Effective May 2003, the U.S. Embassy will discontinue the walk-in
system for K visa applicants on Fridays. K visa applicants
will now be given appointments for their visa interviews.
According to Consul General David Donahue the new procedure is
primarily a security measure, "Security has become
a major concern and new procedures have been put into effect to
help ensure the safety of Embassy personnel as well as our visa
applicants."
Mr. Donahue also explained that the number of K visa applicants
has been steadily increasing since last year and the walk-in system
is no longer a practical way to process visa applications.
K visa applicants are fiance(e)s or spouses and children of American
citizens. Once the Embassy receives the approved K
petitions from the National Visa Center in the U.S., it will queue
the applicants for interview and notify them of their medical
and interview appointments. This is the procedure followed
for the other immigrant visa applicants. The Embassy, however,
will continue to devote Fridays for K and V processing.
Mr. Donahue explained that the purpose of the K visa is to expedite
the travel of beneficiaries who could be subject to a long period
of separation from petitioners during the petitioning process.
"The K visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows beneficiaries
to enter the United States and to remain there until they are
able to apply for lawful permanent residence status instead of
having to wait in the Philippines as the U.S. Immigration law
previously required."
The Embassy encourages applicants to come prepared for their scheduled
appointments with all the necessary documents to avoid delays
in the processing of their applications.
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