Immigrant Visas

General Information

An Immigrant Visa is required of anyone who wishes to enter the United States to reside there permanently, whether or not that person plans to seek employment in the United States. U.S. immigration law provides for the issuance of Immigrant Visas in four general categories:

1. Immediate relatives/Foreign Spouse


2. Family-based


3. Employment-based


4. Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (the “green card” lottery)

Telephone inquiries regarding specific immigrant visa cases are accepted by the Immigrant Visa Unit between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (Tel. 622-6371/6).

If you have already been interviewed for your immigrant visa and were asked to bring additional documentation, you should bring those documents to the Embassy any Friday between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m., except on Trinidad and Tobago and U.S. holidays.

In order to secure the safety of our applicants and to ensure that our security screening procedures do not delay or hinder entrance to the Embassy, no electronic devices, including cell telephones, may be brought into the Embassy. Weapons of any kind, large backpacks, suitcases and glass containers are also not permitted.  We suggest that all such items be left at home, in a locked car, or with a friend or relative who remains outside the premises.  Applicants will only be allowed to bring in documents that are relevant to the visa application. 

For general information about U.S. visas, please visit the following web page: http://travel.state.gov/visa/index.html

For tips on Immigrant Visas, please visit the following web page: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants.html

As of January 22, 2007, consular offices abroad were instructed to cease accepting certain immigrant visa petitions because consular officers lacked the means to perform the required criminal background checks on American citizen petitioners, as required by the Adam Walsh Act.

Subsequently, the Department of State and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) worked to develop a mechanism whereby USCIS will perform these required "Adam Walsh Act" checks for any petitions accepted abroad by consular officers.

Effective immediately, American citizens who are resident in Trinidad and Tobago can file immediate relative immigrant classification petitions at the Embassy in Port of Spain. Immediate relative petitions (I-130) for IR-1 (Spouse of an American Citizen), IR-2 (Child of an American Citizen), and IR-5 (Parent of an American Citizen) applicants are accepted by the Consular Section between 7:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., Monday through Thursday, except for U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago holidays. 

To demonstrate residency in a consular district, the American Citizen petitioners must be able to show that they have permission to reside in the consular district and that they have been doing so continuously for at least six months before filing the petition.  Individuals who are in the country on a temporary status, such as student or tourist, would not be considered to meet the residency standard.

U.S. citizens petitioning for relatives must bring their U.S. passports, and the beneficiaries must bring their national passports to the Embassy when the petition is submitted.  Original marriage and/or birth certificates establishing the family relationship must also be presented, along with original divorce decrees from previous marriages. 

All lawful permanent residents, and American Citizens resident in the United States or with a permanent address in the United States, will file I-130 petitions at the USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over their place of residence (as indicated on the USCIS website: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-130.pdf).