FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. WHAT DOES "TO IMMIGRATE" MEAN?

"To immigrate" means to take up permanent residence in the United States. It means you are going to the United States to live permanently. If you go to the U.S. for work or study, even if such a stay is for several years, you are not immigrating and should consult the part of our web site on Non-immigrant Visas.

2. WHAT IS A GREEN CARD?

The so-called Green Card (Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form I-551) is the permanent work and residence permit for aliens who reside legally in the United States. It is no longer green-colored but still widely called the "green card." It does not affect your citizenship, and it does not mean you are an American citizen. It will remain valid for the duration of your residence in the U.S. and will lose its validity if you take up residence outside the U.S. for more than one year. It is not a travel document and can't be used as such. If you have a Green Card, you must carry it with you when you re-enter the United States after a temporary visit abroad.

3. IS IT BETTER TO FILE A PETITION FOR AN IMMIGRANT VISA IN THE UNITED STATES OR WITH THE CONSULAR SECTION IN VIENNA?

The only petitions, which can be filed locally in Vienna, Austria are the ones for immediate relatives of American citizens. "Immediate relatives" are spouses or parents or children under age 21. All other categories of family based petitions, including fiance(e) visa petitions and all employment based petitions, must be filed with the Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the United States.

The petitioner should file with the local USCIS office, which covers the town or city in which he/she lives. Petitioners who want to file with the office of the Department of Homeland Security/Immigration office in Vienna, Austria must be residents of Austria.

4. DO I NEED AN IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY TO HELP ME WITH MY APPLICATION?

There is no requirement to hire an attorney. It is best to decide after you have looked through all the filing and processing information available on this and related web sites. But if you do have an attorney assist you, you as the applicant are still responsible for accurate compliance with all instructions and requirements. And please remember that an attorney cannot sign application documents on your behalf.

5. DOES AN AMERICAN CITIZEN PETITIONER HAVE TO SHOW FINANCIAL SUPPORT DOCUMENTS TO FILE AN I-130 ?

No. For the filing of an I-130 petition (step 1), you need only to show and prove the immediate relationship with the beneficiary. The financial support requirements are part of step two, the actual application for the immigrant visa.

6. FEES:

The current fee for filing an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative is US $ 190. The cost of each formal immigrant visa application is US $ 355 plus a security surcharge of US $ 45 (per person). There is also a US $ 375 Diversity Visa Lottery surcharge (per person applying as a result of the lottery program). The application fee for Returning Resident Alien status is $ 400. Fees must be paid per person regardless of age, and are not refundable. Local currency equivalents are acceptable. Fees should not be sent to the consular office unless specifically requested. The fees for the medical examination are as follows: For adults it is EUR 175, for children until 15 years of age it is EUR 75.

7. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO PROCESS AN IMMIGRANT VISA THROUGH THE CONSULAR SECTION IN VIENNA?

The processing will vary as no two applicants are alike. However as a rule of thumb, a typical application for an immediate relative should take about four to eight weeks from the moment a petition is filed with and approved by the office of the Department of Homeland Security/Immigration in Vienna or has been received in Vienna through the National Visa Center (NVC) from the Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the U.S. For certain nationalities processing can take longer than eight weeks. Numerically-limited family based immigrant visa processing can take several years due to oversubscription of categories. Employment-based immigrant visa processing can take several months.

8. IF A PETITION WAS RECENTLY FILED BY ME/FOR ME WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY/U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES (USCIS) IN THE STATES, HOW WILL I BE NOTIFIED OF ITS APPROVAL? CAN I GET INFORMATION ON ITS STATUS THROUGH THE CONSULATE?

Once a petition is received by USCIS, a I-797 Receipt Notice will be sent to the petitioner. Once USCIS has approved the petition, a I-797 Approval Notice will be sent to the petitioner. If Consular processing has been requested, USCIS will forward the petition to the National Visa Center (NVC), which will then transfer it to the appropriate Foreign Service post.

The NVC assigns a Vienna case number (e.g. VNN2002XXXXXX) and notifies the petitioner directly. Please mention the case number in all communications with both the NVC and the Consulate where the application is being processed. Only an applicant whose case has been received from the USCIS/NVC can be assisted by the Consulate. The Consulate has no way of checking on cases still pending with the USCIS.