DOS and USCIS Announce Changes to Consular Procedures for Cuban F-2A Visa Applicants

CHANGES IN USINT HAVANA CONSULAR PROCEDURES FOR F2A VISA APPLICANTS

The Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are pleased to announce that because of decreased worldwide demand in the F2A visa category (spouse or minor child of a Legal Permanent Resident), all Cuban Family Reunification Program (CFRP) participants in this category will be eligible to be processed as regular immigrant visa applicants beginning January 1, 2011.

The CFRP was created to expedite processing for Cubans wishing to be reunited with their family in the United States. CFRP participants are paroled into the United States while their immigration cases are processed by the Department of Homeland Security. Beginning January 1, 2011, F2A applicants no longer will need to be paroled into the United States, but will be processed as immigrant visa applicants and will receive Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status upon entry to the United States.

„h All CFRP F2A appointments scheduled on or before December 31, 2010, will be handled in Havana.

„h Effective January 1, 2011, all F2A visa category cases will be processed by the National Visa Center (NVC), scheduled for an immigrant visa appointment, and forwarded to the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

„h NVC will notify petitioners by mail.

„h Special scheduling priority will be given to previously scheduled applicants (those who formerly had appointments between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012) who submit all required documentation to NVC before April 30, 2011.

„h This procedural change should not impact visa processing time. As always, applicants are reminded that interviews cannot be scheduled until all documentation and processing fees have been submitted to NVC.

Information on fees, forms, and how to how to apply for an immigrant visa may be found on the State Department website: travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants.

AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 10102963. (Posted 10/29/10)