USCIS  |  United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

Consular Processing

Consular processing is a manner of obtaining legal permanent residency through a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in a foreign country. To apply for United States permanent residency through consular processing, you will have to apply at your U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the country to which you are a national, whether you live there or are unlawfully present in the U.S. when you wish to seek out a green card. Once USCIS approves the petition a relative (Form I-130) or employer (Form I-140), the approved petition will be passed on to the U.S. National Visa Center (NVC).

NVC will request that you submit government filing fees, necessary documents and forms for your immigrant visa interview as your priority date approaches. Once you have sent out all the necessary paperwork, NVC will forward it to the United States Embassy/Consulate which will then set aside a date for an immigrant visa interview for you, your spouse and/or children. As soon as your application for an immigrant visa and any required waivers are approved, you and your family will be allowed to travel to the United States to pursue admission for lawful permanent residence.

Visas

There are nineteen different categories of nonimmigrant visas and an additional special purpose category for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) personnel. Borja Law Firm may be able to assist you or someone you know obtain such a visa. The categories are given the following letter designations:
– A: career-related
– B: temporary visitors for business and pleasure
– C: aliens in transit
– D: crewmembers
– E: treaty traders and investors
– F: students
– G: international organization representatives
– H: temporary workers
– I: foreign media representatives
– M: students in non-academic institutions
– N: parents and children of special immigrants
– O: aliens with extraordinary abilities
– P: entertainers
– Q: cultural exchange program participants
– R: religious workers
– TN: NAFTA professionals

Work Permits

A person can be legally authorized to work in the United States by obtaining an Employment Authorization Document, known as DAE by its initials in Spanish, and EAD in English, also known as a work permit.

Work Authorization will be granted to individuals who fall into one of more than forty (40) different categories, including those applying for adjustment of status, those seeking temporary protected status, family-based nonimmigrants, and foreign students.

EADs, or “work permits,” are plastic cards that are roughly the same size as credit cards and contain information for an authorized personal worker, their alien number, and an expiration date. EAD gives individuals the opportunity to work for any employer and change jobs if they wish.