<aside> ℹ️ Consular processing refers to the process of obtaining legal permanent resident status (a green card) at the United States consulate in the foreign national’s home country. This is the equivalent of the process known as adjustment of status when a foreign national is obtaining legal permanent resident status inside of the United States.
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<aside> ❗ VERY IMPORTANT CONSULAR PROCESSING INFORMATION
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<aside> ☠️ One Year Contact Requirement: Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 203(g) provides that the Secretary of State shall terminate the registration (petition) of any alien who fails to apply for an immigrant visa within one year of notice of visa availability. The petition may be reinstated if, within two years of notice of visa availability, the alien establishes that the failure to apply was for reasons beyond the alien’s control. Therefore if you do not respond to notices from the NVC within one year you risk termination of your petition under this section of law and would lose the benefits of that petition, such as your priority date.
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Once you are the beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition and an immigrant visa number is immediately available to you, there are two ways to apply for lawful permanent resident status (a Green Card). If you are outside of the United States, you may apply at a U.S. Department of State consulate abroad for an immigrant visa in order to come to the United States and be admitted as a permanent resident. This pathway is referred to as consular processing.
If you are already in the United States, you can apply for permanent resident status without having to return to your home country then you would want to look at a different process called adjustment of status.