How To Work With Dinsmore & Shohl LLP To File Your (And Any Family Members') Application
For An Immigrant Visa At The U.S. Consulate
If the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) has approved an employment-based
Immigrant Petition on your behalf and your priority date (place in line under the
immigrant quota system) is current, you (and your family members, if any) may proceed
to the last stage of your Green Card case and file for Permanent Resident status
with the CIS by applying for an Immigrant Visa at a U.S. Consulate in your home
country.
While each Consular office has specific requirements for Immigrant Visa Applications,
there are common elements of every Immigrant Visa Application. Our staff will contact
you regarding the specific requirements of the location where you will be applying,
but in the meantime, you may wish to proceed with preparing, collecting and sending
us the items below as indicated.
What Can You Do To Maximize the Chances of Filing Your Permanent Residence Application
As Soon As Possible?
We are eager to help you file your application. We have designed the following guidelines,
suggestions and materials to make the process as efficient as possible. Please take
the following steps:
Instructions
Please read our instructions regarding the completion of our two part checklist.
Complete the forms
Please work with your family members, if any, to complete and sign the application
forms listed in the checklist at your earliest opportunity. If you have questions
about an item on the form, or do not understand a question, please put a "?" in
that space or write your question in that space and send us the completed forms
listed below. Your completed forms will simply be "drafts" so you may complete them
in your own handwriting (typing is not required). One of our paralegals or assistants
will contact you to clear up any questions that you have not answered if we cannot
find the answer in your immigration file.
Return the Forms in Part A and Other Items
to Us As Soon As Possible
The sooner that you supply us with the completed forms and other Part A items (listed
on our checklist), the greater your chances will be of filing more promptly.
Send Us All Supporting Documents Listed in Part
B to Us As Soon As Possible
The supporting documents for your case are listed on our Part B checklist below
and include the financial items/affidavit, photographs, Birth, Marriage and Divorce
certificates, and any other specified items. Please make sure that all copies are
clearly legible. The medical exam should only be secured if your priority date is
about to become current or is already current.
Alert Your Employer and Family Members About the Need to Travel Abroad for Your
Interview
At a later point, once you have filed the first stage of your Consular Processing
Application and have notified the U.S. Consulate or the National Visa Center that
you possess all necessary supporting documents, the U.S. Consulate or NVC will schedule
you and your family for an interview and issue instructions about completing the
required medical examinations. Sometimes U.S. Consulates provide short notice —
which can be less than a month. You may need to be outside the U.S. or outside you
home country for a week or so given travel time, attending the medical examination,
and appearing at your Consular Visa Interview, etc. You should notify all appropriate
parties to minimize any work or personal disruption caused by the foreign travel
and avoid surprises.
Let Us Know In Your Return Materials of Any Changes or Travel Inside the U.S.
To help you to file the first stage of your application as soon as possible, it
is important that we be able to reach you at all times. Delays in reaching you may
result in our not being able to file your application as quickly as we both would
like. In addition, last minute address, family (such as marriage) and job changes
can cause the need to revise all documents, and will impede our processing your
case. Therefore, please alert us to any recent or upcoming address changes, job
changes, salary changes, or other factors that we should know about.
Things Not To Do
Please do not call or email us with questions about your application. Instead simply
note your questions in your responsive materials or cover letter. If you believe
that there is an unusual situation that merits our involvement, please include a
brief explanation so that we have an advance understanding of your situation if
we need to contact you.
Please do not contact us with requests for status updates or progress requests.
As we are sure you will understand, we cannot answer status requests without it
impairing our ability to complete and file cases. We will send you an e-mail when
we have filed your case.
The Goal
We are eager to help your employer and you to prepare and file the first stage of
your (and any family members') applications as quickly as possible. We are confident
that if you follow these instructions, we can work together to ensure a timely case
filing. Thank you for your cooperation.
PART A
Please complete the below listed forms first (Item 1) for you and each family member
who will apply with you.
Please enclose copies of the front and back of each person's I-94 card and a complete
copy of each person's passports (both current and expired passports). Please send
these items to us as soon as possible.
Please complete and sign the enclosed checklist for each part. We suggest you consider
using an overnight courier service to send us your materials. Please address your
packet to:
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
ATTN: Amy Cova
255 East Fifth Street
Suite 1900
Cincinnati, OH 45202-4720, USA
__________________________________________
PART B
Please send us the items listed on this Part B checklist as soon as you can (using
the same sending instructions as above apply).
PART A
IMMIGRANT VISA/CONSULAR PROCESSING CHECKLIST
Please Attend to This FIRST
_____ 1. Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration
- Form DS 230 Part I
http://foia.state.gov/FORMS/visa/ds0230.pdf
- Form DS 230 Part II
You and EACH member of your immediate family who will be applying (spouse and children
beneath the age of 21) must complete and sign one copy of these Part I and Part
II forms. Please complete the forms as thoroughly as possible. Please do not leave
any blanks. If you have any questions, please enter a "?" and mark any comments
or questions next to the question or on a separate attachment. Please note that
the Part I item 20 should correspond with your visa history in the United States.
