SB1 Visas (Returning Residents):

Step 1
When you have assembled the required documents and completed Form DS-117, Application to Determine Returning Resident Status, come to the Consulate any Friday at 8:00 a.m.(Except for holidays. See our holiday schedule.) After paying the non-refundable SB1 visa application fee, a consular officer will interview you. At that time, the officer will only determine if you are eligible to apply for an SB-1 visa; the Consulate will contact you with this determination soon after your interview date.

Note: A determination that a person is eligible to apply for an SB1 Visa does not guarantee that the Consulate will later approve the visa.

Step 2
If the office determines that the beneficiary is eligible to apply for an SB1 visa, the consulate will send out an instruction packet (known as Packet 3) and prepare the case for a second interview.

Step 3
Once the second interview date is set, the Consulate will send the beneficiary an appointment packet (known as Packet 4) providing instructions on how to prepare for the interview. The beneficiary will need to have a medical exam completed at one of a list of designated hospitals (PDF #K) before the interview takes place.

A former immigrant who has lost LPR status and desires to reestablish residency in the United States must do so using a new immigrant visa based on either an approved immigrant petition or returning resident status. Immigrant visa petitions filed on behalf of the former immigrant may be done in the normal manner. Information on the various types of immigrant and employment based petitions can be found elsewhere in this website.

Former immigrants may also wish to apply for returning resident status.  An application for returning resident status requires evidence of the applicant's continuing, unbroken ties to the United States; in addition to evidence that the stay outside the United States was truly beyond the applicant's control and that the intent of the applicant was always to return to the United States.  Evidence may consist of continuous compliance with U.S. tax law, ownership of property and assets in the United States, and maintenance of U.S. licenses and memberships. Merely having relatives who are U.S. citizens, attending school overseas, or stating an intent to return, is generally insufficient