- About
The Immigration Justice Campaign
A joint initiative between the American Immigration Council and AILA seeks to change the playing field for immigrants facing deportation.
- Membership
Eligible to Join AILA?
Apply Today - Advocacy
and MediaThe First 100 Days of the Biden Administration
AILA provides a series of 12 charts comparing President Biden’s accomplishments 100 days after entering office with the comprehensive recommendations AILA presented to the president.
View All - AILA U and
Conferences - Publications
And Videos- Law
PracticeThe AILA Career Center offers more than access to the best possible industry candidates.
- InfoNet
Research LibraryAILALink
AILALink puts an entire immigration law library at your fingertips! Search the AILALink database for all your practice needs—statutes, regs, case law, agency guidance, publications, and more.
- Recent
PostingsDOS Provides Information on Immigrant Visa Prioritization
AILA Doc. No. 20071435 | Dated April 30, 2021
April 30, 2021
DOS announced U.S. embassies and consulates are using a tiered approach to triage immigrant visa applications and to address the backlog in the processing of immigrant visas. DOS identified four priority tiers listing the main categories of immigrant visas in each:
- Tier One: Immediate relative intercountry adoption visas, age-out cases (cases where the applicant will soon no longer qualify due to their age), and certain Special Immigrant Visas (SQ and SI for Afghan and Iraqi nationals working with the U.S. government)
- Tier Two: Immediate relative visas; fiancé(e) visas; and returning resident visas
- Tier Three: Family preference immigrant visas and SE Special Immigrant Visas for certain employees of the U.S. government abroad
- Tier Four: All other immigrant visas, including employment preference and diversity visas
Per DOS, “consular sections, where possible, are scheduling some appointments within all four priority tiers every month.”
April 13, 2021
On Facebook, DOS provided FAQs on the immigrant visa backlog, including on what DOS is doing to reduce the backlog, reapplication procedures for individuals who were refused an immigrant visa due to Presidential Proclamations 9645 and 9983, K visas, diversity visas, employment visas, and more.
April 6, 2021
DOS provided an updated announcement and FAQ on the status of visa services, noting that it is working to reduce the significant backlog of immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants awaiting an interview. Per DOS, consular sections that have the capacity are prioritizing the processing of immigrant and fiancée visas, along with immigrant visa cases previously refused under rescinded Presidential Proclamations 9645 and 9983.
Embassies and consulates that process nonimmigrant visas are prioritizing travelers with urgent needs, foreign diplomats, mission-critical categories of travelers, followed by some students, exchange visitors, and some temporary employment visas.
April 1, 2021
DOS updated its announcement and FAQs on the phased resumption of visa services following the expiration of Presidential Proclamation 10052, which suspended the entry of certain nonimmigrant visa applicants into the United States. DOS noted that resumption of visa services would occur on a post-by-post basis, but there are no specific dates for each mission.
February 24, 2021
DOS updated its announcement and FAQs on the phased resumption of visa services following the rescission of Presidential Proclamation 10014, which suspended the entry of certain immigrant visa applicants into the United States. DOS noted that resumption of visa services will occur on a post-by-post basis, but there are no specific dates for each mission.
December 30, 2020
DOS updated its announcement and FAQs on the phased resumption of visa services, noting that resumption will occur on a post-by-post basis, but that there are no specific dates for each mission. DOS also announced that it has extended the validity of Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fees to September 30, 2022.
November 12, 2020
DOS updated its announcement and FAQs on the phased resumption of visa services, noting that it will resume routine visa services on a post-by-post basis, but is unable to provide a specific date for when each mission will resume specific visa services, or when each mission will return to processing at pre-COVID levels.
DOS also announced that it has extended the validity of Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fees until December 31, 2021, to allow all applicants who were unable to schedule a visa appointment due to the suspension of routine consular operations an opportunity to schedule and/or attend a visa appointment with the fee they already paid.
July 14, 2020
DOS announced that it will resume routine visa services on a post-by-post basis, but is unable to provide a specific date for when each mission will resume specific visa services, or when each mission will return to processing at pre-COVID levels. DOS also provided an FAQ on resumption of services.
Cite as AILA Doc. No. 20071435.
Related Resources
- Practice Alert: Consular Processing After Sunsetting of Proclamation 10052 and Embassy Backlogs Created by COVID-19 Travel Bans
- DOS Briefing on the Current Status of Immigrant Visa Processing at Embassies and Consulates – March 1, 2021
- DOS Suspends Routine Visa Services at All U.S. Embassies and Consulates
- Resource Center: 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Navigate AILA.org
American Immigration Lawyers Association
1331 G Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005Copyright © 1993-
American Immigration Lawyers Association.AILA.org should not be relied upon as the exclusive source for your legal research. Nothing on AILA.org constitutes legal advice, and information on AILA.org is not a substitute for independent legal advice based on a thorough review and analysis of the facts of each individual case, and independent research based on statutory and regulatory authorities, case law, policy guidance, and for procedural issues, federal government websites.
- Law
