• Hello Members, This forums is for DV lottery visas only. For other immigration related questions, please go to our forums home page, find the related forum and post it there.

DV2023 Selectee with Palestinian Travel Document

S

Statue12

New Member
Greetings,

My wife was selected in DV2023 with a case number AS19XXX
She is a Syrian citizen but the Derivatives -me and two kids- are Palestinians with Syrian Travel Documents.
While filling the DS260, in the personal information page 2, the selection of origin (Palestinians holding Syrian Travel Documents) was selected as Palestinian territory, and the document type as other travel document, since the documnets we are having are not considered as passports.
The concern here is when I selected other travel document, the fields to fill in the travel document details will disappear, therefore, the details such as travel document number, issuance date and expiration date cannot be typed in the form.
Accordingly, we filled and submitted the DS260 to the best of our knowledge since we are assuming that the DS260 is a smart form and we can't type an answer for a question that wasn't asked.

I tried to contact KCC about this matter and consulted a couple of attorneys but unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a clear answer.
I hope someone can tell me if what I did is correct or if I should consider any other approach to avoid roadblocks during processing our DS260 or during the interview.

Many Thanks !
 
Statue12 said:
Thank you for your response
Have you heard of any cases of people with travel documents who passed the interview without trouble?
Click to expand...
DoS reciprocity tables list Palestine passports as being acceptable, but also recognizes that some may need travel documents from other countries if they reside elsewhere, see below. You’d probably want to find out from others in a similar situation (it would be for any US immigrant visa, not just DV) if Syrian travel documents meet their requirements - they specifically mention Syria below so I assume they do but you might want to check to be sure. KCC is probably not going to be helpful, if you can’t find others in a similar situation maybe try contact the interviewing embassy directly.

https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...ty-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Israel.html (scroll down to the passport and other travel documents section, and then within that to the section on PalestinIan passports)

Comments: 9 FAM 403.9-3(A)(1) states that travel documents issued by the Palestinian National Authority (PA) meet the definition of a passport. The only legitimate PA passports issued after June 2007 are those issued in Ramallah, Hebron, and Nablus. Any PA passport issued outside of these areas should be considered fraudulent. Consular officers should be aware that all Palestinian diplomatic missions, including delegations to United Nations bodies, remain under the aegis of the Palestine Liberation Organization, not the Palestinian Authority. Please review the special clearance and issuance procedures for more information. As many Palestinians reside outside of West Bank and Gaza, several other governments in the region, including the governments of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Libya, issue travel documents to Palestinians. These documents generally state "Travel Document for Palestinian Refugees" on the cover. If these travel documents meet the definition of a passport as defined in INA 101(a)(30), the holders of these travel documents should be granted the same reciprocity as holders of travel documents issued by the Palestinian authority.
 
Thanks @SusieQQQ
I am looking for people with similar documents that got immigrant visas and I hope one of them could read this post and respond to it. Otherwise, I will try to contact the interviewing Embassy.
I have traveled to the states before and many of my family members have been to the states using similar travel documents so I have no doubt that the US recognizes this document as a valid travel document for a nonimmigrant visa but my only concern here is if it can be called a passport in the DS260 in order to be able to fill the details properly in the form.

Referring to INA 101(a)(30) The term "passport" means any travel document issued by competent authority showing the bearer's origin, identity, and nationality if any, which is valid for the admission of the bearer into a foreign country.

The Syrian travel document for Palestinian refugees indeed checks all the boxes. It shows the origin, identity and nationality as Palestinian, does that means iI could have chosen a passport instead of a travel document in the DS260 form?
 
Statue12 said:
The Syrian travel document for Palestinian refugees indeed checks all the boxes. It shows the origin, identity and nationality as Palestinian, does that means iI could have chosen a passport instead of a travel document in the DS260 form?
Click to expand...
It’s not a passport, so no. The extract means it is regarded as valid as one for purposes of issuing a visa. That doesn’t mean it actually is a passport, though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top