All “non-immigrant” (meaning temporary) status approvals (H-1B, L, O, etc.) by the Immigration Service in the U.S. are sent by the Service Center to the Kentucky Consular Center. The KCC scans the petition and supporting documents so they can be accessed electronically by the U.S. consulates abroad for visa issuance.

If the beneficiary is in the U.S. and changing or extending status, no visa is needed. But if the beneficiary is outside the U.S. and waiting to enter or is planning foreign travel, the timing of the notification is very important.

The Service Center will overnight the approval if the petition shows that the beneficiary will enter the U.S. in less than 30 days. Otherwise it will send the approval by regular mail to the KCC.

The KCC categorizes approvals for scanning as follows...

Please see full alert below for more information.