Consular Processing Lawyer
When you apply for a green card your application may need to go through a system called consular processing.
Consular processing is one of the main ways individuals outside the U.S. apply for lawful permanent residence, either through family-based or employment-based immigration. Knowing how the process works can help you better prepare for each stage. Looking for more personalized guidance? Call Warren Law Firm at 415-362-2906.
Table of Contents
Request A Consultation
Meet The Attorney
Angela D. Warren
With more than 20 years of immigration and business immigration experience, Angela Warren has helped hundreds of individuals, families and businesses.
Get The Immigration Help You Deserve
What is Consular Processing?
Consular processing is the avenue used to apply for a green card when you live outside of the United States.
During this process:
- A sponsor files a petition for a green card on your behalf
- Your petition is approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC)
- The NVC manages case notifications, visaprocessing fees, and documents
- A U.S. consulate schedules a visa interview and processes your case
- Your visa is granted, and you receive a visa packet
- You’re admitted into the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident
Here’s an explanation of each part of green card consular processing.
A Sponsor Files a Petition for a Green Card on Your Behalf
Someone must petition on your behalf in order for you to apply for a green card and begin the I-130 consular processing procedure. The petitioner may be:
- A family member who is a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. This individual may file a family-based immigrant petition for you by submitting Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, to USCIS
- Your U.S. employer. Your employer may submit an employment-based petition on your behalf by filing Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker, to USCIS
For many families, the immigration journey begins with Form I-130. Once approved, the I-130 consular processing pathway lets eligible relatives living abroad continue the green card application through a U.S. embassy or consulate.
Your Petition is Approved by USCIS and is Sent to the NVC
When USCIS makes a decision about the petition filed, a notice will be sent to the petitioner, either the family member or employer.
If the petition is denied, the notice will explain why, and if the decision may be appealed.
It’s important to note that only a petitioner may appeal the decision on a petition, and not a beneficiary.
If the petition is granted, USCIS will send it to the National Visa Center of the U.S. Department of State where it will remain until an immigrant visa number becomes available to you.
Depending on the visa category and country of origin, applicants could face significant wait times before a visa number becomes available and they finish green card consular processing. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens usually do not have to deal with annual visa caps, but preference-based categories often experience longer processing backlogs.
The NVC Manages Case Notifications, Visa Processing Fees, and Documents
The NVC is the central processing center for applications for immigrant visas from outside the United States.
The center processes applications for green cards and other types of family-based immigration applications, and particular applications for employment-based visas.
When the NVC gets your petition, you and your petitioner will be notified.
The center will reach out to you both when a visa number is near availability, and when you should submit visa processing fees and the documents that support your case, which include Form DS-260, Online Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application.
Applicants must carefully review all required supporting documentation before they submit their application. Missing civil records, incomplete financial sponsorship forms, or inconsistent information could lead to delays in green card consular processing or requests for additional evidence.
Get The Immigration Help You Deserve
A U.S. Consulate Schedules a Visa Interview and Processes Your Case
After a visa has become available for you, or your petition has reached what’s referred to as a priority date, the U.S. consulate will schedule you for a visa interview and process your application to determine if you qualify for an immigrant visa. This stage is one of the final steps in the consular processing procedure.
What is a Priority Date?
A visa priority date is the date on which USCIS receives the immigrant visa petition that was filed on your behalf. It acts as your place in line when you are subject to annual caps. This date will be noted on Form I-797, Notice of Action, which the agency sends to you to confirm its receipt of your petition. In the case of family-sponsored petitions and I-130 consular processing, the priority date pertains to when Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative was submitted. Essentially, a priority date gives you a place in line to get a visa.
You can track your priority date on the U.S. Visa Bulletin, which is published monthly.
Why is a Priority Date Needed?
There are limits on how many visas can be issued each year. The time you’ll have to wait before you can get an immigrant visa and finalize your green card consular processing is dependent upon three major factors: preset visa limits per country, visa supply and demand, and the number of visas that are predetermined for a particular preference category.
