Applicants who want to move to the United States permanently need to apply for an Immigrant Visa. If you have already begun the Immigrant Visa process and have either been given an appointment and need to register for the DHL courier return of your passport, or you have been told to access this Web site to schedule or reschedule an appointment, please click here to log in. If you were not given an appointment or told by the consular section to schedule, you should not do so. You will be turned away if your application is not yet ready for processing, even if you schedule an appointment.
The following are types of Immigrant Visas:
An applicant may be eligible to immigrate to the United States based on the relationship to a U.S. citizen or U.S. legal permanent resident ("green card holder"). If the applicant's spouse, parent, child, or sibling is a U.S. citizen, he/she can file an I-130 petition to begin the process with the Department of Homeland Security in the United States. If the applicant's spouse or parent is a legal permanent resident, he/she may also file an I-130 petition with the Department of Homeland Security in the United States, subject to certain age and marital status restrictions. If the applicant’s spouse or parent is U.S, citizen who lives outside of the United State he/she maybe be able to file a petition at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to begin the process. For more information, please consult these Web sites: www.dhs.gov or www.uscis.gov.
Only if the applicant's spouse or parent is a U.S. citizen and only if they live outside of the United States, they may be able to file a petition at the U.S. Consular Section to begin the process.
Applicants may not begin the application process themselves; only the U.S. citizen or resident relative may initiate the immigration process. Only after they have filed a petition and it has been approved can the Embassy or Consulate assist an applicant.
For more information, please consult this Web site:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/immigrants_1340.html.
Once the applicant's petition has been approved and is "current", the applicant will have to present evidence of eligibility to immigrate through evidence including a medical exam, a police report, and an affidavit of support from the U.S. citizen or resident who filed the petition. For additional information on the documents the applicant must submit along with the immigrant visa application, please see the instructions sent along with the applicant's appointment letter.
To apply for an employment-based immigrant visa, the U.S. firm offering the applicant the employment opportunity should contact the local United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office or Department of Labor in the United States for further information. The U.S. employer must begin the process by filing an I-140 petition with the Department of Homeland Security in the United States. Only after they have filed a petition and it has been approved can the Consular Section assist the applicant.
For more information, please consult: www.uscis.gov.
Once your petition has been approved and an appointment has been scheduled, the applicant will have to present evidence of eligibility to immigrate including a medical exam, a police report, and, if the business petitioning for the applicant is owned by the applicant's family, an affidavit of support from the U.S. citizen or resident who filed the petition. For additional information on the documents the applicant must submit along with the immigrant visa application, please see the instructions sent along with the applicant's appointment letter.
The Congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available approximately 50,000 diversity visas (DV) annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
For more information, please consult: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html#1.
If your entry is chosen and you are notified by the U.S. Government that you are a DV "winner", the applicant will have to present evidence of eligibility to immigrate including a medical exam, a police report, and documentary evidence or the applicant's educational or professional credentials. For additional information on the documents the applicant must submit along with the immigrant visa application, please see the instructions sent along with the applicant's appointment letter.
The Department of State, Office of Visa Services, advises the public of a notable increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. The scammers behind these fraudulent emails and letters are posing as the U.S. government in an attempt to extract payment from DV applicants. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. All applicants should be familiar with information about DV scams provided by the Federal Trade Commission. Also review the procedures for the DV program provided above, so that you know what to expect, when to expect it, and from whom.
Finally, remember that all DV applicants must check their status online, and will not receive a notification letter from the U.S. government. DV Entry Status Check will only be provided through the Department of State secure online site, http://www.dvlottery.state.gov. Refer to the additional fraud warning information below, as well as frequently asked questions about fraud protection for more information.
There are other special categories of Immigrant Visas.
For more information, please consult: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1326.html.
Fiancé(e) Visas are included in this section because even though they are technically nonimmigrant visas, they are processed by the immigrant visa unit. This visa is for an applicant who is a fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen, an applicant who is engaged or contracted to be married. The marriage must be legally possible according to laws of the state in the United States where the marriage will take place.
