Immigrant Visas

Special Immigrant Visa Category for Certain U.S. Government Employees

In order to qualify for an immigrant visa under the special immigrant category as a current or former U.S. government employee, the following requirements must be met:

• A minimum of 15 years service with the U.S. Government abroad and
• Employee’s service to the government must include “exceptional circumstances”
OR
• Service beyond the call of duty

“Exceptional circumstances” generally fall into one of three categories:
• Cases where relations between the alien employee’s country of nationality in the U.S. haven been severed
• Cases where the country in which the alien employee was employed and the U.S. have severed diplomatic relations and
• Cases where the country in which the alien employee was employed and the U.S. have strained relations an din which the employee may be subjected to persecution by the local government merely because of association with the U.S. Government, or, where the circumstances are such that the employee may be pressured to divulge information available to him which would be contrary to national interests.

In some cases an employee has in the course of “faithful service” fulfilled or rendered service so far beyond the call of duty that some form of recognition is merited.

Examples of this might be:

• In a case where the alien employee has served the U.S. Government loyally and efficiently and where it is believed that the employee’s personal security would be endangered for this reason; or

• In a case where the alien employee has, in the course of his/her faithful service, fulfilled responsibilities or given service in a manner that approaches the heroic and, as a result, clearly deserves come from of recognition by our government.

Service beyond “the call of duty” also encompasses less spectacular activities than those referred to above. For example:
• The excellent service of an employee with 20 ore more years of employment by the U.S. government might in itself be considered “exceptional circumstances”
• An employee who has (or had) high visibility in a sensitive position, and the employee’s performance as a representative of the U.S. government in contacts with host government entities and other organizations has brought great credit to the agency by which employed
• The quality of the employee’s performance is such that the employee has been given individual awards in recognition of skill or personal usefulness to the U.S. Government
• Other exceptional cases might include where the employee has, apart from the performance of official duties, rendered valuable services and assistance to the American community at post
• It might also be when an employee has served for an extended time in a responsible position in a country foreign to that employee, who has thereby lost economic and social ties in the home country

Note: If you are still employed with the U.S. Government at the time of your application, you must establish intent to resign from your present position and demonstrate an intention to immigrate to the U.S. within a designated period of time.

Once your application has been approved by Washington, you have 1 year in which to file the petition.

If you believe you would qualify, please forward your application (pdf)together with all supporting documents (statements from supervisors, award citations and efficiency reports, etc.) to the Correspondence and Information Unit in Frankfurt, Giessener Strasse 30, 60435 Frankfurt.