Ask the Consul

April 2008

Q: I just received an email that I have won the green card lottery. It says I need to send $1100 through Western Union to continue my application. Is this true?

Emails sent claiming to be from the U.S. government and stating that you have won the Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery are FALSE. The U.S. government does not use e-mail to contact winners. The U.S. government does not require payment via Western Union or any other money transfer company. U.S. Embassy Consular Section advises persons who receive such emails to delete them and not reply.

2009 Diversity Visa Lottery winners will be selected randomly in early April. Winners will be notified by regular post shortly thereafter and advised what further steps need to be taken. Any immigrant visa application fees should be paid at the Consular Section only.

Q: I am an American citizen living in Utah and my fiancé lives in Echmiadzin. I submitted the I-129F form six months ago, and she still doesn't have her visa. Where can I find out what is happening with her case?

You initially filed your petition for approval with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). In accordance with U.S. law, your fiancée's case must first be approved at USCIS before it is transmitted to the National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and then to the Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan for final processing. You will want to check on the status of your wife's petition with the USCIS office where you filed your petition. You can find these offices' processing times at https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard.do and their contact information by visiting the "Contact Us" section of http://www.uscis.gov/. If USCIS responds that the petition has been approved, you will want to follow up with the National Visas Center via one of the methods you can find on this page: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3177.html

Once the Consular Section receives the petition from the National Visa Center, we will promptly contact the applicant for their interview. Currently, the total processing time for fiancé visas, from start to finish, is approximately 6-8 months.

Q: I just got my business visa for company training in Connecticut. The visa says it is valid for three months, but my training is scheduled to last two weeks longer than the end-date. Should I change my visa? Will I have problems leaving the country?

The date of expiration on your visa does NOT represent the last day that you can be in the United States. The validity period on the visa represents the time during which you may apply for admission into the United States. Therefore, the date of expiration is the last day that you may arrive at a U.S. port of entry to request permission to enter the country. For example, your visa may expire on May 13, 2008, so you can travel to the U.S. and request admission at a port of entry until midnight on May 13, 2008. The immigration inspector at passport control will decide how long you are authorized to stay. You might be authorized to stay until Nov 12, 2008 (6 months) and choose to leave May 27, 2008, even though your actual visa expires on May 13, 2008.

Please note, even if the immigration inspector authorizes a stay of 6 months, visitors are expected to follow their original travel plans as provided to the consular officer. Significant changes in travel plans can reflect negatively on the credibility of the applicant and impact future applications for travel to the U.S.

Q: I'm an American citizen from California. I plan on marrying my fiancé in Yerevan this summer. What steps do I need to take to register our marriage in Armenia?

As an American citizen who intends to marry an Armenian citizen in Armenia, you will need to first complete a form (in English and in Armenian) that you are legally free to marry. This form is available at the Consular Section's American Citizen Services Unit, and must be notarized by a Consular Officer. This may be done at the Consular Section Monday through Friday from 13:30 to 16:30. There is a $30 fee for this service, payable at the Consular Section in U.S. dollars or Armenian drams.

After the English and Armenian forms are notarized, you will need to present them to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for authentication. The Ministry is located on Amiryan Street, across from the Marriott Hotel. Your marriage must then be registered by the ZAGS (Office of Civil Registration) at the Ministry of Justice. When going to the ZAGS, your Armenian spouse must submit a similar document from his/her local ZAGS office stating that he/she is free to marry as well. An official translation of your American passport will also be needed.

Q: We are a group of professional musicians and our group has been invited to perform at a concert in New Jersey. When should we apply for our tourist visas to travel to the U.S.?

U.S. law requires a special type of visa for most professional musicians, artists or performers who intend to perform in the United States in a musical or sporting event (even a charitable event), whether as an individual or as part of a group. This P-3 visa requires the inviting party in the United States to file a petition - Form I-129 (Petition for Non-immigrant Worker) - on your behalf with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Once the petition is approved, you should come to the Consular Section with the petition approval notice - Form I-797 (Notice of Approval) - and apply for the P-3 visas. Please note that the approval of the petition does not guarantee visa issuance. When applying for your P-3 visas, each applicant must meet all the other regular requirements to receive a non-immigrant visa to the United States, and demonstrate that they have the appropriate qualifications for the visa. The U.S. inviting party should apply for the petition no more than 6 months before your intended performances in the United States. Your inviting party can find more information about the P performance visa at http://www.uscis.gov/.

Depending on the circumstances, amateur performers, e.g. a church choir, may be able to perform on a B1B2 visitor's visa. However, U.S. law and regulations governing the travel and performance of such groups are complex. It's always a good idea to check with the Consular Section to see what type of visa your group needs.

Q: I am an American citizen who lives in Armenia. Do I need to pay U.S. income tax?

It depends. U.S. citizens are taxed on their worldwide income, and should file a tax return annually regardless of income level. Some taxpayers may qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, foreign housing exclusion, or foreign housing deduction, if their tax home is in a foreign country and they are either a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year, or are physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.

If the taxpayer is temporarily away from his or her tax home in the United States on business (less than a year), he or she may be able to claim a foreign tax credit (if required to pay qualifying foreign tax on income earned in a foreign country), but would not qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion. The taxpayer may also qualify to deduct away from home expenses (for travel, meals, and lodging), but not against excluded income.

Please see http://www.irs.gov/ for more information. The IRS's Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad is available at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p54/index.html.

The Consular Section is prohibited from providing tax advice. Our role is limited to providing basic information and forms. For specific questions related to your case, please contact a tax preparation professional or the IRS.

Q: I am an American living in Armenia and my husband and I recently gave birth to our son in Armenia. Is our son automatically a U.S. citizen?

Since your son was not born in the United States, he is not automatically a U.S. citizen, but most likely he does qualify for U.S. citizenship. You and your spouse should apply at the Consular Section for a Certificate of Record of Birth Abroad (CRBA) and prove your U.S. citizenship and/or the U.S. citizenship of your spouse. If your spouse is not an American citizen, you must document five years of physical presence in the U.S. as a U.S. citizen prior to the child's birth (including two years after the age of 14), in order to 'transmit' citizenship to your child. If both you and your husband are U.S. citizens, you must show that one of you has lived in the United States for any amount of time.