Visa Office Field Support and Liaison

Introduction

The Directorate for Visa Services (Visa Office) is the division of the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) which deals with all aspects of visa issuance in the United States and abroad. Consular officers in the field who encounter problems or have questions ranging from broad visa policy issues to details of a specific case are encouraged to seek assistance from VO. This overview is designed to tell you a bit about each unit in the Visa Office

OFFICE OF FIELD SUPPORT AND LIAISON
CA/VO/F

This office is your point of contact for guidance on visa policy and procedures. It is comprised of several divisions.

POST LIAISON DIVISION
CA/VO/F/P

Each geographical region has its own "desk officer" whose primary function is to provide guidance and assistance to consular officers at his or her posts. We urge you to meet your post liaison officer before you depart for any new assignment. Once at post, you should contact him or her any time you need operational or procedural guidance.

The Post Liaison Division maintains contact with all visa issuing posts to provide operational and procedural guidance on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa matters. The office maintains liaison with other visa related agencies, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Department of Labor, the Public Health Service Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Information Agency, and the Department of Transportation. The office coordinates with other directorates within CA and geographical and functional bureaus within the Department of State on the implementation of visa policy. CA/VO/F/P develops all visa forms, coordinates all adoption visa matters, coordinates visa reciprocity, briefs and debriefs visa officers, and prepares written background material on visa operations at overseas posts. CA/VO/F/P is also responsible for visa fraud case work

IMMIGRANT VISA CONTROL AND REPORTING DIVISION
CA/VO/F/I

This division directs the immigrant visa control system which is the method by which the Department of State allocates immigrant visa numbers to applicants who qualify in visa categories which have numerical limitations. CA/VO/F/I ensures that posts are informed of qualifying and current priority dates and allocates visa numbers for issuance at post It also develops post reporting systems on visa workloads, forecasts trends of future immigrant visa demand, and provides statistical analyses and studies. It publishes the Visa Office Bulletin which provides information on visa availability and other visa related topics, and the annual Visa Report which provides a detailed statistical summary of worldwide immigrant and nonimmigrant visa workload.

OFFICE OF LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS AND ADVISORY ASSISTANCE
CA/VO/L

As its title suggests, this office provides specific guidance on matters of law and regulation. It is divided into several divisions.

LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS DIVISION
CA/VO/L/R

This division reviews and prepares for publication all visa regulations and general instructions, including 9 FAM revisions, which interpret those provisions of the immigration law relating to issuance and refusal of visas. It is the Visa Office's division responsible for recommending amendments to existing immigration laws.

ADVISORY OPINIONS DIVISION
CA/VO/L/A

Most officers in the field find that they contact this division almost as often as they contact their desk officer in CA/VO/F/P. This division renders advisory opinions to posts abroad on questions involving specific grounds of visa ineligibility under 212(a) (other than security) and other legal issues concerning visa applications. CA/VO/L/A also ensures compliance with the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act relating to visa records.

This division also is responsible for reviewing, at the request of third parties, including Congress and private attorneys, consular decisions in individual visa cases. In this capacity, CA/VO/L/A will, from time to time, send an inquiry to post requesting details of a specific case. Officers in the field should understand that CA/VO/L/A'S role is limited to reviewing questions of law, rather than questions of fact. Thus, if a review of a case reveals that the inquiry is simply a disagreement with the interviewing consular officer over the facts of a case which result in an ineligibility, CA/VO/L/A will advise the inquirer to contact post for further information If, however, the review reveals that post has incorrectly interpreted a matter of law, CA/VO/L/A will advise post of proper procedures for correcting the situation.

COORDINATION DIVISION
CA/VO/L/C

This division coordinates with the FBI, CIA, other U S government agencies and policy offices within the Department on visa matters involving national security. It renders security advisory opinions on the visa eligibility of aliens coming within the purview of 212(a)(3) (old 27, 28, 29 and 33) of the INA. CA/VO/L/A exercises Departmental authority in recommending to the Attorney General that waivers of ineligibility be granted such aliens to permit their temporary admission to the United States. This division also provides guidance to the field on security and relevant political issues as they concern visa issuance and denial.

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AND DIPLOMATIC LIAISON
CA/VO/P

This office maintains visa files and records and acts as the Departments point of contact for Congress and the public who pose questions regarding visa cases. This office is comprised of several divisions. COMMUNICATIONS AND RECORDS DIVISION
CA/VO/P/CR

This division maintains Visa Office files and records, including cables. It monitors various visa and refugee namecheck programs and sends replies to posts abroad as appropriate.

DIPLOMATIC LIAISON DIVISION
CA/VO/P/D

CA/VO/P/D is the only nonimmigrant visa processing unit in the United States. It re-issues certain classes of business visas (E, H, I, L, O and P nonimmigrant visas) as well as visas for diplomatic missions (A), international organizations (G), and NATO It reviews approximately 45,000 visa applications each year In addition, it processes applications for changes to and from diplomatic status as well as work permits for dependents of diplomats. All inquiries from overseas posts regarding A, G and NATO visas, except requests for advisory opinions should be addressed to this office.

PUBLIC INQUIRIES DIVISION
CA/VO/P/I

CA/VO/P/I responds to all inquiries from Congress and the general public regarding visa operations overseas and the status of individual cases. It is divided into two branches: Telephone Inquiries and Written Inquiries.

TELEPHONE INQUIRES BRANCH
CA/VO/P/IT

This branch responds to telephone inquiries relating to all visa questions from the public, other agencies and Congress. CA/VO/P/IT will, from time to time, contact an overseas post for information to assist in such a response. CA/VO/P/IT appreciates that posts are extremely busy, and tries to limit inquiries to cases which appear to be other than straight forward 214(b) refusals. However, given its mandate to respond in a timely and helpful manner, CA/VO/P/IT appreciates prompt responses from posts containing specific information on refusals.

WRITTEN INQUIRIES BRANCH CA/VO/P/IW

This branch responds to written inquiries relating to al] visa questions from the public, other agencies and Congress. Like CA/VO/P/IT, this office contacts posts from time to time for information to assist it in responding to selected inquiries. Whenever possible, CA/VO/P/IT tries to obtain any necessary information from post via e-mail. If a post is not on e-mail, or does not respond to the original inquiry, CA/VO/P/IT sends a Visas Thirteen message. Posts are asked to respond to such messages within three working days.

DEPARTMENT INTEREST IN VISA CASES

The Department receives thousands of inquiries about individual cases, which in turn generate hundreds of inquiries to posts about the status of such cases. Almost all such queries are neutral, but from time to time, because of high level interest, political sensitivity, or other factors, the Department may suggest or request special handling. Such requests are extremely infrequent, and are almost always intended to help the post avoid future problems. The consular officer's understanding in such cases is appreciated.