US & Cuba to Open Embassies in Havana and Washington D.C.

President Obama formally announced on Wednesday that the United States and Cuba have both agreed to open embassies in each other’s capitals following more than a half-century of hostilities between the two nations.  

"This is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the Cuban government and people and begin a new chapter with our neighbors in the Americas,” Obama said.

The U.S. Embassy in Havana is scheduled to open on July 20, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said.

The U.S. and Cuba have been negotiating the re-establishment of embassies following a surprise announcement in December that secret talks between the global foes had led to a landmark agreement.

Read more at FoxNews.com

State Dept. Facing Technological Issues in Visa System

From the Department of State:

Passport/Visa Systems Errors

• The Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with our visa systems.  These issues have resulted in delays in printing visas and may mean rescheduling some visa interviews.
• This issue is not specific to any particular country or visa category. 
• Overseas passports are now being processed.  Domestic passport services are functioning, and we were always able to issue emergency passports to U.S. citizens overseas with urgent travel needs.
• The Consular Consolidated Database (CCD) problems we are experiencing are not the same challenges we overcame last summer.  We are working urgently around the clock to correct the problems and restore our system to full operational status as soon as possible.
• We apologize to applicants who are experiencing delays or were unable to obtain a passport overseas, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or U.S. visa.  
• We are seeking to assist nonimmigrant visa applicants with urgent humanitarian travel.  Individuals with an urgent humanitarian need for travel should contact their nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. 
• We are aware of pending overseas adoption cases, including in China.  We are prioritizing these cases and seek to issue these visas with few delays.
• We regret the inconvenience to travelers, and remain committed to facilitating legitimate travel while protecting our borders. 
• We will post updates to Travel.State.Gov as more information becomes available.

Q: Is this the same issue as last year? Was it not fixed?

• This is not the same issue as last year.

Q: What is going on?  Why can’t the Department issue visas, passports, and other travel documents? 

• We are working as quickly as possible to resolve our technical issues. 
• We apologize to travelers and recognize that this may cause hardship to individuals waiting for visas overseas.

Q: What caused this outage?  Was it a malicious action or hack?

• There is no evidence the problem is cyber security related. We are working urgently to correct the problem and expect the system to be fully operational again soon. 

Q: How is this affecting consular operations?

      Passports – Overseas Issuance of Passports

• Passport applications accepted overseas on or after May 26, 2015, were affected, but overseas passports are now being issued.  If you applied for a U.S. passport between May 26 and June 14 and have travel plans within the next 10 business days, please consider requesting an emergency passport at the U.S. embassy or consulate at which you originally applied.  Information about how to apply for an emergency passport is available on the website of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

      Visas

• A hardware failure on June 9 halted the flow of biometric clearance requests from posts to the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD).   Individuals who submitted online applications or were interviewed for visas on or after June 9 may experience a delay in the processing. 
• The systems in place to perform required national security checks before we issue visas are experiencing technical difficulties.  As a result, we are unable to print visas. 
• We cannot bypass the legal requirements necessary to screen visa applicants before we issue visas for travel.
• As a result, there is a backlog of visas waiting to be processed.  We are working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue and to clear the backlog.  
• The technical issues we are experiencing have disrupted or prevented some of the Department’s primary data-share partners from accessing visa records.  

Q: Can you print a visa without using the data system?

• Security measures prevent consular officers from printing a visa until the case completes the required national security checks. 
• Service to our customers will be interrupted until the system is brought back online.  

Q: Can the Department just print travel letters for those who need to travel quickly?

• At this time we are able to issue passports to U.S. citizens overseas for emergency travel.
• Domestic passport operations are functioning.  U.S. citizens applying for a passport domestically will receive passports within the four-to-six week standard for routine passports and two-to-three weeks for expedited passports.
• We are seeking to assist nonimmigrant visa applicants with urgent humanitarian travel.  Please contact the embassy or consulate where you applied for additional information.

Q: How long before you restore full system functionality?

• Overseas passports are now being issued.  We are working urgently to restore visa processing.  We expect the systems to be fully operational again soon.

Q: How many overseas passport applicants have been affected?

• Overseas passport applications account for less than five percent of our annual passport workload. During the overseas passport systems issues that have since been resolved, we ‎were able to issue emergency overseas passports to U.S. citizens who needed them for urgent travel.

