Immigrant Visas

Information

In general, all applicants for immigrant visas must be sponsored by a U.S. citizen relative or a prospective employer. The major immigrant categories are:

• Immediate Relatives

• Special Immigrants

• Family-sponsored

• Employer-sponsored

Unlike most other immigrant categories, immediate relatives are not subject to numerical limits under immigration law.

The Diversity Visa program provides a certain number of permanent resident visas annually. These visas are drawn from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Given the high volume of legal immigration to the United States, the Diversity Visa program was discontinued in Haiti after 1998.

In order to better serve the public, the immigrant visa unit of the Consular Section has created an email address for general inquiries: papcons@state.gov. Questions on Haitian adoptions can be sent to papadoptions@state.gov.

For questions about immigrant visas, petitioners and applicants can contact our information call center Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM, except Haitian holidays. An access card to use this service may be purchased at any branch of Sogexpress in Haiti.  Applicants and petitioners must dial 001.509.229.5001 and provide their pin number to receive information on a particular case.

When you email us at papadoptions@state.gov, the following message will be generated automatically to confirm that your original messsage was received in our unit:

Your e-mail has reached the Adoptions Unit at the Consular Section at the American Embassy, Port au Prince, Haiti. We will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible.

Due to the volume of inquiries, please allow three working days for response.

If you have not heard back from us after three full work days, pleas re-send your original message to papcons@state.gov, from where it will be forwarded to the Adoptions Unit.

For more detailed information on Embassy holiday closures, please see http://haiti.usembassy.gov/holidays2.html.

Please consult the links on the left-hand side of this page for more information about U.S. immigrant visas. Comprehensive information about immigrant visas can be accessed at the State Department's travel website.