In order to protect the health, welfare, and security of the United States, certain applicants are ineligible for immigrant visas. There are several ineligibilities written into U.S. Immigration Laws, including: infection from certain communicable diseases; possessing a dangerous mental disorder; having committed serious criminal acts; being a terrorist; or having used illegal means to enter or remain in the U.S. beyond the permitted period of time. If you are found to have one of these ineligibilities, the Consular Section will advise you whether a waiver of the ineligibility is possible. For more detailed information about ineligibilities, please see:  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/visa-denials.html.

In addition, former exchange visitors may be subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement of Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Your J1 visa will indicate whether or not you are subject to this requirement. Exchange visitors who are subject to, but do not wish to comply with, the two-year home country residence requirement may apply for a waiver of the requirement. For more information please visit the Department of State’s website at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/exchange/waiver-of-the-exchange-visitor.html.

If your visa is refused under the provisions of Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act for lack of documentation, you will have twelve months to present the missing documents. If you fail to complete your missing items within this time, then your application may go under termination process per INA 203.

Many visa applications may need to go through administrative processing before they can be processed to conclusion. The process   may take several months. We cannot expedite this process, nor can we advise how long it will take. Once the processing is complete, we will notify applicants by email. You can also check the status of your case on our website.

At my Diversity Visa interview, I was told my application was denied. How do I appeal that decision or have it reconsidered?

You are welcome to provide the documents to overcome your refusal up until the end of fiscal year for which you won the lottery. If your situation has not changed since your interview, the decision should remain the same.

The Consular Section strongly encourages you NOT to buy your tickets or make travel arrangements until after you receive your issued visa.  The Consular Section cannot guarantee that your visa will be approved and cannot be responsible for the consequences of your decision to buy a non-refundable plane ticket.

If your case is pending because the Consular Officer requested that you provide further information/documents, you should follow the instructions on the refusal sheet given to you after the interview and provide your documents as indicated on that refusal sheet.

Please note that the instructions on the refusal sheets are the only method by which the Consular Section can accept further documentation including those submitted to the American Citizen Services (ACS) office.

Please contact Immigrant Visa Unit by email requesting information on your missing documents.

Aside from the original interview, interviewing officers are not available to talk to applicants or petitioners about individual cases. The Embassy makes every effort to ensure that applicants and petitioners can voice their concerns contacting us by e-mail. The Immigrant Visa Unit reads and responds to every piece of correspondence it receives.

Consular officers are mandated by law to consider the totality of circumstances when determining whether an applicant has a public charge ineligibility.  Income is one of the many criteria that officers must review; others include the applicant’s health, age, education level, work experience, language ability, and family situation. It is not uncommon for applicants to be found ineligible even when their petitioner’s income is above the level specified in the poverty guidelines. To overcome this ineligibility, applicants must either find a credible cosponsor with sufficient additional income and assets, or prove that their financial situation has changed since the interview.

A waiver is a special authorization granted under U.S. law by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to waive an ineligibility that would otherwise prevent a beneficiary from immigrating to the United States. If you have an ineligibility, the Consular Section will let you know whether a waiver is available. If so, you will be told how to apply.

No. Your derivative family members can only travel to the U.S. with you or on a date after your admission to the United States.

Please send your visa packet and passport (with the visa in it) back to our office by Turkish Postal Services (PTT). We will reseal your visa packet and return it to the PTT branch you have designated.

If the visa is not used within its period of validity, you will be asked to bring your passport and the visa packet to our office for cancellation, along with a statement explaining the reasons why the visa was not used. A new visa thereafter is possible, though not certain. Payment of additional fees may be required. If you cannot travel within validity of your visa, please contact us explaining your circumstances by email.

Please contact us by e-mail soon as possible and request an appointment to bring your visa packet and passport (with the visa in it) back to our office

Please contact us by e-mail soon as possible. Please provide information describing when and where your visa was lost or stolen. Be prepared to provide us a police report from local authorities regarding the matter. You will be contacted after your information has been reviewed.