9 FAM 504.5
Pre-Interview Processing
(CT:VISA-837; 06-03-2019)
(Office of Origin: CA/VO/L/R)
9 fam 504.5-1 statutory and
regulatory Authorities
9 FAM 504.5-1(A) Immigration
and Nationality Act
(CT:VISA-1; 11-18-2015)
INA 222(b) (8 U.S.C. 1202(b)); INA 222(e) (8 U.S.C.
1202(e)).
9 FAM 504.5-1(B) Code of
Federal Regulations
(CT:VISA-1; 11-18-2015)
22 CFR 42.62; 22 CFR 42.6.
9 FAM 504.5-1(C) Public Law
(CT:VISA-1; 11-18-2015)
Public Law 106-113, sec. 237.
9 FAM 504.5-2 Overview -
Preparing for Appointment with Applicant
(CT:VISA-1; 11-18-2015))
a. When appearing at the appointed time for the formal
visa appointment, an applicant is entitled to receive prompt attention. The
post should pull and review the appointment list and case files prior to the
appointment date.
b. Send unclassified material to the document checker
for review. The consular officer must review classified material.
9 FAM 504.5-3 Prescreening by
Locally Engaged Staff (LE STAFF)
9 FAM 504.5-3(A) Initial Duties
of Document Checker
(CT:VISA-36; 01-19-2016)
a. When the applicant presents the documents, post must
check the documents for completeness and legibility. The document checker
should ensure each question on Form DS-260, Online Application for Immigrant
Visa and Alien Registration, has been answered. If
Form DS-260 is incomplete, the document checker must reopen the application via
the Reopen DS-260 button at the top of the online IV application report and
direct the applicant to log back in to the Consular Electronic Application
Center and complete the missing information. If necessary, the document
checker may assist the applicant in completing the application.
b. If any answers on Form DS-260 need correction or
amplification, the consular officer is able to make the corrections using the
Add Remarks function associated with the section of the application that
needs correction. Post may correct minor errors (including minor discrepancies
in name spellings, as long as NIV and IVO are correct) in the DS-260 by making
a remark directly in CEAC. IV applications are made under oath therefore the
interviewing officer must verbally point out errors, explain any modifications
consular staff made via remarks, and ask the applicant to swear to the entire
DS-260, (or DS-160 in the case of a K visa), including those modifications.
However, for any major changes, an officer or LE staff must reopen the DS-260
so the applicant can make necessary corrections. Fields that are material to
adjudication are considered major and must be completed by the applicant. This
includes Fields informing an SAO MANTIS decision and fields that could trigger
additional questions. For example, incomplete or erroneous information in the
Education or Work Experience sections is material to an employment-based IV or
diversity visa case, and is a major error which the applicant must correct.
Conversely, those same fields are largely irrelevant to most family-based IV
adjudications and may be corrected at post.
9 FAM 504.5-3(B) Photograph
Requirements
(CT:VISA-397; 07-14-2017)
a. Need for Good Quality Photographs: One
of the most common problems the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
encounters with IV packets is a poor quality photograph. The IV photograph is
a crucial itemultimately it will become the image on the bearer's "green
card." Posts should ensure that photographs are in accordance with these
instructions, as well as the instructions on photographs found in paragraph b below.
b. In the rush to process cases quickly, you may be
tempted to accept substandard photos rather than refusing the applicants until
they bring in new ones. However, in the long run, those applicants will be
better served if posts require them to retake poor quality photos. The
applicants will ultimately be spared the time and trouble of having to repeat
the process in DHS secondary inspection at the port of entry (POE), or having
their Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, questioned at some future point
because of the poor quality photo.
c. See 9 FAM
303.6-2(A)(1) for guidance on photo standards.
9 FAM 504.5-3(C) Paying
Processing Fee
(CT:VISA-837; 06-03-2019)
a. Once the case is
documentarily qualified and Form DS-260 is complete, ensure that the
applicant has paid the processing fee. The alien must pay before the
interview. In situations described in 9 FAM
504.6-5(B), the cashier must not collect a new processing fee. After the
fee has been paid, the consular officer who will interview the applicant. Note:
The document checker should not print out the online IV application report
associated with the submitted Form DS-260 or any
other documents uploaded electronically.
b. Note that most cases are processed through the National
Visa Center (NVC) and the processing fee will have already been collected in
the United States before the case was forwarded to post. For physical IVIS cases NVC's Post Supplement
Report, included in the file of cases scheduled by the NVC, will indicate
whether the fee has been paid. If the Post Supplement Report is unavailable,
post can determine if the fee has been paid using the IVIS Beneficiary Report
in the CCD. For PIVOT cases, PIVOT Case Summary
Report is available in CCD and will indicate whether the fee has been paid. If
there are any questions about whether a fee was paid while a case was at the
NVC, post should email NVCPost@state.gov.
9 FAM 504.5-4 Inspection of
Original Document and Endorsement of Certified or Mechanically Reproduced
Copies
(CT:VISA-837; 06-03-2019)
When an alien presents a mechanically reproduced copy of
any of the required documents listed under 22 CFR 42.65(b), it is important
that consular section personnel inspect the original document. After
inspection, the consular section must endorse the paper copy with a rubber
stamp that imprints the name of the post and the fact that the original has
been seen and compared. When copies of these required documents have been
uploaded electronically into a consular system, the consular section personnel
will check the box in the system that indicates that the original was seen and
compared. This procedure does not
constitute a certification within the meaning of Item 47 of the Tariff of Fees,
since neither the full signature of a consular officer
nor the official seal of the post is used or required. This service is
performed without fee, whether on public documents required under INA 222(b) or
on documents submitted in support of Form ETA-750, Application for Alien
Employment Certification.