When it comes to the immediate family members of U.S. citizens, there are no limits on immigrant visas—they’re always readily available. Immediate family members include a U.S. citizen’s spouse, children who are under 21 years old and are unmarried, and the citizen’s parents. Immediate family members also include widows and widowers of U.S. citizens (if the citizen submitted a petition before they died, and if the widow or widower petitions within two years of their former spouse’s death).
There are numerical limits, however, on immigrant visas for other family-sponsored visas and employment-based visas. As a result, these visas aren’t always readily available. Their limits are as follows:
- Family-sponsored preference visas—limited to 226,000 annual visas
- Employment-based preference visas—limited to 140,000 annual visas
When immigrant visa demand is greater than the supply for a particular year, demand exceeds a country’s visa limits, or is greater than the number of immigrant visas predetermined for a preference category, it creates a backlog—which is why a priority date is needed.
You may find that your wait time is heavily influenced by the country from which you are traveling. India, China, the Philippines, and Mexico have some of the longest backlogs, with applicants in some categories waiting upwards of 20 years to get a visa.
Get The Immigration Help You Deserve
Preparing for the I-130 Consular Processing Interview
One of the most important stages of the green card consular processing procedure is the visa interview. During your interview, a consular officer reviews your application, supporting documentation, immigration history, and eligibility for lawful permanent residency.
Applicants should be ready to answer questions honestly and consistently. In I-130 consular processing, officers may ask about the relationship history, prior marriages, financial sponsorship, and travel history. Employment-based applicants may have to answer questions about job qualifications or their employer.
Some applicants may also be required to undergo medical examination, background checks, or requests for additional documentation.
What Can Delay a Consular Processing Case?
Several factors can affect the timeline for green card consular processing. Incomplete documentation is one of the most common causes of delays. Missing civil records, financial sponsorship forms, or supporting evidence may result in requests for additional information. While some delays are outside an applicant’s control, others can often be avoided through careful preparation and accurate guidance from a consular processing lawyer.
Your Visa is Granted and You Receive a Visa Packet
If you’re approved for an immigrant visa, a consular officer will give you what’s referred to as a visa packet, which you should keep sealed because when you arrive in the U.S. at a port of entry, you’ll turn the visa pack over to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officer there.
After you get the visa packet, you must pay a USCIS Immigrant Fee, which the agency uses to process your visa packet and create your green card. You should pay the fee before you travel to the United States. If you want to pay it after you get to the U.S., USCIS will mail you a notice asking you to remit payment and providing directions on how to do so. If you fail to pay within the specified period indicated in the notice, you won’t get your green card.
What if You Can’t Pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee?
There are exceptions to paying the immigrant fee. Those who are exempted from paying it include:
- Lawful permanent residents who are returning to the U.S.
- Children who enter the country under the orphan and Hague adoption programs
- K nonimmigrants
- Special immigrants who are Iraqi or Afghan
If you don’t fit within any of those categories, and you’re unable to pay the immigrant fee yourself, it’s okay for someone else to take care of the cost for you as part of the consular processing procedure. Individuals who may pay the fee include:
- A member of your family
- A friend
- Your employer
- Your consular processing lawyer or accredited representative
You’re Admitted Into the U.S. as a Lawful Permanent Resident
After you travel to the United States and submit your visa packet to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, you will be admitted as a lawful permanent resident. Once USCIS verifies that you’ve paid the immigrant fee, the agency will mail out your green card and you’ll be done with the consular processing procedure.
You should expect your card to arrive within 90 days. To find out if it was mailed to you, you can check the USCIS Case Status Online System. If the system indicates that the card was mailed, USCIS should provide a U.S. Postal Service tracking number so you can monitor its delivery progress.
Do You Need to Talk to a Consular Processing Lawyer?
Green card consular processing can involve extensive documentation, government fees, long wait times, interviews, and strict procedural requirements. Minor mistakes could result in preventable delays and complications that affect your immigration timeline.
Your consular processing lawyer can help you prepare petitions, organize your supporting evidence, communicate with the National Visa Center, and address issues that can arise during the visa process. Legal guidance is also often helpful when dealing with inadmissibility concerns, prior immigration violations, and requests for additional evidence.
If you need to speak with a consular processing lawyer about petitioning for a green card, we can help you. Call our office today to request a consultation. Our team is here to answer your questions and provide the legal guidance you need.
