Department of State December 7, 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of State (``Department'') is amending its regulation governing immigrant visas by removing the section which allows a consular officer to conduct an informal evaluation of the family members of an immigrant visa applicant to identify potential grounds of ineligibility. The existing regulation was promulgated in 1952, at a time when a consular officer could more readily assess a family member's potential qualification for a visa without a formal visa application. Assessing eligibility for an immigrant visa is now a more complex task and not one which can be accomplished accurately with an informal evaluation.