Ds 160 form mandatory worldwide

1. DS-160 FORM MANDATORY WORLDWIDE
The U.S. Department of State announced that, effective immediately, the DS-160 Nonimmigrant Visa
Electronic Application will replace the DS-156 Electronic Visa
Application form (EVAF), the DS-156K (Nonimmigrant Fiancé Visa Application), and the paper-based
DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration (parts I and II) for processing K-1 and K-2
nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applications.
The DS-160 replaces the DS-156 Electronic Visa Application Form (EVAF), the DS-156K
(Nonimmigrant Fiancé Visa Application), and the paper-based DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa
(IV) and Alien Registration (parts I and II) for processing K-1 and K-2 applications. K-1 and K-2 visas
may only be processed at IV-processing posts. K-3 and K-4 visas may be processed at any NIV-issuing
post using the normal NIV processing procedure.
The Consular Officers may accept K visa applications using the DS-160 immediately. Posts must require
the DS-160 for all K visa applications received more than one week from the date on the recent
announcement on the Cable to the Consular Offices abroad. As the DOS transitions to mandatory use of
the DS-160 for K visas, we are given to understand that the following exceptions will apply to the
“mandatory use” rule:
1. – The Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs will not require DS-160s for beneficiaries of
cases that have already been scheduled for an interview or have been interviewed and
are pending additional documentation or “administrative processing”; and
2. -- The Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs will not require the new Form for cases received
at the Consular Post prior to receipt of the guidance that was recently cabled to the Post. If
A DS-156, DS-156K, or DS-230 have already been submitted, or received, then the Consulate has
instructed that those Forms should be accepted. .
If the Consular Post has not yet provided information to Applicants then it is most likely that the Consular
Officer will require the DS-160 to be submitted. Please do note that the U.S. Department of State should
not, as a general rule, require the submission of a DS-160 if a valid, signed, unexpired DS-156, DS-156K,
or DS-230 is already on file with the Office and requiring the DS-160 would result in a 221(g) refusal for
an otherwise issuable case.
This guidance is helpful insofar as many individuals who are the subject of 221(g) administrative holds
complain that such holds are a “pretext”. If you or your friends or your family experience 221(g)
administrative holds as a result of an allegation by a Consular Officer that the Forms were improper,
please feel free to contact any of the immigration lawyers at the Nachman Phulwani Zimovcak (NPZ) Law
Group, P.C. You can feel free to e-mail to us at info@visaserve.com or you can phone us at 201-6700006 (x107).