National Visa Center Announces It Will No Longer Collect Original Civil Documents

The National Visa Center (NVC), the U.S. Department of State agency responsible for pre-processing approved immigrant visas, has changed its policy on collecting originals of certain supporting documents. As of Nov. 12, 2014, NVC will no longer collect original civil documents(such as birth, marriage, police, military, court, death or divorce records) for immigrant visa applications at non-electronic processing posts. Instead, applicants should only submit photocopies of these documents to NVC via mail and keep the original documents in their possession. However, applicants will need to take the original documents to the visa interview, once scheduled...(Link)

Photo: Adam Rifkin

Changes to the U.S. State Department Immigration Fees

Effective from September 6, 2014, the United States Department of State, the Federal Department overseeing Visa Processing through the National Visa Center and the US Embassies and Consulates across the globe changed its processing fees for various type of Immigrant Visas and Processing. 

This has affected many immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants, including other groups. For the official statement, please visit the Federal Register.

According to the State Department:

“Processing those applications for determination of eligibility as a returning resident has become less costly due to continuing advances in automation, making it easier to verify previous U.S. immigration status.” 

A synopsis of the fee changes is below:

Consular time fee decreased from $231 to $135 per hour.

Administrative processing of Formal Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship increased from $450 to $2,250.

Affidavit of Support fees increased from $88 to $120.

Immigrant Visa Security surcharge increased from $75 to $100.

Determining returning resident status fees decreased from $275 to $180.

Waiver of two-year residency requirement (J-visa) fees decreased from $215 to $120.

Refugee cases or significant public benefit parole case processing: NO FEES.

Non-Immigrant Visa (NIV) Fees

Non-Petition based NIV fee (Except E Category): $160.

H, L, O, P, Q, and R Category NIV fees: $190.

E Category NIV fees decreased from $270 to $205.

K Category (Fiancé) NIV fees increased from $240 to $265.

Border crossing card (age 15 and over, 10 year validity) fees $160 / under 15 years of age $16.

Immigrant Visas (IV) and Special Visa Services Fees

Immediate relative and family preference application fees increased from $230 to $325.

Employment-based applications (I-140 alien work or I-526 alien entrepreneur petitioner/immigrant investor) decreased from $405 to $345.

Other immigrant visa applications (including I-360 self-petition and special immigrant visa applicants) decreased from $220 to $205.

Certain Iraqi and Afghan special immigrant Visa application: NO FEE

Getting Visas for Iranian Citizens (Which Embassy/Consulate?)

Applying for US Immigrant and Non-Immigrant visas has an extra layer of issues for Iran Citizens. Because the United States of America does not have an Embassy or Consulate in Iran, Iranians must visit foreign countries to obtain visas and have their immigration interviews. It is important to note that there are limitations as to which Embassies or Consulates Iranian can use as well:

Immigrant Visas (Green Card):

As of August 1, 2013, Green Card applications for Iranians are processed only at the US Embassies in Ankara, Turkey; Abu Dhabi, United ArabEmirates (U.A.E.) and in Yerevan, Armenia. The US Embassy in Vienna, Austria and the US Consulates in Frankfurt, Germany and Naples, Italy no longer processIranian Green Card Applicants.

Non-Immigrant Visas (such as Student Visas, Visitor/Tourist Visas and Other Temporary Immigration Programs)

Iranian Applicants can still apply at any US Embassy or Consulate for Non-immigrant visas. However, only 3 locations have the staff required to accommodate Persian/Farsi speaking applicants:

The US Consulate in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.),

The US Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia, and 

The US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey.

However due to limited staff at these locations, appointments for Iranian Farsi/Persian speaking applicants are set up at various times of the year. For the listing of the next appointment dates for Farsi speakers, please go to: https://usvisa-info.com/en-ir/selfservice/ss_country_welcome

Please note: US Non-Immigrant Visas for Iranian are processed through the US Consulate in Dubai, U.A.E., but Immigrant Visas (Green Cards) are processed at the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

For more information on Visa Processing, please contact the John Q. Khosravi Law Firm at (310) 582-5904 or (818) 934-1561, or by email at info@jqklaw.com

- This is an advertising - Do not rely on this information as law -