How Does Nonimmigrant Visa Processing Work?

Most foreign nationals wishing to enter the United States on a temporary basis to visit, study, work, and for other purposes are required to obtain a nonimmigrant visa from a U.S. consulate. Due to the attacks of September 11, 2001, DOS has instituted an additional name-check clearance procedure requiring a 20-day wait for security clearance for individuals of certain countries. The details of the program are classified, but appear to affect males between the ages of 16 and 45 from most Middle Eastern countries and Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Somalia, Sudan. In practice, this appears to refer to country of citizenship, rather than country of birth. Affected individuals should plan on at least a 20-day stay abroad before obtaining their visa. This development makes travel more uncertain, and increases the attractiveness of automatic revalidation and application by mail.

There are a few notable exceptions to the visa requirements. These involve parolees, Canadians seeking entry in categories other than E-1 and E-2, and aliens from specific countries who are eligible for short visits pursuant to the visa waiver program. Visa issuance alone does not guarantee admission to the United States, as each applicant for admission must also establish his or her admissibility to an Immigration Service inspector at a port of entry.

Foreign nationals who have already been issued a nonimmigrant visa in the H, L, and E visa categories, who are currently in valid status and whose visa expired less than one year prior to the application date, may apply for visa reissuance through the Department of State ("DOS") Visa Office, now in St. Louis. The visa reissuance process ordinarily takes from six to eight weeks, though processing times vary. It offers obvious advantages including convenience to the applicant and avoidance of a possible visa refusal at a consulate.

A consular officer, at the direction of the DOS or as a matter of discretion, can accept a visa application from a foreign national who is not a resident of the consular district but is physically present therein. The DOS has strongly recommended that a consular officer should seldom, if ever, reject discretionary jurisdiction over nonimmigrant visa ("NIV") applications from out-ofdistrict applicants physically present in the jurisdiction, unless there is a valid reason for doing so. Despite this recommendation, a consulate can reject an out-of-district NIV application under the premise of workload, or lack of familiarity with documents or conditions in the applicant's home territory.