Process and timing

Administrative processing

Also called 221(g), INA 221(g).

Administrative processing is the Department of State's label for an immigrant visa case that has already been formally refused under INA 221(g) at the end of the interview and is held open while the post or the Department finishes checks, an advisory opinion or a further inquiry. Nothing sets a deadline for that work.

What it decides

There is no pending state at a consulate. Under 9 FAM 504.11-2(A) an applicant who has properly completed and executed the DS-260 before a consular officer must be issued a visa or found ineligible by the end of that working day, or the next if the post normally issues the following day, and the refusal is required even when the officer is only awaiting an advisory opinion from the Department, making further local inquiries, or waiting on a clearance from another post. The FAM says plainly that there is no such thing as an informal refusal or a pending case. The refusal is overcome when the applicant supplies what was asked for, or when the additional processing finishes. 22 CFR 42.81(b) lets the post hold the documents up to a year meanwhile, and 42.81(e) waives a second application fee on evidence produced within a year of refusal, but 22 CFR 42.83(b) and INA 203(g) terminate the registration if the applicant presents nothing to overcome the 221(g) refusal within that year, reinstatable only in the second year and only for circumstances beyond the applicant's control.

Governed by INA 221(g), 8 U.S.C. 1201(g); 9 FAM 504.11-2(A) for the issue or refuse rule and the four situations, and 9 FAM 504.11-4(A) for the term itself, the FAM section consolidated 18 April 2025; 22 CFR 42.81(b) for the one year document hold and 42.81(e) for reconsideration without a new fee; 22 CFR 42.83(b) with INA 203(g), 8 U.S.C. 1153(g), for termination of registration. travel.state.gov carries the public-facing label but returns an identical block page to any automated fetch, so it was not used for any clause.

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into administrative processing rather than mentioning it.

Consular Processing for EB-5: Getting the Visa Abroad

Related terms

Consular processingConsular processing is the route to permanent residence through a US embassy or consulate abroad, on Form DS-260 and an interview, rather than by adjusting status inside the United States. It is the only route for an investor who stays outside the country, and it is open by choice to one already inside.
National Visa CenterThe Department of State office that holds an approved EB-5 petition, collects the visa fees and supporting documents, and notifies the investor as a visa number nears, in the gap between petition approval and the consular interview. It handles only investors who will apply for the visa abroad; an investor adjusting status inside the United States never passes through it.
Form DS-260Form DS-260, Electronic Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, is the Department of State application an EB-5 applicant files when taking the consular route, the counterpart to Form I-485 for someone who will collect an immigrant visa abroad rather than adjust status inside the United States.
Expedite requestAn expedite request asks USCIS to take a pending application, petition, request, appeal or motion out of turn and decide it ahead of cases filed earlier. USCIS weighs each one case by case against a list of criteria it calls non-exhaustive, generally requires documentary support, and treats the decision as within its sole discretion.

Checked against primary sources on 10 August 2026. Back to the glossary