Locally Filed Petitions

Most U.S. citizens petitioning for their spouse or other immediate family member submit their I-130 Petition for Alien Relative at their local USCIS office in the United States.  Information on local USCIS office addresses is available at http://www.uscis.gov.

American citizens living overseas have the option of filing I-130 petitions at their local U.S. Embassy or Consulate, if they have resided in that consular district for at least six months.  Short trips from the consular district do not count against the residency period.  For the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, petitioners may show their permanent residence in Armenia by presenting either 1) an Armenian residence permit in their U.S. passport showing a period of over six months spent in Armenia, or 2) a ten-year special residency permit issued by the Armenian government showing a period of over six months spent in Armenia, or 3) an Armenian passport showing a period of over six months spent in Armenia (for Armenian-American dual nationals).

American citizens resident over six-months in a consular district may file an I-130 petition at the consular section of the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate.  At the time of filing, petitioners will be interviewed to confirm that their relationship with their relative is bona fide.  If the petition is not clearly approvable, the case will be sent to the nearest USCIS office for further administrative processing (The USCIS office responsible for Yerevan, Armenia, is located at U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia).  Otherwise, the case remains at the Consular Section and the processing continues to its conclusion, i.e. visa issuance.  Please email the Immigrant Visa Unit at IVYerevan@state.gov to schedule your initial appointment, which both the U.S. citizen petitioner and immediate relative beneficiary should attend.

I-129F petitions for fiancé(e)s can only be filed in the United States.  Please refer to http://www.uscis.gov for approximate processing time for these petitions.

Please note, if you are resident in Armenia and have already filed an I-130 petition in the United States, you must withdraw your U.S.-filed petition before filing an I-130 petition at a Consular Section abroad.

Please see our Required Documents page for further information on filing.