Embassy Georgetown’s Consular Section has significantly increased processing capacity in recent months. If your immigrant visa case has been documentarily qualified and pending an appointment from the National Visa Center (NVC), you should be receiving notification soon! Keep monitoring your email for updates from NVC.
Taking the time to adequately prepare for your immigrant visa interview will ensure that the visa application process at the Embassy goes smoothly. In this edition of our Ask-the-Consul, we will provide guidance on the actions you MUST take prior to coming to the Embassy for your interview.
Q: Hooray! The National Visa Center recently notified me of my immigrant visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy. What must I do to prepare for this appointment?
A: Applicants who follow all pre-interview steps and who come to the Embassy prepared, stand a better chance of being approved at the end of the visa interview. Failing to prepare may result in your case being delayed by several weeks. Help us to help you by following the checklist below!
Before your Appointment:
● Register your appointment online: After receiving your appointment notification from NVC, you MUST register ALL traveling applicants online at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-gy/iv. Registering each applicant provides us with the information we need to return your passport to you after your interview. Applicants who are not registered will not be able to pick-up their visas.
● Schedule your medical examination: As soon as you receive your appointment date, you must schedule a medical exam with one of our five approved physicians. For a list of the doctors and for other medical exam information, follow the detailed instructions at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/usvisas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/GEO-Georgetown.html#medical_exam_instructions.
● Upload any NEW documents: If you have new civil documents that were not previously submitted to NVC, such as a recently issued birth certificate or an updated police certificate (police certificates are valid for one year), you must upload those documents to your case record at https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx. Log in using your Case Number and Invoice ID you received from NVC. Failure to upload new documents will delay visa processing.
● Upload your petitioner and/or joint sponsor’s 2021 tax returns and bring them to the interview: In advance of the interview, you must upload those documents to your case record at https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx. Please also bring paper copies to your interview. Visa laws require consular officers to see these documents. Your visa will be delayed without these documents.
Day of your Appointment:
It is important that you bring all required ORIGINAL documents to your interview. We’ve created a checklist so you know what to bring:
● Appointment Confirmation Notification
● Passport with at least 6 months validity beyond travel date
● 2×2 inch photo for each applicant
● Original birth certificates (for all applicants and petitioner), marriage certificate, divorce decree or death certificate for spouse (as applicable)
● Police certificate (applicants 16 years and older) for all countries you lived in for more than 12 months
● Criminal or Court records if you were convicted of crime
● Financial documents from your sponsor or joint sponsor:
○ Form I-864 Affidavit of Support from your Petitioner and Joint Sponsor (if applicable). If your sponsor is combining his/her income with a household member, that household member must submit Form I-864A.
○ Most recent IRS tax transcript or Form 1040 and W2 from your sponsor
○ Form I-864W for IR-2 applicants under 18 years old
○ If your petitioner is NOT filing taxes, an IRS Verification of Non-Filing Letter is needed. Request this by going to www.irs.gov and selecting “Get our Tax
Record”, then “Get Transcript Online”. Follow the instructions thereafter.
Applicants are sponsored by a spouse or fiancé are encouraged to bring any documentary evidence of their spousal relationship, such as photos from trips together etc.
What you should know about entering the Embassy:
No large bags are allowed into the Embassy. Only a small purse and folder or plastic bag containing your application-related papers are allowed. To avoid delaying your entry, please bring only what is required for your interview. Certain items are not permitted in the Embassy including food, liquids, weapons, cell phones, photographic or video cameras, radios, or other electronic equipment. Due to the volume of applicants we see daily, we are unable to provide a baggage storage facility. Please consider this when planning your trip to the Embassy and come with just the necessities for your interview.
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“Ask the Consul” is a monthly column from the U.S. Embassy answering questions about U.S. immigration law and visa issues. Detailed information about visas and travel can be viewed at https://gy.usembassy.gov/, https://ais.usvisa-info.com/ and https://travel.state.gov/. Applicants are strongly encouraged to prepare their own documents and avoid third-party advice. U.S. Consular rules change frequently, and non-US government advisors often provide inadequate or inaccurate information. Please contact our Visa Information Service Center on toll free numbers: 1-877-246-6788 or 703-988-5765 if you have general visa questions.”
