Visa Information
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Overview
Immigration to the United States is a two-step process involving a petition and visa application. A person who wishes to immigrate to the United States must have a petition approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) before applying for an immigrant visa at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong. The petition is filed either by a spouse, a qualified relative or a potential employer at a USCIS office in the United States. Specific information about filing immigrant petitions is available on the USCIS website. Once USCIS has approved the petition it is sent to the Department of State's National Visa Center (NVC). NVC then coordinates with Hong Kong on the further processing of petitions based on the type of visa filed and any numerical limits imposed on that type of visa. When a petition is complete and ready for the interview, NVC will send it to the Immigrant Visa (IV) Unit of the Consulate General. Once the IV Unit has received the visa petition, the beneficiaries of the petition can then apply for the immigrant visa. Please visit the State Department's website for more information on NVC processing
USCIS Immigrant Fee
All individuals issued immigrant visas overseas must pay a USCIS Immigrant Fee before traveling to the United States. Returning residents (SB-1), fiancés entering with a K visa, and adopted children entering under visa classes IR3, IH3, IR4, IH4, are exempted from this fee. This fee must be paid on-line through the USCIS website. Please visit the USCIS website for more details on this fee.
U.S. Consulate General Appointment
Immigrant visa applicants will be notified by either the National Visa Center (NVC) or the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong when it is time to schedule an interview. K visa applicants will be notified by the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong when it is time to schedule an interview.
Document Delivery
You must select a document delivery location for the return of each applicant’s visa packet and passport. Information on delivery of the visa packet and passport can be found online here.
If you have an interview date, you must appear at the Consulate on the date of your appointment. You should arrive at the Consulate fifteen minutes before your appointment. Please read about security restrictions at the Consulate that describe what you can and cannot bring with you to your interview. You should bring your appointment letter and any documents requested by the Consulate in its correspondence with you. If you have any questions about the appointment or the documents required, please contact the US Visa Service Desk at
support-hongkong@ustraveldocs.com.
More Information
Complete information is available at the Consulate General immigrant visa website. For general questions about applying for U.S. visas, please call the call center at 852 5808 4666 (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday) from Hong Kong or Macau. For questions about a specific case, please use the Consulate's
visa Inquiry form.