Immigrant Visas
In general, to apply for an immigrant visa, a foreign citizen must be sponsored by a U.S. citizen relative(s), U.S. lawful permanent resident, or by a prospective employer, and be the beneficiary of an approved petition. Therefore, a first step is filing a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For information on this step, visit the USCIS website.
After an immigrant petition filed in the United States is approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), it is forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) for processing. NVC plays an important role in the next steps of the immigrant visa process by providing instructions to petitioners, sponsors, and visa applicants; reviewing required Affidavit of Support forms from sponsors; and receiving fees, application forms, and other required documents from visa applicants. For numerically limited family preference petitions, NVC contacts the petitioner once the petition’s priority date is about to become current.
The National Visa Center will only send cases to the U.S. Embassy in Lima with current priority dates. A Consular Officer in the Immigrant Visa section then interviews beneficiaries during their scheduled appointment to ensure that they qualify for resident status prior to issuing an immigrant visa. To check if your priority date is current, please review the monthly visa bulletin or contact the National Visa Center.
Please note that no assurances regarding the issuance of visas can be given in advance. A consular officer can make a decision regarding your visa application only after your formal application and all documents have been reviewed, and you have been personally interviewed by a consular officer. Do not make any travel arrangements to move to the United States, dispose of property, or give up your job until a visa has been issued to you and you have received your passport via DHL.
Information for Immigrant Visa Applicants with Appointments Scheduled after 23 September 2011
As of 23 September 2011, all immigrant visa applicants with interview appointments scheduled after this date must register via the U.S. Visa Service to arrange the return of their passport and visa via DHL. All applicants with appointments or visas approved prior to this date are not required to register with the U.S. Visa Service. There is no additional fee for this service.
Updated: September 22, 2011