What is a Special Immigrant Visa?

A special immigrant visa is a type of visa that is given to individuals who wish to travel to the United States. This type of visa has certain requirements that you must fulfill in order to receive it.

Exceptional circumstances

A special immigrant visa is an immigration status available to foreign employees in the United States who qualify. To qualify, the employee must have a minimum of fifteen years of faithful service in the U.S. and be in a “bona fide employer-employee relationship” with a government agency in the United States. In addition, the employee must show that their position requires exceptional circumstances that would make them impossible to hire elsewhere in the United States.

Previously, the Department of State did not provide any specific criteria for qualifying for a special immigrant visa. However, it did say that a significant number of applicants for such status qualified based on “exceptional circumstances.” It also noted that the principal officer of the U.S. government’s foreign service establishment must approve the recommendation.

The US Government currently employs over 200 Foreign Service posts worldwide. Approximately 50,000 local staff work at these posts. These posts include the Embassy and Consulate in Washington, DC, as well as overseas posts.

The Department of State will not allow foreign employees to become part of the local staff at these Foreign Service posts unless they meet the qualifications for special immigrant status. Specifically, the Department of State will not accept the recommendations of local staff who work for other U.S. government agencies.

In order to apply for a special immigrant visa, an alien must file Form DS-1884 with the Department of State. For former and current employees of the U.S. government abroad, they will need to submit official records of employment and a detailed assessment of the applicant’s performance.

If a person receives a principal officer’s recommendation for a special immigrant visa, the application will be reviewed by the Department of State’s headquarters in Washington, DC. After approval, the person will be granted leave to enter and remain for thirty months. At the end of the period of stay, the applicant may apply for settlement.

Although the Department of Homeland Security has begun to revise the eligibility criteria for a special immigrant visa, it cannot accurately predict the number of people who may be affected in the future. Rather, it is implementing an objective basis for assessing the exceptional circumstances of an applicant. This is a departure from Department of State policies.

Documents required

A special immigrant visa is a permanent resident status that allows the holder to live and work in the United States. Applicants for special immigrant visas must meet certain criteria, including faithful service with the United States government for at least twelve years and at least fifteen years of service outside of the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing eligibility standards for the special immigrant visa category. If an applicant meets the qualifications, he or she will be issued a notice of approval.

An individual who is applying for a special immigrant visa may be required to submit a background check. In addition, he or she must prove that his or her employment with the United States government is honorable. This is especially important for employees who work in countries where local staff are facing retribution.

A principal officer at a foreign service post should evaluate employee records to determine whether the employee meets the requirements for a special immigrant visa. Before formally applying for the visa, applicants must pay a processing fee. They must also be prepared to provide documentation of their employment, including a discharge certificate.

A special immigrant visa is available to members of the Armed Forces who are stationed outside of the United States. They must have served in the Armed Forces for at least two years and have not been legally separated from their spouse for at least two years.

Special immigrant status is a critical factor in recruiting and retaining local staff. However, it is not available to employees of other government agencies. Currently, the Secretary of State has the authority to grant this type of visa to current or former U.S. government employees.

The Department of State employs a significant number of local staff at Foreign Service posts overseas. However, if an applicant works for another agency, the Department of State will not consider his or her record for special immigrant visa consideration.

When determining if an alien’s service with the United States government qualifies as “faithful service,” the Department of State uses a broad range of factors, including the U.S. government’s bilateral relationship with the host country, its ability to recruit qualified personnel, and the national interest of the U.S.

Average wait time

The average wait time for a special immigrant visa (green card) in the United States increased by almost a quarter from 1991 to 2018. However, this is only a minor increase. In fact, the average wait time for the green card for most nationalities increased by less than a year.

Wait times vary widely among categories, and they also vary according to the country of birth of the applicant. For instance, F1 Mexican unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens had the longest wait in the year 2018. This figure also indicates that Indians were the longest waiters.

The average wait time for Indians in the EB2 and EB3 lines grew by nearly nine years and three months in the past year. But that is still far short of the half-century wait some of these applicants have experienced.

On the other hand, the average wait time for all other nationalities grew by two years and four months. These nationalities include Mexicans and Indians.

However, despite the average increase in wait times, the total number of legal immigrants who waited for a green card hasn’t dwindled in the last decade. As of the end of 2018, approximately 100,000 legal immigrants had waited a decade or longer for a green card. A third of these immigrants must continue to wait for a green card under quotas.

Another major factor in determining the length of the wait is the number of green cards available for a given nationality. If there aren’t enough green cards for a particular nationality, then the wait times will grow.

Overall, the wait for a green card is expected to grow by an additional four years, from an average of five years and eight months in 2018 to seven years and eight months in 2038. Even if these numbers continue to grow, most of the applicants who applied in 2017 and 2018 will still be waiting in 2038.

To reduce the overall backlog, the State Department has implemented several reforms. It is onboarding new employees and addressing consular staffing gaps created by the pandemic. Finally, the Obama administration issued an executive order to cut down on visa wait times. Unfortunately, the former President rescinded it.

Backlogs

Immigration backlogs affect tens of millions of applicants. They are a result of inefficient agency processes. It is imperative that the government invest in better systems to solve this problem.

A recent PBS NewsHour report discussed the growing backlog in processing SIVs. The system has become increasingly inefficient over the years. Even when a petition is approved, it is often placed in the backlog. This means that applicants may be waiting for up to six years before they can be a legal resident in the U.S.

Visa backlogs are particularly problematic for certain countries. One of the biggest contributors to the backlogs is India, the largest source of high-skilled immigrants on H-1B temporary work visas. Indian applicants can be stuck in the backlogs for a lifetime.

Backlogs are also prevalent for family-based and employer-sponsored immigrants. For example, the number of employment-based green cards allocated each year is capped at 140,000. However, when unused family-based visas roll over, the numbers can increase. And when a nonimmigrant is present in the United States, he or she may request an extension of stay.

As of July 2022, the cumulative deficit of nonimmigrant visas was 13 million. These numbers are not a mystery. Instead, they are indicative of what can happen when the State Department allocates visas for a category.

In addition to estimating how many immigrant visas will be issued, the Department of State reports the number of people in line to receive immigration benefits. This includes refugees and humanitarian statuses. Most practitioners assume that these numbers move forward on a regular basis.

Immigrants have been caught up in the immigration backlogs for a number of reasons. Some are in the United States on temporary visas. Others have been approved for green cards but are still in the process of completing their processing. Still others have waited years for their visas to be processed.

Affected youth are unable to attend college, work legally, or qualify for federal financial aid. Their lives are in constant fear of detention and removal. While a cap on green cards may be rescinded, immigration backlogs will remain.