The first step in applying for an immigrant visa is for the U.S. citizen (petitioner) to file an immigrant visa petition, form I-130, on behalf of a qualifying relative (beneficiary). A separate petition must be filed for each person immigrating.

U.S. citizens resident in the United States can file the petition with the proper office of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Petitioners residing in Poland or Belarus have to file I-130 petitions with the USCIS Chicago Lockbox facility.

A widow/widower of a U.S. citizen may file an immigrant visa petition, form I-360 (PDF – 230 Kb), on his/her own behalf in the immediate relative category if he/she had been married to the deceased U.S. citizen, was not legally separated at the time of death and has not remarried. To qualify, the petition must be filed with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or a U.S. Embassy within two years of the death of the U.S. citizen.

How do I apply?

A widow/widower resident in Poland or Belarus should contact the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw via email at publicwaw@state.gov or by calling +48 22 625 1042 on weekdays between 14:00 and 16:00 for an appointment and information on the steps which must be taken to file the petition (Form I-360). Those residing in the United States should contact the USCIS office for further information.

Send an e-mail to the Consular Section.

You can find more information pertaining to the widow/widower of a U.S. citizen on the USCIS website.

The first step in applying for an immigrant visa is for the U.S. citizen or LPR to file an immigrant visa petition, form I-130, with the office of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The petition must be filed with the USCIS in the United States; it cannot be filed at the Embassy, except for very rare emergency cases and with a consent of the regional USCIS office.

Once the petition is approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, it will be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The NVC will create an immigrant visa case and it will undergo further processing stages, until a date of a visa interview in Warsaw is scheduled and the whole file is sent over to Poland. Please check the State Department’s website to learn more about the processing of visa cases at the NVC.

How long will it take to process my immigrant visa case?

It depends. Applicants registered for immigration in the family based preference category are subject to the annual numerical limitation on immigrants admitted into the United States and are required to wait for the availability of a visa number before final action can be taken on the application. Whenever there are more qualified applicants for a category than there are available numbers, the category will be considered oversubscribed and immigrant visas will be issued in the chronological order in which the petition was filed.

It is not possible to begin the administrative processing of an application until the priority date, the date on which the petition is filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), becomes current.

The waiting period in the family or employment based preference categories varies from category to category and can extend to several years. The priority dates are updated every months by the Department of State and published on their website in the Visa Bulletin.

 

In order to improve visa processing, all the documents provided by the applicants should be prepared and assembled as described below. Please put the documents in the following sequence before the interview.

Passport
The passport should be valid for at least sixty days beyond the period of validity of the visa. Please remove any plastic sleeves/coverings from the passport.

Important: Each applicant should bring his/her previous passport(s) with US visas, otherwise your visa may be refused until the consular officer can review them.

UID Number
Please print out and bring to the Embassy the confirmation page of your GSS registration and passport TNT pick-up location choice. The confirmation page must contain the barcode and your UID number.

Photograph
Each applicant must submit two photos which meet all the requirements listed here. Photos must be signed at the back with your last and first name.

Immigrant Visa Application Form
Complete online (if you have not done it earlier) the biographic data form DS-260 for each person applying for a visa, regardless of age. The form is accessible through CEAC website at https://ceac.state.gov/IV. You can find more information on completing the online forms at http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_5164.html.

To complete the DS-260 you will need to retrieve the NVC Invoice ID Number and each traveling applicant’s Beneficiary ID Number from the Notice to Applicant page of your appointment letter. Should your appointment letter not be available, your Invoice ID and Beneficiary ID Numbers may be retrieved by contacting the National Visa Center at asknvc@state.gov. Please have those numbers with you when you come to your visa interview at the Embassy. They may be necessary should you have to make any changes to your DS-260 visa application.

If your petition did not go through the NVC process, for example, you filed your petition overseas; your beneficiary ID number will be your date of birth (in the format DD-MMM-YYYY).

Birth Certificate
For applicants born in Poland only complete version of a birth certificate (odpis zupełny aktu urodzenia) is accepted. Polish “short form” (odpis skrócony) of birth certificate is not accepted.

Marriage Certificate (if applicable)
Married persons are required to present a certified copy of their marriage certificate (one copy for every spouse). Please note that only complete versions of Polish marriage certificates (odpis zupełny aktu małżeństwa) are accepted. The Polish “short form” (odpis skrócony) marriage certificate is not accepted.

Evidence of the Termination of Prior Marriages (if applicable)
Any applicant who has been previously married must obtain evidence of the termination of each prior marriage such as final divorce decree, death certificate or annulment of marriage.

Police Certificate
Police certificates are required for every applicant aged 16 or over. If the applicant has been convicted of any crime in any country, a copy of the court record of each conviction is required (with translation into English). For further information on how to obtain police certificate click here.

Military Records
All applicants with current or prior military service must provide military records. Military records must contain a complete record of the applicant’s service and conduct while in the service. The record must show any convictions of crime before military tribunals. Military records are required from all male applicants over 18 from Belarus and other former Soviet countries.

Medical Examinations
All applicants should submit the results of medical examination in the original unopened envelope. The examination will be conducted by a medical doctor designated by the Embassy. The applicant is responsible for all medical examination fees. The medical examination cannot be performed by the applicant’s own physician. For detailed information on the location of the medical centers and scheduling the medical appointment please click here.

Financial Documents
Family based immigrant visa applicants must submit an affidavit of support from the petitioner and from a joint sponsor, if required.

• • Form I-864 Affidavit of Support (PDF 1.5 MB) with sponsor’s signature;
  • Form I-864A Supplemental Affidavit of Support (PDF 427 KB) with sponsor’s spouse’s signature (if they file joint tax returns);
  • Complete Federal Income Tax Return from any sponsor for the most recent year (including forms 1040 and W2 or schedule C, E, etc. as required by IRS);
  • Additional documents related to the sponsor’s financial situation (ex.: employment statement, bank account statement).

If the dependents do not travel to the U.S. with the principal applicant, each dependent will require a signed I-864/I-864A and complete set of supporting documents. Dependents of sponsored immigrants in the family preference categories who will travel to the U.S. with the principal applicant may furnish only one set of financial documents, if they are named in the form I-864.

For further information on Affidavit of Support please click here

Translations
Documents in Polish, except for court records, do not have to be translated. All documents that are not written in English or Polish must be translated into English by a certified translator.