Opinion on DV-2019 for Diplomats and Foreign Government Officials

[David Enyo]

Hello Everyone,

I (principal applicant), my spouse and kids have been place on AP since October after interviewing for our DVs at a US embassy. My spouse is a senior diplomat who served for a short period in the US in the 1990s as a representative to the UN.

Our application process and interview went well. During the interview the CO asked if we carry non-diplomatic passports and we replied "NO" as it's the truth.
The CO returned our passports but kept our photographs and our photocopied documents and informed us we are on AP and will be notified by email or phone in about 2 weeks. I asked if we were denied and the CO replied, "not at all" waving hands, however after 2 weeks I emailed the embassy ; their reply was that according to their records our case is still on AP and they will notify us as soon as it's complete.

Although we are not accredited to the US, my spouse and I suspect that the AP is due to our diplomatic status from a country with uneasy relations with the US.

Does anyone have experience and information on how DVs are processed in cases of diplomats and foreign government officials?

 

[Sm1smom]

I believe your AP is due to the fact that you’re trying to get an immigrant visa issued on a diplomatic passport, and not necessarily due to your diplomatic status from a country with uneasy relations with the US. You’ll need to give up the diplomatic immunity conveyed on you by that passport before you can be issued with an immigrant visa, I don’t know what the process for doing that via CP is.

For people in similar situations who processed AOS, they are required to submit forms I-508 and I-566 with their AOS package before their GC petition can be approved. The catch 22 in your situation of course is the fact that once you give up diplomatic immunity, your diplomatic passport is no longer valid I think? You should have looked into getting non-diplomatic passports prior to your interview.