensure they have assembled all the necessary documents.  During the interview process, ink-free, digital fingerprint scans will be taken. Each applicant must appear in person for his/her interview. At that time all documents will be evaluated by a consular officer and a decision will be made.  

Visa Issuance is Not Guaranteed

No assurance can be given in advance that a visa will be issued to you. Only after all your documents have been checked and you have been interviewed by a consular officer, can a decision be made regarding your eligibility to receive a visa. Therefore, you should not resign from your employment, sell your property, or make final travel plans until you receive a visa.

Applicants may be found ineligible in accordance with immigrant visa law. 

Under U.S. visa law some people are permanently ineligible to receive an immigrant visa and are not eligible to enter the United States unless they have obtained a waiver of the permanent ineligibility. These include persons who have been afflicted with a disease of public health significance, a mental disorder which is associated with a display of harmful behavior, drug addicts/abusers, previous violations of U.S. immigration law, and those with criminal records. Anyone who has been arrested and/or convicted of any offense, regardless of when it may have occurred, is required to declare the arrest and/or conviction.

A determination on a person's eligibility for a visa cannot be made until the day of the formal visa interview.  If the applicant is found ineligible for a visa, the consular officer will advise the applicant if he/she is eligible to apply for a waiver of the permanent ineligibility and of the steps which must be taken to apply for and process the waiver. Further information is available from the Department of State website

General Immigrant Visa Questions

Before submitting your inquiry, please carefully review this web site, the USCIS website and the Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs website. Very often you will find the information you need. Due to the current volume of inquiries, our Visa Unit cannot promise an immediate reply to your inquiry.

If your inquiry concerns a visa that was not yet assigned a case number, you should first contact the NVC (National Visa Center), through: nvcinquiry@state.gov.

If your petition is pending approval with USCIS in the United States, you can check the status of the petition by entering your receipt number in the Case Status section of USCIS's home page.

Special Immigrants

Applicants who are described in Part II(b)(4) above, must apply must file a form I-360 petition with USCIS. An investor described in Part II(b)(5) above, must file a form I-526 petition with the USCIS.

Returning Residents

Returning Residents or immigrants who lived in the United States previously as lawful permanent residents and are returning to live in the United States after a temporary visit of more than one year abroad, for reasons beyond their control, must file a DSP 117 form (there is a non refundable fee as per the visa fees page) with a Consular Officer at the Auckland Consulate.  If the application is approved the applicant must obtain certain documents, have a medical examination by a consular panel physician, and undergo an immigrant visa interview. The returning resident visa Category SB1, is valid for six months for re-entry to the United States.

Fiancé(e) Visas

There is a specific non-immigrant visa available for Fiancés of United States Citizens. The couple must have met in person within the past 2 years. The U.S. citizen Fiancé must file an I-129F Petition with the USCIS in the U.S. If the I-129F is approved, and the visa issued, they must marry within 90 days of the alien's admission to the United States. For details see the Spouse and Fiancé(e) information page.

Employment Based Visas

Applicants who believe they are entitled to immigrant status based in proposed employment in the United States must have their prospective employer file Petition Form I-140 with the USCIS in the United States. Prior to filing a petition the proposed employer must also obtain certification from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, to certify that there are no qualified workers available for the proposed employment in the United States. See the employment-based visas page for further information.

Additional Numerical Limitations

In addition to the numerical limitations for each category of immigrant visa described above, there are limits on the number of immigrant visas per year which can be issued to natives of any single country. Some of these numerical limits are based on formulas, which change in relationship to each other, so that it is not possible to state a specific figure for each sub-category.

Whenever there are more qualified applicants for a category than there are available numbers, the category will be considered oversubscribed and immigrant visas will be issued in the chronological order in which the petitions were filed until the numerical limit for the category is reached. The filing date of a petition becomes the applicant's priority date. Immigrant visas cannot be issued until an applicant's priority date is reached. In certain heavily oversubscribed categories, there may be a waiting period of several years before a priority date is reached.

For latest information on all categories with quota restrictions, see the current State Department Visa Office Bulletin.

Additional immigration visa information:

• The USCIS website contains some more information on immigration matters.