Please send us complete copies of all of your passports – valid and expired -- including
blank pages. Please do the same for each family member who will be applying for
an Immigrant Visa with you. Passports must be valid for travel to the United States
and must have at least six (6) months validity beyond the date that the U.S. Consulate
issues you your Immigrant Visa. Children may be included in their parents' passports,
but if they are older than age 16, their photographs must be formally included in
their parents' passport. It is always best for each family member to have his or
her own passport.
_____ 3. Current Evidence of Status
Please send us a copy of the front AND back sides of your most recent CIS Form I-94
Card. If applicable, please also send us a copy of any CIS Approval Notice by which
the CIS has extended or changed your or your family members' status the date of
your/their last entry into the U.S. Please make sure to send us this documentation
for any family members who will be applying with you for Immigrant Visas. Please
ensure that all copies are clear and legible.
PART B
IMMIGRANT VISA/CONSULAR PROCESSING CHECKLIST
Please Attend to This SECOND
_____ 1. Immigration-Style ("ADIT") Photographs
You and each family member applying with you will need to obtain three (3) immigration-style
color photographs. The photos must meet the specifications listed on the
Color Photograph Specification sheet.
A NOTE ABOUT TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENTS. The U.S. Consulate will require a
typed, English-language translation of any documents that are not written either
in English or in the language of the country in which you will make your Immigrant
Visa Application. You may prepare your own English language translation. Each translated
document must be accompanied by a Certification by Translator
signed by someone (other than you or a family member) who has knowledge of the language
in which the document is written and the English language. Again, please attach
a completed and signed Certification by Translator to each document not in
English.
_____ 2. Birth Certificate
Please send us the "long form" version of your Birth Certificate. (A wallet size
certificate is usually not acceptable.) Long-form certificates contain the following:
(1) date and place of birth; (2) your name; and (3) your parents' full names. Please
send us Birth Certificates for any family members applying with you. If a Birth
Certificate is not available for you (per the instructions above regarding the availability
of documents), you may need to obtain (i) a Certificate of Nonavailability from
a governmental authority in your country of birth confirming that the certificate
does not exist, or no longer exists, and (ii) two affidavits from persons familiar
with the circumstances of your birth, such as your parents or an elder relative.
If this applies to you, please send a one sentence e-mail to our staff member assisting
you with your Visa Application stating your name, and the words "need Birth Affidavit
instructions," and the name of any family members needing a Birth Affidavit.
_____ 3. Marriage Certificate
If you are married, please send us a copy of your Marriage Certificate (that meets
the criteria specified on the State Department website listed above). You should
retain the original or certified copy in a safe place.
_____ 4. Divorce, Annulment or Death Certificates
for Prior Marriages
If you or your spouse has ever been previously married, please provide us with a
copy of the Divorce, Annulment, or Death Certificate which terminated such prior
marriage. Please retain the original in your possession. In some countries, the
Divorce Courts will issue both "Decree Nisi" and "Decree Absolute" certificates.
The "Decree Absolute" is the certificate required by the U.S. Consulate.
_____ 5. Police Certificate
Each Visa Applicant over the age of 16 years must obtain a Police Certificate from
every country in which the applicant has resided for more than one year since reaching
the age of 16. These Police Certificates are required from the applicant's home
country, as well as from all other countries where the applicant lived for more
than one year since reaching the age of 16. Police certificates indicate if the
applicant has ever been arrested or convicted of a crime or has ever been involved
in a criminal proceeding. The certificate must contain the nature and outcome of
any such criminal proceedings. These certificates are not available from certain
countries (please see the reciprocity link above regarding the State Department's
reciprocity table to determine whether a police certificate should be available).
_____ 6. Court and Prison Records
If any applicant has ever been convicted of a crime anywhere in the world at any
time, he or she must obtain a Certified Copy of each court record and/or any prison
record, regardless of the fact that he or she may have benefited subsequently from
an amnesty, pardon or other act of clemency. Please provide us with copies of such
records if this item applies to you.
_____ 7. Military Records
You must obtain a certified copy of any military record, if applicable and obtainable.
If you are applying for an Immigrant Visa based on marriage, please complete one
Affidavit of Support form to the best of your ability and return it to us. If you
are not married, you will not need to complete this form.
_____ 9. Evidence for Affidavit of Support
If you need to complete a Form I-134, please supply us with a complete copy of your
latest Form 1040 U.S. Individual (Federal) Income Tax Return, plus a copy of your
Form W-2 that accompanied your latest Form 1040.
Please also include a statement from your bank or investment account to confirm
the name(s) of the account holders and the current account balance.
Lastly, please provide us with your current annual salary and your current job title.
_____ 10. Vaccination Requirement
A medical examination is required of all applicants and must be conducted
by a physician approved by the U.S. Consulate where you will apply for your Immigrant
Visa. You will not be able to arrange for your medical examination until the U.S.
Consulate schedules you to appear for your Immigrant Visa Interview. Your medical
examination will take place a few days before your appointment at the U.S. Consulate,
and will be conducted by a doctor in the country where you will have your visa interview.
(You cannot have your medical examination completed either by a physician of your
choosing or in the U.S.) One of the conditions with which you must comply under
U.S. Immigration Law is completion of certain vaccinations against vaccine-preventable
diseases. Please review our summary regarding the
Vaccination Requirement and begin now to document your compliance with this
requirement.
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