According to a high level Department of State (DOS) official, processing of nonimmigrant visa applications at American Consulates around the world is currently taking "a couple of weeks" at a minimum due to background security checks, regardless of the applicant's nationality or citizenship. This same official made it clear that there is no expedite procedure regardless of how significant the individual visa applicant is considered to be, how critical his/her trip is, or how large or influential the employer may be.

There are two types of checks that DOS officials conduct on visa applicants: 1) name checks and 2) clearance checks.  Name checks are done on every individual irrespective of country of birth or nationality.  Name checks entail checking the visa lookout system. The lookout system is a database which is updated daily and is managed by the U.S. Customs Service.  The INS also uses the lookout system for name checks.   

Clearance checks require the Consulate to collect certain biographic information about the visa applicant and send it to the Visa Office of the DOS in Washington D.C. to process.  Since September 11, 2001, there has been a huge increase in the volume of clearances requested and, as a result, a significant backlog has developed. In the past, if the Visa Office did not respond to a clearance request within a certain period of time, the Consulate was authorized to issue the visa. This policy has been changed.  Now, the Consulate must wait for a response from the Visa Office irrespective of how long it may take before issuing a visa.  This policy change has caused additional delays.

More extensive and lengthy background clearance checks are required from individuals who were born in or are citizens of the following 26 countries: 

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Although there is nothing from the DOS in writing as to the exact parameters of the policy with respect to individuals from these countries, it appears to apply to males between the ages of 16 and 45.  DOS and INS have made it clear that they have discretion to extend this additional clearance requirement to other nationalities, age groups and/or to include females.  Despite DOS' assurances that such checks can be completed in 20 days or less, recent experiences of our clients suggest that processing times can take up to 2-3 months.  Accordingly, individuals seeking who are eligible to revalidate their visas may want to consider applying for revalidation through the Department of State's Visa Office in the U.S. Although processing times for revalidations have also increased, they have the advantage that the applicant can continue to work in the U.S. while the application is pending.   

Please note that nationals or citizens of "state sponsors of terrorism", currently North Korea, Cuba, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, and Libya, are ineligible for revalidation. 

Please see our website for additional information regarding eligibility and the revalidation process.

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