IMMIGRANT VISAS
Refugee/Asylee Family Reunification
If your immediate family has been granted asylee or refugee status in the U.S., he may file a petition for you to join your family member in the U.S. These cases are often called V92 (asylee family members) or V93 (refugee family members). The U.S. Embassy in Dakar processes applications for family members resident in Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone. Eligible applicants are issued a travel document (not a visa) that permits them to enter the U.S.
Stage 1: Petitions
The family reunification process starts with your spouse or parent filing an I-730 petition on your behalf with the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For information on how to file a petition, please click here.
Stage 2: Preparation for the Immigrant Visa Interview
Once USCIS approves your petition, you will be notified that the petition is being sent to the U.S. Embassy in Dakar via the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC). The U.S. Embassy will assign you a case number and mail you instructions on how to prepare for and schedule your interview with a consular officer.
Instructions will vary depending on whether you are a family member of an asylee or refugee. When sending email inquiries to the consular section, please specify whether the person who filed the I-130 petition is an asylee or refugee.
Stage 3: The Interview
The purpose of your interview with a consular officer is to evaluate your family relationship with the person who filed the I-730 petition. You may bring an attorney or family member to your interview, but the consular officer may request that the individual remain seated.
The consular officer must review your file for any legal ineligibility you may have that would prevent you from receiving a travel document. This could include, but is not limited to misrepresenting a material fact either in your current or a previous visa application, criminal convictions, or a medical ineligibility.
At the end of the interview, you will be told whether you have established your eligibility for a travel document. If you have not brought a required document such as your medical examination, you will be given a 221g letter with instructions on how to schedule a second interview once you have all of your required documents. If you have not established your eligibility for a travel document, your case will be referred to the consular section's eligibility review unit for further evaluation.
Stage 4: Return of Travel Documents
If you establish your eligibility at the time of your interview, the consular officer will retain your passport (if you do not have a passport, the travel document will be placed on a special paper provided by the embassy) and documents. If you would like your original documents returned, you must provide a clear copy of your documents at the time of the interview. The passport then has the travel document placed inside it and the documents are placed in a sealed packet. You can pick up your travel document and sealed packet any Tuesday or Thursday after your interview at 3:00 p.m.
When you receive the sealed document packet it must not be opened by anybody. It must remain sealed. If the document packet is opened, you must schedule a 221g appointment through USVIS to have the packet resealed. You can use the travel document and accompanying document packet to travel to a U.S. port of entry and seek admission as the immediate family member of an asylee or refugee.
