Immigrant Visas

Family Based Immigration

Below You will find a usefull information link

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1306.html

Determining Where to File the Immigrant Visa Petition

All lawful permanent residents of the U.S., and U.S. Citizens resident in the United States or with a permanent address in the United States, must file I-130 petitions at the USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over their place of residence (as indicated on the USCIS website: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1310.html).

Below you will find the steps to follow to file the I-130 petition in La Paz, Bolivia and also a link with detailed information about this process:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_2991.html

First Step: Determining Where to File the Immigrant Visa Petition

American citizens or Legal Permanent Residents who wish to sponsor a relative for an immigrant visa must file a petition with the USCIS office responsible for the petitioner's place of residence (that is, the place of residence of the American citizen or LPR who is filing the petition).  Consular sections are not authorized to accept such petitions; As of January 22, 2007, consular offices abroad were instructed to cease accepting certain immigrant visa petitions because they were not able to conduct the required criminal background checks on U.S. citizen petitioners, as required by the Adam Walsh Act., responsibility for acceptance and approval of immigrant visa petitions rests solely with USCIS, and USCIS contact information may be found on their webpage at
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_2991.html

The Department of State and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) worked to develop a mechanism whereby USCIS will perform these required "Adam Walsh Act" checks for any petitions accepted abroad by consular officers.
Effective March 26, 2007, consular posts abroad will accept petitions for immediate relative immigrant classification (for spouses and minor children) from U.S. citizens who are legally resident in their consular districts and have been for the preceding six months. 
American citizens legally resident in Bolivia for more than six months, in cases of emergent or humanitarian situations (such as life and death, or health and safety), or if determined to be in the national interest (such as facilitating the travel of United States military), can contact the La Paz Consular section through e-mail address: consularlapaz@state.gov
 

Second Step: Filing the Immigrant Visa Petition

The US citizen relative of intending immigrants, who plan to base their immigrant visa application on family relationship, must submit a Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) in La Paz Bolivia any Friday between 10:30 to 11:30 in the mornings, with all the requirements.

1. Petitioner and Beneficiary must be together to file the petition
2. Form I-130
3. Form G-325 one with the information of the petitioner and the other with the information of the beneficiary
4. 1 photo of each of them no specific size
5. Original married  certificate
6. Passport, birth certificate o Naturalization certificate from the petitioner
7. Proof of the relation ship.(Could be photos, letter, etc)
8. Fee of USD. 355.

The Third Step: Gathering Documents and Preparing for the Immigrant Visa Interview

The IV unit will send you a packet of information including a checklist of required documents. Once you have returned the checklist indicating that you have all the required documents, the IV unit will schedule the final visa interview
The Fourth Step: The Immigrant Visa Interview
The IV unit will schedule the final visa interview. You will need to have a medical exam. The fee for the medical exam is in addition to fees paid directly to the U.S. government. You pay this fee, in bolivianos, to the doctor directly. Appointments are necessary for immigrant visa interviews, but the petitioner is not required to attend.

The Final Step: After the Visa is approved:

If all the required documentation is in order and the interviewing officer is satisfied that the beneficiary qualifies for the immigrant visa, the visa will be authorized and printed. All your documents and your passport will be return to you by DHL courier to the city where you live in five working days of the interview date. If not, you will be instructed how to proceed with your case.

Additional information may be found on the main USCIS webpage at www.uscis.gov.  USCIS can also be reached through their National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833).

Once you have received your immigrant visa, you must enter the United States within 6 months of visa issuance to obtain an alien registration receipt or "green" card (Form I-151 or I-551) that will allow you to live and work in the United States.

At the port of entry Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials will take the immigrant visa and stamp your passport with this number and make a notation that you are registered for an alien registration card. It normally takes several months for the USCIS to process and send the alien registration card to you.

In the interim, the passport stamp permits employment and travel until the card arrives. You may depart and return to the U.S. before you receive the alien registration receipt card, as long as the stamp in you passport has not expired. Should you wish to leave the U.S. and your stamp has expired and you have not yet received your alien card, you should contact the USCIS in the U.S. before departure to ensure permission to return to the U.S.

If, in the future, you plan to live outside the U.S. for more than 12 months, you must apply for a re-entry permit in the U.S. BEFORE departure. The maximum validity of this document is two years. If the relocation is permanent, you should formally abandon your permanent resident status by returning you "green card" to the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Without a re-entry permit, any absence from the U.S. of 12 months or longer, or any residence established outside the U.S. is considered grounds for loss of permanent resident status.

Important Notice for Newlyweds:

If at the time of admission to the United States you will have not celebrated the second anniversary of your marriage, which is the basis of your immigrant status, you are subject to the provisions of section 216 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under these provisions, you will be granted conditional permanent residence by an officer of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at the time of your admission to the United States. You and your spouse will be required to file a joint petition (form I-751) with the USCIS to have the conditional basis of your status removed.

This petition must be filed within the 90-day period immediately preceding the second anniversary of the date you were granted conditional permanent resident status. If a petition to remove the conditional basis of your status is not filed within this period, your conditional permanent status will be terminated automatically, and you will be subject to deportation from the United States. You will be provided with written information about this status when your visa is approved and issued, which you should retain and use as a reference.