Chanel712

Change of Port of Entry

Hi everyone, I am new to this great forum.

We had the visa interview recently, unfortunately there was a missing document which was the only reason for the official not issuing the visa. We now have the document and will be submitting in the next couple of days.

We would like to change the port of entry that we gave to the embassy official at the interview when we submit this missing document. Will this affect the issuing of the visa and a request for another interview?

Thanks for your anticipated valuable responses.

ian-mstm

Which visa? Which country?


Not only won't it affect your visa, it makes no difference whatsoever where you enter the US. I wouldn't even bother mentioning it.

Ian

rpjs

We were originally going to PoE (IR1 immigrant visa) at Boston just before Christmas to spend it with OH's fam then move to NYC. Because of the snowfail, we ended up spending Christmas in the UK and flew direct to JFK instead. We didn't even think of telling the Embassy or USCIS before flying and no-one asked about it when I entered. Totally painless process that took no more than 5-10 minutes for me to be done. Getting the cat released by Customs was considerably more difficult!

Chanel712

Sorry guys, I did not make my query very clear.

1. We will be immigrating to the US.

2. It is not really POE issue. The question the official asked was where would be live when we are in the US. Does the document an immigrant is given states which place / State he is supposed to register his residency?

I only hope I have now made the query clear.

rpjs

When you arrive at the PoE you'll be asked to confirm the address you'll be living at, and if you need to change it then you can do so - I did, as at the time of my visa interview our initial accomodation in NYC hadn't been finalised.

meauxna

No, it won't matter if your POE changes. However, if your residence address in the US is different from what you wrote on DS-230, you will want to update it when you arrive, with the officer at the POE (s/he should confirm address with you). This is important because it's where you register your address, and that is where your green cards and social security cards will be mailed. From your entry forward, you must keep USCIS updated with your residence address.

Please see this wiki entry for some tips: Immigrant Visa Arrival

Chanel712

Thank you so much.

The material and help you guys give and share are amazing.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

meauxna

Safe travels to you!

crg

Some visas have notations on them that limit which port of entry may be used, but I've never heard of it with an immigrant visa.

Unless the visa has a notation on it, it's valid at any Class A port of entry.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87503.pdf

"9 FAM 41.113 PN13.2 Nationals of Certain Countries Restricted to Designated Ports of Entry (POEs)

If a visa recipient is restricted to a designated port or ports of entry and/or exit, the port(s) should be reflected in the 88-character field under the “Annotation section” on the MRV. If there is insufficient space to list the number of ports, the visa should be annotated to reflect the page that lists the ports of entry and/or exit. (For port(s) of entry and/or exit, see country concerned in Visa Reciprocity and Country Documents Finder)"

meauxna

Thanks, crg, there's always an exception, I should have known.
Do you know under what sort of circumstances a visa would be limited to a certain POE?

crg

The blurb I quoted mentions reciprocity which means they would do it to someone who is from a country that does it to US citizens.

It's probably also used when they decide to grant a visa to someone they normally would not grant a visa to when they have an interest in allowing them to travel to a specific event. They don't really want to give them a visa, but if they do, they want to specifically limit where it may be used.

There is also the C-2 visa that physically restricts the person's travel within the US. It only allows the person to travel within 20 miles of Columbus Circle in Manhattan. I suspect that is so North Korean diplomats can visit the UN, but the FBI doesn't have to follow them around as they go check out garage sales in Ohio.

Refugees are also sometimes limited to certain ports of entry, but they often don't get a visa per se.

meauxna

Well, that IS where you find the best stuff...