Immigrant visas

Pre-Screening System Developed by the Immigrant Visa Unit

The Consular Section in Port-au-Prince interviewed over 40,640 immigrant visa applicants in fiscal year 2000. Only approximately 30% of those applicants qualified for a visa at the initial interview. In an effort to increase the number of applicants who present all essential documents at the interview, and, therefore, reduce the waiting time for the immigrant visa, the Consular Section has developed a pre-appointment document screening system known as Packet 3.5.

In the past, applicants were scheduled for an interview when they reported themselves documentarily qualified to the Consular Section. Even after reporting themselves documentarily qualified, the majority of applicants were still missing required documents; these applicants were refused at the time of the interview and were asked to send the documents to be reconsidered later. Because the majority of applicants reported themselves documentarily qualified as soon as they received the Packet 3, the waiting time for an appointment was typically 12 to 15 months.

In an effort to increase the percentage of applicants who have the necessary documents at the time of the interview and to decrease the waiting time, the Consular Section in Port-au-Prince has developed the Packet 3.5 system to pre-screen applicants. As soon we receive a Packet 3 from the NVC, the Consular Section mails the applicant a Packet 3.5. The Packet 3.5 contains a list of documents that the applicant must present at the time of the interview. The instructions direct the applicant to assemble the documents and deposit them at a local courier service. For a small fee, payable by the applicant, the service assembles a packet for each applicant and delivers the packets to the Consular Section daily.

The Consular Section screens each packet for completeness. If the applicant has included all necessary documents, the Consular Section returns a sealed packet to the courier service with a label informing the applicant when to return for their interview, usually within 2 weeks. If the packet is incomplete, the applicant will be asked to gather the missing documents and return for an interview at a later date, usually within 2 months. This system allows the Consular Section to schedule immediately applicants who are ready for an interview and notify other applicants of the additional documents that they must obtain before their interview.

The Packet 3.5 pre-screening system resulted in more applicants qualifying for an immigrant visa at the initial interview. This, in turn, decreased the number of cases that require reconsideration and, ideally, sped up the entire immigrant visa application process for many applicants. The Packet 3.5 system is just one of many new initiatives being developed by the Consular Section in Port-au-Prince to better serve the public.