Waiver of Personal Appearance and Interview Requirements for Certain Immigrant Visa Applicants Issued Visas On or After August 4, 2019

Last Updated: December 13, 2021

Consular officers may waive the personal appearance and interview requirements for certain replacement immigrant visa applicants under a new Temporary Final Rule.

Immigrant visa applicants who meet the following criteria may not need to make another in-person appearance before a consular officer for an interview, execution of their application, and oath:

• The immigrant visa was issued on or after August 4, 2019;
• The applicant did not travel to the United States on the immigrant visa; and
• The applicant seeks and remains qualified for an immigrant visa in the same classification as the expired immigrant visa or in certain automatic category conversions, and pursuant to the same approved petition.

Applicants meeting these criteria may wish to contact the consular section that issued their prior immigrant visa and inquire about their eligibility for this provision.  Applicants may be required to submit new DS-260 applications, provide any required updated documents, submit medical exams, and pay the application processing fees.  Please note that applicants who meet these criteria may still be required to appear in-person before a consular officer.

This Temporary Final Rule expires on December 13, 2023. 

Waiver of Personal Appearance and In-Person Oath Requirement

for Certain Immigrant Visa Applicants Due to COVID-19

SUMMARY: This temporary final rule (TFR) provides flexibility for consular officers to *waive the personal appearance of certain repeat immigrant visa applicants who were approved for an immigrant visa in the same classification and on the same basis as the current application on or after August 4, 2019.* It also gives consular officers discretion to allow this subset of immigrant visa applicants to affirm the accuracy of the contents of their application without appearing in person before a consular officer. This TFR is effective immediately and expires after 24 months. The final rule portion of this document reinstates parts of the regulations with certain updates after the expiration of the TFR.

*2019년 8월 4일이나 그 이후 이민 비자가 승인되었던 신청자가 같은 종류의 비자를 다시 신청하는 경우 인터뷰 면제(될 수 있다)*

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This TFR applies to a narrow category of immigrant visa applicants. To qualify for the discretionary in-person waiver, an applicant must:

(1)   Have been issued a U.S. immigrant visa on or after August 4, 2019;

이 최종 임시 규정(TFR)은 좁은 카테고리의 이민 비자 신청자에게 적용된다. 대면 *면제 자격을 갖추려면 신청자는 반드시:

(1)   2019년 8월 4일이나 그 이후에 미국 이민 비자를 발급 받았어야 함

* discretionary waiver: 기관의 재량에 따라 부여되는 면제

The Department conducted a database query to determine how many individuals may benefit from this rule and determined that nearly 49,000 individuals were issued immigrant visas between August 4, 2019 (180 days before the first Presidential Proclamation suspending entry into the United States of certain immigrants in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic) and September 30, 2021, and have not yet sought admission. Of the individuals issued immigrant visas between August 4, 2019, and May 31, 2021, over 11,000 did not seek admission before their immigrant visas expired.

이민 비자의 유효기간은 신체검사 결과보고서의 유효기간과 같습니다. 신체검사 결과보고서의 유효기간은 일반적으로 신체검사일로부터 6개월이지만, CLASS A 또는 BTB일 경우 결과일로부터 3개월입니다. 이민 비자를 수령한 즉시 반드시 비자의 유효기간을 확인하십시오. 이민 비자에 기재된 비자 유효기간 안에 반드시 미국에 입국해야 합니다.

출처:https://kr.usembassy.gov/ko/visas-ko/immigrant-visas-ko/employment-based-immigration-ko/after-the-interview-ko/

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(2)   Seek an immigrant visa in the same classification and pursuant to the same approved petition as the previously issued immigrant visa, or an immigrant visa pursuant to the same approved petition as the previously issued visa but in a different classification because it was automatically converted due to the death or naturalization of the petitioner of the previously issued immigrant visa;

(2)   이전에 발급된 이민 비자와 동일한 승인청원(approved petition)에 따라 같은 종류의 이민 비자를 발급받으려 하거나, 또는 청원은 같으나 사망이나 귀화로 인해 자동으로 비자의 종류가 달라진 경우

(3)   Qualify for an immigrant visa in the same classification, or another classification as the result of automatic conversion due to the death or naturalization of the petitioner of the previously issued immigrant visa, and pursuant to the same approved petition as the previously issued immigrant visa; and

(3)   동일한 승인청원에 따라 같은 종류의 비자에 대해 (비자 발급) 자격을 갖춘 경우, 또는 사망이나 귀화로 비자의 종류가 달라진 경우 해당 비자에 대해 발급 자격을 갖추고 있는 경우

(4)   Have no changed circumstances that could affect the applicant's eligibility for the visa.

(4)   비자 (발급) 자격에 영향을 줄 수 있을만한 상황 변화가 없을 것