At the Consulate in Saigon, it has been business as usual, with no unusual developments. In the cases of an American citizen’s parents, spouse or minor children, there is no limit of visas and no long waiting time. All other types of cases have a visa type limit and a per-country limit. This situation does not change from one year to another. The only disturbance this year was a period of several weeks when State Department computer malfunctions delayed the issuance of visas. That problem has been solved.
We have notified the Fraud Prevention Unit of the Consulate regarding the claims by attorneys and agents in the matter of EB3 Unskilled worker visas. To date, there has not been any comment by the Consulate, simply because they have not issued any EB3 visas. However, they will keep an eye on this to prevent people in Vietnam from becoming victims of any scams.
In all Quota or Preference cases, there is a per-country limit. This places a maximum on the amount of visas which may be issued in a single year to applicants from any one country. Immigrant visa issuances world wide are limited to 226,000 family sponsored applicants in quota cases. "Immediate Relatives”, including spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21 years, and parents of U.S. citizens, are not subject to numerical limitation.
The per country limit for this year is 25,900 visas. That means if the country has more than 25,900 applicants with current petitions, some will have to wait until more visas become available.
World wide, there are 4.3 million people waiting to be interviewed for their immigrant visas. As usual, Vietnam is among the top ten countries waiting for immigrant visas. There are 260,000 applicants waiting in Vietnam. Only India, the Philippines and Mexico have more people waiting for their visas. China has fewer waiting applicants than Vietnam.
At this time, Vietnam has 7,300 Family FIRST applicants waiting for visas. These are the adult unmarried children of US citizens. In the family SECOND group, there are 12,000 adult unmarried children of US Permanent Residents in the visa queue. Many of these are sons and daughters who were too old to be eligible for CSPA.
Vietnam is also in the top ten list of countries with F3 applicants waiting for visas as married children of US citizens and F4 siblings of US citizens. The total for the F3 and F4 categories in Vietnam is about 235,000 applicants.
The family FOURTH category -siblings of US citizens- currently has a waiting time of 12 years for most countries. Why so long? There are 2.5 million applicants waiting in the family FOURTH category, but there is a world wide total of only 65,000 visas available each year for F4 applicants.
It is important to note that an applicant cannot have an interview and receive an immigrant visa before his petition becomes current. For example, if the petition becomes current on September 1st, the visa interview and visa issuance can only take place on or after September 1st, and not before then.
What if the family requests expedited processing because of a medical emergency? Can this be allowed before a petition becomes current? An immigrant visa cannot be issued till the petition is current. The family would need to apply for Humanitarian Parole or B2 visa if the person wants to go to the US for treatment.
——————————————————————————————
Q.1. My family was recently interviewed and approved. My father needs to finish some business in Vietnam right now. Can the rest of the family go to the US before him?
A.1. If your father is the Primary Applicant, he must travel to the US with the family or before them. They cannot go ahead of him.
——————————————————————————————-
Q. 2. How can an applicant get a Humanitarian Parole or B2 visa for medical treatment in the US?
A.2. The family must get assurances from medical experts in Vietnam that there is no treatment available locally, and that treatment is possible in the US. There must also be proof of the family’s ability to pay for treatment in America.
It would be much easier, less complicated, and cheaper to seek treatment in Bangkok or Singapore where there are world class hospitals that are just as good as in the US.
—————————————————————————————
Q.3. What is the outlook for changes in the law that will help speed up processing of immigrant visa cases?
A.3. It is unlikely that there will be major changes in immigration rules in 2015 or 2016. If there are any changes, they will be for the benefit of illegal aliens in the US, not for the benefit of those waiting to enter the US legally.
ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com / www.facebook.com/rmiodp
Immigration Support Services - Tham Van Di Tru
9070 Bolsa Ave., Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888
6930 65th St. Ste. #105, Sacramento CA 95823 (916) 393-3388
Rang Mi - 47 Phung Khac Khoan, Q1, HCMC (848) 3914-7638
We have notified the Fraud Prevention Unit of the Consulate regarding the claims by attorneys and agents in the matter of EB3 Unskilled worker visas. To date, there has not been any comment by the Consulate, simply because they have not issued any EB3 visas. However, they will keep an eye on this to prevent people in Vietnam from becoming victims of any scams.
In all Quota or Preference cases, there is a per-country limit. This places a maximum on the amount of visas which may be issued in a single year to applicants from any one country. Immigrant visa issuances world wide are limited to 226,000 family sponsored applicants in quota cases. "Immediate Relatives”, including spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21 years, and parents of U.S. citizens, are not subject to numerical limitation.
The per country limit for this year is 25,900 visas. That means if the country has more than 25,900 applicants with current petitions, some will have to wait until more visas become available.
World wide, there are 4.3 million people waiting to be interviewed for their immigrant visas. As usual, Vietnam is among the top ten countries waiting for immigrant visas. There are 260,000 applicants waiting in Vietnam. Only India, the Philippines and Mexico have more people waiting for their visas. China has fewer waiting applicants than Vietnam.
At this time, Vietnam has 7,300 Family FIRST applicants waiting for visas. These are the adult unmarried children of US citizens. In the family SECOND group, there are 12,000 adult unmarried children of US Permanent Residents in the visa queue. Many of these are sons and daughters who were too old to be eligible for CSPA.
Vietnam is also in the top ten list of countries with F3 applicants waiting for visas as married children of US citizens and F4 siblings of US citizens. The total for the F3 and F4 categories in Vietnam is about 235,000 applicants.
The family FOURTH category -siblings of US citizens- currently has a waiting time of 12 years for most countries. Why so long? There are 2.5 million applicants waiting in the family FOURTH category, but there is a world wide total of only 65,000 visas available each year for F4 applicants.
It is important to note that an applicant cannot have an interview and receive an immigrant visa before his petition becomes current. For example, if the petition becomes current on September 1st, the visa interview and visa issuance can only take place on or after September 1st, and not before then.
What if the family requests expedited processing because of a medical emergency? Can this be allowed before a petition becomes current? An immigrant visa cannot be issued till the petition is current. The family would need to apply for Humanitarian Parole or B2 visa if the person wants to go to the US for treatment.
——————————————————————————————
Q.1. My family was recently interviewed and approved. My father needs to finish some business in Vietnam right now. Can the rest of the family go to the US before him?
A.1. If your father is the Primary Applicant, he must travel to the US with the family or before them. They cannot go ahead of him.
——————————————————————————————-
Q. 2. How can an applicant get a Humanitarian Parole or B2 visa for medical treatment in the US?
A.2. The family must get assurances from medical experts in Vietnam that there is no treatment available locally, and that treatment is possible in the US. There must also be proof of the family’s ability to pay for treatment in America.
It would be much easier, less complicated, and cheaper to seek treatment in Bangkok or Singapore where there are world class hospitals that are just as good as in the US.
—————————————————————————————
Q.3. What is the outlook for changes in the law that will help speed up processing of immigrant visa cases?
A.3. It is unlikely that there will be major changes in immigration rules in 2015 or 2016. If there are any changes, they will be for the benefit of illegal aliens in the US, not for the benefit of those waiting to enter the US legally.
ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com / www.facebook.com/rmiodp
Immigration Support Services - Tham Van Di Tru
9070 Bolsa Ave., Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888
6930 65th St. Ste. #105, Sacramento CA 95823 (916) 393-3388
Rang Mi - 47 Phung Khac Khoan, Q1, HCMC (848) 3914-7638
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