The consular process is the path for those outside the United States: the case moves to the National Visa Center and ends with an interview at the embassy or consulate in your country. We prepare the documentation and coach you for that appointment.
Before starting we review whether you have spent time without status in the United States, because that determines whether leaving for the interview is safe. Then we prepare the complete file and explain what to expect on the day of the appointment.
It is the way to obtain permanent residency —the green card— when the beneficiary is outside the United States. Instead of filing an I-485 inside the country, the case is completed at the U.S. embassy or consulate in your country, and you enter already as a resident.
It usually starts with a family petition (Form I-130) filed by a citizen or permanent resident. Once USCIS approves it, the case leaves USCIS and moves to the Department of State.
Each stage depends on the one before. Knowing which one you are in avoids sending documents too early or missing an important letter.
With the petition approved, the case is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC), which assigns it a number and opens the file online. If your category is not an immediate relative one, the NVC waits until the Visa Bulletin shows a visa is available for you.
The DS-260 is the immigrant visa application and is completed online. Along with it, the civil documents are uploaded: passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate and any prior divorce decrees, police certificates from the countries where they apply, and certified translations of anything not in English. Each country has its own list of acceptable documents.
The petitioner signs Form I-864 and shows, with tax returns and proof of income, that they can support the relative. If their income falls short, a joint sponsor can be added. It is one of the items that causes the most rejections.
Once the file is complete, the NVC schedules the interview. Before it, the medical exam must be done with a panel physician authorized by the embassy; not just any doctor will do. At the interview, a consular officer reviews the original documents and asks about the relationship and the case.
If approved, the immigrant visa is placed in your passport and is valid for travel for a limited time. When you enter the United States you are admitted as a permanent resident, and the green card arrives later by mail at the address you provided.
Both paths lead to the same destination. With adjustment of status you wait inside the United States; with the consular process you wait abroad and the interview is in your country.
Which one applies is not a matter of preference: it depends on where you are and how you entered. Those outside the country use the consular path; those inside who meet the adjustment requirements usually adjust. Some people inside the United States can only use the consular path, and for them the next point is decisive.
Anyone who has accrued unlawful presence in the United States and leaves the country for the interview can trigger a reentry bar: three years if that presence lasted more than 180 days but less than a year, and ten years if it lasted a year or more. The bar is triggered upon leaving, not before.
For some relatives there is the provisional waiver (Form I-601A), requested from inside the United States before traveling, which requires showing that the separation would cause extreme hardship to a citizen or resident spouse or parent. Not every case qualifies, and leaving without having reviewed this is a mistake that is hard to undo. It is the first thing we look at in the appointment.
Sometimes the officer does not decide on the spot and places the case in administrative processing: they need to review something further or request an additional document. You are handed a sheet stating what is missing. If it is a document, it is sent within the stated deadline; if it is an internal review, there is a wait. We help you read that sheet and respond to what is requested.
Civil documents that are not the ones accepted for that country, or uncertified translations: the NVC rejects them and the file does not move. An affidavit of support with insufficient income and no joint sponsor.
Arriving at the interview without the originals, or with answers that do not match what the DS-260 says. Having the medical exam done by a doctor who is not on the panel. And not updating the email or address on the file: NVC notices go there, and a missed deadline can close the case.
We start with an appointment where we review where your case comes from, where you are, and whether any time without status could affect leaving the country. If the consular process does not apply or needs a prior step, we tell you clearly. From that comes a written, closed quote, before you pay anything.
Then we prepare the complete file: the DS-260, the affidavit of support, and the civil documents in the format the consulate requires, and we prepare you for the interview. We have attorneys licensed in Colombia, and service is available in Spanish and English, online or in person.
Tell us about your case and we will explain clearly how to move forward. If it does not qualify, we tell you at the first appointment.
Juliana Gómez Altamirano · Attorney licensed in Colombia