The American citizen who wants to bring a foreign fiancé(e) to travel to the U S to marry and live in the United States must file Form I-129F with the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office that serves the area where the U.S. citizen lives. This petition cannot be filed at an embassy, consulate or U.S. immigration office abroad.
After the USCIS approves the petition, it sends the petition to National Visa Center for processing, prior to sending it to the embassy or consulate where the fiancé(e) will apply for a K-1 nonimmigrant visa for a fiancé(e). Children of K-1 applicants should apply for a K-2 visa.
After getting the fiancé(e) visa, the fiancé(e) of the U.S. citizen enters the United States through a U.S. Port of Entry. The U.S. immigration official gives the fiancé(e) instructions on what to do when entering the United States The couple must get married within 90 days of the fiancé(e)'s entry into the United States.
A permanent resident card, commonly known as a green card, is evidence of the applicant's status as a permanent resident with a right to live and work permanently in the United States. It also is evidence of the applicant's registration in accordance with U.S. immigration laws. A green card is also called Form I-551.
If the applicant's previous card was lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed, please consult www.uscis.gov.
Immigrant Visa Unit in Nairobi, Kenya
The Immigrant Visa Unit in Nairobi, Kenya will NO LONGER receive documents and interview applicants on two separate occasions and days. In order to improve customer service, current procedures allow for document submission and interviews to take place on the same day. Because the entire process takes place in the same day, please be prepared to spend several hours at the embassy complete the entire process.
Important Notice:
- U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is closed to the public the last Wednesday of every month and all Kenyan and American holidays.
- Immigrant Visa Unit can be contacted by email at ImmigrationVisaNairobi@state.gov
Diversity Visa Program 2011
- The Diversity Visa program closed on September 30, 2011.
- The Diversity Visa Unit can be contacted by email at immigrationvisanairobi@state.gov.
U.S. Immigrant Visa Processing in Kenya
IV Applicant Needing to Register for DHL
If you need only to register for courier service and do not need to schedule/reschedule an appointment, please review the instructions below.
- Click on Login on the top of the page.
- Confirm that you have read the disclaimer information you will be taken to a page where you can enter your passport number, date of birth and nationality (country that issued your passport).
- Once you've entered that information you will be taken to an Applicant Summary page.
- Select "Schedule Appointment."
Note: You will not need to actually schedule an appointment if you've already been provided one by the NVC or KCC. You will be able to enter in all your personal information.
- Select the appropriate trip purpose, then select:
- Scheduled by NVC --> Register for Courier
- Select the consular location at which your appointment has been scheduled, and click in the box on the Authorized to Schedule page (again, you will not need to actually schedule an appointment).
- Select your DHL pickup location.
Once you've confirmed your DHL location by clicking submit, you may log out of the system until it is time to come back to check the status of your document for pickup after your appointment.
If you were not given an appointment or told by the consular section to schedule, you should not do so. You will be turned away if your application is not yet ready for processing, even if you schedule an appointment.
IV Applicant needing to schedule or reschedule an appointment:
If you need only to register for courier service and do not need to schedule/reschedule an appointment, please review the instructions below.
- Click on Login on the top of the page.
- Confirm that you have read the disclaimer information you will be taken to a page where you can enter your passport number, date of birth and nationality (country that issued your passport).
- Once you've entered that information you will be taken to an Applicant Summary page.
- Select "Schedule Appointment."
- Select the appropriate trip purpose, then select from the following as indicated in your letter:
- Scheduled by NVC --> Register for Courier, or
- Schedule by NVC --> Schedule New Appointment, or
- Consulate has Asked You to Schedule
- Select the consular location at which your appointment has been scheduled, and click in the box on the Authorized to Schedule page
- Select your DHL pickup location.
- Enter your applicant’s information. Click "Submit."
- Add family members and repeat as needed.
- Click "Continue" on the Applicant and Family Summary page.
- Select date and time of appointment(s).
- Confirm each appointment.
- Review appointment confirmation and applicant information.
If you were not given an appointment or told by the consular section to schedule, you should not do so. You will be turned away if your application is not yet ready for processing, even if you schedule an appointment.
Further information about Immigrant Visa Processing in Kenya may be found at the Embassy Web site at http://nairobi.usembassy.gov/immigrant_visas.html.
