The United States Department of State (“DOS”) recently instructed U.S. consular posts that, for purposes of issuing nonimmigrant visas to beneficiaries of H, L, O, P, and Q petitions, the Petition Information Management System (“PIMS”) electronic record will now be the primary source of evidence to be used in determining whether the employer’s underlying petition has been approved. A foreign national who presents an original Form I-797 approval notice, which was formerly considered sufficient evidence of petition approval, may not be issued a visa until the consular officer confirms approval via PIMS.
Consular posts are allowed to use approved petitions and approval notices as sufficient proof to schedule visa appointments, but the DOS directive mandates that only the PIMS record serves as proof of petition approval. Without PIMS verification, nonimmigrant visas will not be issued.
When a petition is approved by the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”), a copy of the petition is scanned to the DOS’ Kentucky Consular Center (“KCC”). The KCC then scans and enters pertinent petition information into PIMS. The DOS reports that newly approved petitions are generally available in PIMS within 24-48 hours from receipt at the KCC. The current PIMS report contains a record of all approved petitions since 2004.
How This Affects You
Because PIMS is a
new electronic verification system, foreign nationals should expect delays
in nonimmigrant visa issuance during the roll-out period for this system.
The DOS directive caught many consular posts by surprise, which has
resulted in many posts unsure of how to implement new PIMS procedures.
We will provide further information as soon as it becomes available.
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