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Effective immediately, Consular section may accept Form I-130, Form I-360 and Form I-600 under the following conditions:
1- The petitioner is a resident of the consular district. The Consular section is allowed to accept I-130 petitions from U.S. citizens who reside within the consular district and have done so for the previous six months. U.S. citizens whose principal residence is not in the consular district, and/or who have entered the consular district as a temporary visitor/student/or with limited leave to enter and remain must file the petition with the appropriate USCIS service center in the United States or in their consular district of residence. The U.S. petitioner must provide appropriate evidence that he/she has permission to reside in the consular district or, if he/she is a member of the U.S. military stationed in the country, a copy for the petitioner’s orders.
2- The petitioner must have maintained continuous residency in the consular district a minimum of the preceding six months in order to demonstrate residency.
Petitioners should contact our call center at 0900-70600 to set up an appointment. Prior to the appointment, the petitioner must prepare the petition packet and assemble originals of all required documents. The petitioner should follow the directions on the I-130 form carefully to avoid delays.
The petition will not be approved without the personal appearance of the petitioner, and the payment of the proper fees. Each I-130 petition should also be cleared by the National Visa Center.
STEP I (Form 3.5A)
From the U.S. Citizen Petitioner:
1) Complete the immediate relative petition (Form I-130).
2) Submit the documents that are needed to support the petition (see attached Form 3.5A).
3) Proof that the petitioner has maintained continuous residency in the consular district a minimum of the preceding six months in order to demonstrate residency.
STEP 2
From the Immigrant Beneficiary of the Petition filed by the U.S. Citizen:
After the I-130 petition is filed and cleared from the U.S., a packet of forms and instructions necessary for the visa interview will be mailed to the beneficiary. This is in addition to his/her assigned case number. The visa interview can be scheduled as soon the packet is returned completed to the Consular Section. It is important to note that the beneficiary should complete the application for the visa interview only if he or she wants to travel to the United States in the next six months.
When the beneficiary has completed all of the forms in the immigrant visa packet he or she should send the application and all supporting documents to the Consular Section by DHL.
Within 2 – 4 weeks of receiving the completed application we will send a letter to the beneficiary with the visa interview appointment. We schedule interview appointments on a first come, first served basis and cannot expedite appointments.
The beneficiary should appear for their visa interview at the appointed date and time and pay the required fees. If the application is complete and the case does not require further processing, a visa may be issued. The beneficiary will receive the visa in his/her passports, which will be shipped via DHL.
Consular fees
The fees for filling a petition and for processing an immigrant visa application can be found here.
The fees should be paid in cash on the appointment date. Checks, money orders and credit cards are unacceptable methods of payment.
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