8 U.S.C. § 1202 — Application for visas

(a) Immigrant^* visas. Every "alien^*" applying for an immigrant visa and for alien registration must apply in the form, manner, and place required by regulations. This section does not define "alien." The application must state^* the applicant’s full and true name; every other name the applicant has used or been known by; age and sex; date and place of birth; and any additional information that regulations require for identifying the applicant and enforcing the immigration and nationality laws.

(b) Other documentary evidence for an immigrant visa. Every "alien" applying for an immigrant visa must present a valid, unexpired passport^* or another suitable travel document, or a document showing identity and nationality, if regulations issued by the Secretary of State require that document. This section does not define "suitable travel document," "document of identity and nationality," or "regulations."

The immigrant must give the consular officer^*, with the application:

• a copy of a certification from the appropriate police authorities stating what their records show about the immigrant;
• a certified copy of any existing prison record, military record, and birth record; and
• a certified copy of every other record or document about the immigrant or the immigrant’s case that the consular officer may require.

A copy of each document supplied must be permanently attached to the application and becomes part of it.

If the immigrant satisfies the consular officer that a document or record required by this subsection cannot be obtained, the consular officer may allow the immigrant to submit other satisfactory evidence of the fact that the unavailable document or record would have shown. Every immigrant visa application must be reviewed and decided by a consular officer. This section does not define "consular officer."

(c) Nonimmigrant visas; nonimmigrant registration; form, manner, and contents of application. Every "alien" applying for a nonimmigrant visa and for alien registration must apply in the form and manner required by regulations. The application must state the applicant’s full and true name; date and place of birth; nationality; purpose and intended length of stay in the United States; marital status; and any additional information that regulations require for identifying the applicant, deciding whether the applicant qualifies for a nonimmigrant visa, and enforcing the immigration and nationality laws.

The alien must give complete and accurate answers to every request for information in the application. At the Secretary of State’s discretion, application forms for the different classes of nonimmigrant admission^* described in section 1101(a)(15) of this title may differ according to the visa class requested.

(d) Other documentary evidence for a nonimmigrant visa. Every "alien" applying for a nonimmigrant visa and for alien registration must give the consular officer, with the application, a certified copy of every document about the applicant that regulations require. Every nonimmigrant visa application must be reviewed and decided by a consular officer.

(e) Signing and verification of application. Unless regulations provide otherwise, the applicant must sign each immigrant visa application in the presence of the consular officer, and the consular officer must administer an oath to the applicant to verify the application. When the consular officer grants the immigrant visa, the application becomes the immigrant visa.

The application for a nonimmigrant visa, or other documentation as a nonimmigrant, must be handled as regulations provide. Unless regulations provide otherwise, the issuance of a nonimmigrant visa must be shown by a stamp or another marking placed in the alien’s passport.

(f) Confidential nature of records. Records of the Department of State and of United States diplomatic and consular offices that concern issuing or refusing visas or permits to enter the United States are confidential. They may be used only to formulate, change, administer, or enforce United States immigration, nationality, and other laws.

There are two exceptions:

(1) At the Secretary of State’s discretion, certified copies of these records may be made available to a court if the court certifies that it needs the information in the records in the interest of justice in a case pending before it.

(2) At the Secretary of State’s discretion, and based on reciprocity, the Secretary may provide a foreign government with information in the Department of State’s computerized visa lookout database. When necessary and appropriate, the Secretary may also provide other records covered by this section that relate to information in that database. The Secretary may do this in either of these situations:

(A) For individual aliens, at any time and case by case, to prevent, investigate, or punish acts that would be crimes in the United States. These acts include, but are not limited to, terrorism and trafficking in controlled substances, people, or illegal weapons.

(B) For any or all aliens in the database, under conditions the Secretary of State sets in an agreement with the foreign government. Under that agreement, the foreign government must agree either to use the information and records for the purposes in subparagraph (A), or to deny visas to people who would be inadmissible to the United States.

(g) Nonimmigrant visa void at conclusion of authorized period of stay.

(1) If an "alien" was admitted^* based on a nonimmigrant visa and stayed in the United States past the period of stay authorized by the Attorney General^*, that visa becomes void after the authorized period of stay ends. This section does not define "authorized period of stay."

(2) An alien described in paragraph (1) is not eligible to be readmitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant, except in either of these circumstances:

(A) The alien has a visa other than the visa described in paragraph (1), and that visa was issued at a consular office in the alien’s country of nationality. If there is no consular office in that country, the visa may instead be issued at another consular office that the Secretary of State specifies.

(B) The Secretary of State finds that extraordinary circumstances exist.

(h) In-person interview with consular officer. Despite any other provision of this chapter, the Secretary of State must require every "alien" applying for a nonimmigrant visa to have an in-person interview with a consular officer in the circumstances below. This section does not define "in-person interview," "consular officer," or "clearance."

(1) An alien who is at least 14 years old and not more than 79 years old must have an in-person interview with a consular officer, unless a consular official or the Secretary of State waives the interview requirement as described below:

(A) A consular official may waive it if the alien is:

(i) in the class of nonimmigrants listed in section 1101(a)(15)(A) or (G) of this title;

(ii) in the NATO visa category;

(iii) in the class of nonimmigrants listed in section 1101(a)(15)(C)(iii) of this title, called the "C-3 visa" category; or

(iv) granted a diplomatic or official visa on a diplomatic or official passport, or on its equivalent.

(B) A consular official may waive it if all of these conditions apply:

(i) The alien is applying no more than 12 months after the date the alien’s prior visa expired.

(ii) The alien is applying for the same visa classification for which the prior visa was issued.

(iii) The alien is applying at the consular post in the country where the alien usually lives, unless regulations instead require the applicant to apply in the country of which the applicant is a national.

(iv) The consular officer has no indication that the alien has failed to comply with United States immigration laws and regulations.

(C) The Secretary of State may waive it if the Secretary determines that the waiver is:

(i) in the national interest of the United States; or

(ii) necessary because of unusual or emergency circumstances.

(2) Regardless of paragraph (1), an alien must have an in-person interview with a consular officer if any of the following applies:

(A) The alien is not a national or resident of the country where the alien is applying for a visa.

(B) The alien was previously refused a visa, unless that refusal was overcome or the alien obtained a waiver of ineligibility.

(C) The alien is listed in the Consular Lookout and Support System, or in a successor system at the Department of State.

(D) The alien is a national of a country that the Secretary of State has officially designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. This does not include such a national who also has the nationality of a country that is not designated as a state sponsor of terrorism.

(E) The alien requires a security advisory opinion or another Department of State clearance, unless the alien is:

(i) in the class of nonimmigrants listed in section 1101(a)(15)(A) or (G) of this title;

(ii) in the NATO visa category;

(iii) in the class of nonimmigrants listed in section 1101(a)(15)(C)(iii) of this title, called the "C-3 visa" category; or

(iv) an alien who qualifies for a diplomatic or official visa, or its equivalent.

(F) The Secretary of State identifies the alien as a member of a group or sector that the Secretary determines:

(i) presents a substantial risk of giving inaccurate information to obtain a visa;

(ii) has historically had visa applications refused at a rate higher than the average refusal rate for those applications; or

(iii) presents a security threat to the United States.