The United States welcomes several million foreign immigrants and investors who arrive in the US every year in accordance with its immigration laws. They greatly add to the nation’s educational, cultural, and economic life.
The US Congress has enacted immigration laws which have authority over immigration matters. These include how long the foreigner may stay and when they must leave, determining who may enter the country, and the entry and exit of travellers. The foundation for immigration law is provided under the Immigration Naturalization Act, or INA, together with its amendments. The Act is the basic body of immigration law.
The current changes in the US laws about visa procedures and policies have increased the amount of time it can take to get a visa. It is unavoidable that delays often happen, although visa processing improvements have been made. The processing times will often differ. The mission of the State Department is visa delivery in not more than 30 days from the time of its application. However, cases which require administrative processing may take longer. Administrative processing is a requirement that most applicants must meet when they apply for a visa. It can take 60 days from the time of application for most of the administrative processing to be resolved. The timing will differ, depending on the individual circumstances of the case when administrative processing is needed. Therefore, applicants must wait for at least 90 days from the time of submission of documents before making inquiries regarding the status of administrative processing.
If a person wishes to visit the US and get a visa, he must schedule his visa interview well in advance of his date of departure.