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NVC stops processing cases for citizens of banned countries
The National Visa Center (NVC) has announced that it will suspend all processing of cases for citizens of the 7 countries listed in the Immigration Ban. Here is the text of the announcement:
Pursuant to the Executive Order on Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals signed on January 27, 2017, the Department of State has temporarily stopped scheduling appointments and halted processing of immigrant visa applications for individuals who are nationals or dual nationals of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The National Visa Center has cancelled all scheduled immigrant visa interviews for these applicants scheduled in February 2017. This includes all visa categories, whether they are family- or employment-based. Applicants for fiancé visas (“K” visas) are included. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. Once it is appropriate, the National Visa Center or a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad will notify you of a new interview date and time.
If you received an interview appointment in February and have not yet attended the required medical exam, please cancel your medical examination appointment. Medical exam results are only valid for six (6) months and we cannot predict when your visa interview will be rescheduled. When the National Visa Center or U.S. Embassy is able to reschedule your interview, they will contact you.
The National Visa Center will continue to work on in-process cases for these applicants up to the point of the interview. You should continue to pay fees, complete your Form DS-260 immigrant visa application, and submit your financial and civil supporting documents to NVC. NVC will review your case file and can qualify your case for an appointment. However, you will not receive a visa interview until further notice.
What if I have a visa interview scheduled in February?
Your interview has been cancelled. You do not need to take any action at this time. The National Visa Center will contact you with a new appointment date at the appropriate time. However, we cannot predict when that will be. Please do not call NVC to ask about an appointment; they have no information on the possible timing of future interviews.I have an emergency. Can I request an expedited appointment?
No. The Department of State may not conduct immigrant visa interviews for any persons who are nationals of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen at this time.Will my case move to the back of the line for a rescheduled appointment?
No. The National Visa Center schedules appointments in the order by which they became documentarily qualified. When NVC is able to reschedule your visa interview, you will receive an appointment before cases that completed their paperwork and processing after yours.I have a visa interview in February and I already paid for my medical exam. Can I get a refund?
That is up to the physician and/or clinic that conducted your examination. Medical exam results are valid for U.S. immigration purposes for six (6) months. If your interview is rescheduled and you enter the United States as an immigrant before your medical exam results expire, you will not need another medical exam.What visa categories does this affect?
This affects all immigrant visa categories, including immediate relatives; family-based and employment-based preference categories; follow-to-join family members of refugees and asylees (Form I-730); fiancé visas (Form 1-129F); and international adoptees (Form I-600A).I am currently working on my case with NVC. Can I continue?
Yes. You should continue to pay fees, complete your Form DS-260 immigrant visa application, and submit your financial and civil supporting documents to NVC. NVC will continue reviewing your case file and can qualify your case for an appointment. However, you will not receive a visa interview until further notice.
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Hello, please help.
I am LPR from Peru, my F2A petition is for my wife (main beneficiary / Russian citizen) and for my two children (1 and 3 years old). We are at NVC awaiting for interview letter. However, because of our travel/work, our youngest child was born in Iran. But it is NOT and Iranian citizen/national (No Iranian passport, only birth certificate). Our children have both Peruvian and Russian citizenship (Iranian law does not provide citizenship to a child born in Iran, and whose parents are foreigners residing in Iran). Given this, do you think that NVC will stop our case?
Thank you. God help us all.
Unfortunately, an individual may be a citizen of a country despite not having applied for a passport. (We see this issue often where a child has derived U.S. citizenship through a parent, often without knowing it. But the child is a citizen “by operation of law,” regardless of whether the citizenship has been documented.) We do not practice Iranian law, but a translation of Iran’s nationality statute reads as follows. Would your child fit into any of these categories?
Article 976 – The following persons are considered to be Iranian subjects
1 – All persons residing in Iran except those whose foreign nationality is established; the
foreign nationality of such persons is considered to be established if their documents of
nationality have not been objected to by the Iranian Government.
2- Those born Iran or outside whose fathers are Iranian.
3 – Those born in Iran of unknown parentage.
4 – Persons born in Iran of foreign parents, one of whom was also born in Iran.
5 – Persons born in Iran of a father of foreign nationality who have resided at least one more year in Iran immediately after reaching the full age of 18; in other cases their
naturalization as Iranian subjects will be subject to the stipulations for Iranian naturalization laid down by the law.
6 – Every woman of foreign nationality who marries an Iranian husband.
7- Every foreign n who has obtained Iranian nationality
Note – Children born of foreign diplomatic and consular representatives are not affected
by Clause 4 and 5 of this Article.
Thank you for your reply. No, none of the above apply to our child. Neither of us parents are Iranian, nor dual citizens of Iran (we are Peruvian and Russian), and weeks after our child birth, we left Iran. It was a sort of “Transit Birth”. Authorities there explained us that our child did not qualify for citizenship, nor passport. Now, please, forward to our current situation: my wife is the main beneficiary on the F2A and one our children was “only born” in Iran, the other in Peru. How do you think NVC will interpret this information? Will they process our interview anyways or stop our case altogether?
Thank you very much in advance.