January 25, 2007

Department of State Announces an Immediate End to Direct Filing of Alien Relative Petitions at All U.S. embassies and Consulates

In a directive issued to all U.S. embassies and consulates, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) headquarters has stated that effective immediately consular officers will no longer process any I-130 petitions for alien relative. To date, many U.S. Embassies and Consulates accepted the direct filing of I-130 petitions for parents and spouses of United States citizens in cases where the petitioner or the beneficiary, or often both, were resident within that embassy or consulate's jurisdictional district for certain period of time. This direct filing greatly streamlined the timeline and steps involved in a petition for alien relative in the U.S. and then concluding the case processing at the U.S. embassy or consulate through the facilitation of the DOS' U.S. based National Visa Center (NVC).

This change to no longer allow for direct filings of I-130 petitions is significant and will dramatically impact adjudicatory timelines for applicants throughout the world. It appears that this change is directly linked concerns about both appropriate security screening and to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) recent attempt to centralize all processing functions to increase efficiency and effectiveness in processing.

DOS has stated that all cases that are currently on file will be forwarded to appropriate USCIS office or processing center as "clearly not approvable" for further review and adjudication. DOS is working with USCIS to provide further guidance on the further action to be taken on previously approved I-130 petitions for alien relative where the immigrant visa has not yet been issued.