IMMIGRANT VISA – TIMEFRAME, DECISIONS AND APPEAL
“wHEN WILL I GET MY IMMIGRANT VISA?”
This is one of the most frequent questions we receive. Acquiring an immigrant visa is a lengthy, complicated process. It takes an average of two to three months from the time of the applicant’s first visit to our office, after being notified to appear, until the visa is issued. We are committed, however, to processing all immigrant visa applications as expeditiously as possible, given our resources and all relevant laws and regulations. We are also committed to giving applicants who contact us as precise an explanation as possible on the status of their cases.
Important Notes
Many factors, such as the need for administrative processing and/or incomplete applications may influence the processing of individual visa cases. Documentary requirements also sometimes change, and you may be asked several times to provide additional documents. Please note that the above suggested processing times are an estimate, and that the timing will vary according to individual circumstances of each case.
Information about timeframes for cases requiring administrative processing can be found here.
Many factors, such as the need for administrative processing and/or incomplete applications may influence the processing of individual visa cases. Documentary requirements also sometimes change, and you may be asked several times to provide additional documents. Please note that the above suggested processing times are an estimate, and that the timing will vary according to individual circumstances of each case. .
While some applicants may receive their immigrant visa a few days after their visa interview, others may never get it, because they are ineligible under U.S. Immigration law.
Information on visa ineligibilities can be found here.
rEFUSALS
Final refusals - Final refusals are made for cases found ineligible based on a specific part(s) of U.S. immigration law. Additional information on ineligibilities can be found under the notes above. For any questions on appeal procedures for a final refusal, please see the “reconsiderations” paragraph below.
Temporary refusals – These refusals are made on the basis of section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits the issuance of a visa to anyone whose application does not comply with the provisions of the INA or regulations issued pursuant thereto. Applicants refused on such basis are given a letter explaining what is required of them to overcome this refusal.
RECONSIDERATIONS
In some cases, an applicant may be refused. When this occurs, our office will send back the file to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with a recommendation for revocation, stating the reason for the denial.
USCIS will then send a notice of intent to revoke the petition, providing the petitioner with information on the interview and reasons for denial, and giving him/her a notice to respond in writing, within 30 days, with their opposition to the proposed denial, and to provide additional evidence in support of their petition. If the petitioner gives a satisfactory response, USCIS will reaffirm the case and send it back to our office for reconsideration. We may then review the information provided and reconsider the original decision, in accordance with established procedures. A reconsideration, however, does not guarantee a visa will be issued.
Visa Service
Immigrant Visas
Petitions-filing in Djibouti
Petitions-filing in the US
Photo requirements
Download IV forms
Fees
Diversity Visas (DV)
Follow-to-join Refugee/Asylee cases
Lawful Permanent Residence (Green Card)
Resources for New Immigrants
Glossary of visa terms
