[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR42.71]

[Page 238-239]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
PART 42--VISAS: DOCUMENTATION OF IMMIGRANTS UNDER THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT, AS AMENDED--Table of Contents
 
                 Subpart H--Issuance of Immigrant Visas
 
Sec. 42.71  Authority to issue visas; visa fees.


    (a) Authority to issue visas. Consular officers may issue immigrant 
visas at designated consular offices abroad pursuant to the authority 
contained in INA 101(a)(16), 221(a), and 224. (Consular offices 
designated to issue immigrant visas are listed periodically in Visa 
Office Bulletins published by the Department of State.) A consular 
officer assigned to duty in the territory of a country against which the 
sanctions provided in INA 243(d) have been invoked must not issue an 
immigrant visa to an alien who is a national, citizen, subject, or 
resident of that country, unless the officer has been informed that the 
sanction has been waived by INS in the case of an individual alien or a 
specified class of aliens.
    (b) Immigrant visa fees. The Secretary of State prescribes separate 
fees for the processing of immigrant visa applications and for the 
issuance of immigrant visas thereafter to persons whose applications are 
approved. An individual registered for immigrant visa processing at a 
post designated for this purpose by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Visa Services must pay the processing fee upon being notified that a 
visa is expected to become available in the near future and being 
requested to obtain the supporting documentation needed to apply 
formally for a visa, in accordance with instructions received with such 
notification. The fee must be paid before an applicant at a post so 
designated will receive an appointment to appear and make application 
before a consular officer. Applicants at a post not yet so designated 
will continue to pay the fee immediately prior to formal application for 
a visa. All applicants must pay the issuance fee after the consular 
officer has completed the visa interview and approved issuance of the 
visa, but prior to its issuance. A fee collected for the processing of 
an immigrant visa application is refundable only if the principal 
officer of a post or the officer in charge of a consular section 
determines that the notification of prospective visa availability was 
sufficiently erroneous to preclude the applicant from benefiting from 
the processing. A fee collected for the issuance of an immigrant visa is 
refundable only if either of such officers determines that the visa was 
issued in error or could not be

[[Page 239]]

used as a result of U.S. Government actions over which the alien had no 
control and for which the alien was not responsible in whole or in part.

[52 FR 42613, Nov. 5, 1987, as amended at 64 FR 55419, Oct. 13, 1999; 65 
FR 54413, Sept. 8, 2000; 65 FR 78095, Dec. 14, 2000]