Anthrax Continues to Affect Chennai Cases
Posted Jan 18, 2002

As some of our MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom readers may be aware, about 334 immigrant visa cases have been subject to problems and delays due to a the quarantine of the files for anthrax decontamination at the U.S. consulate at Chennai, India. The cases at issue are a limited group of applicants with approved I-130 or I-140 petitions who selected consular processing with their cases.

The I-130 is a Petition for Alien Relative; the I-140 is a Petition for Alien Worker. These are not cases in which an I-824 (Application for Action on Approved Petition) was filed to request consular processing. At least some of the affected individuals have received letters from the U.S. consulate in Chennai informing them that their cases could not be processed. The reason for this problem is that the consulate does not have the original paper files from the National Visa Center (NVC).

According to information received from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Chennai appears to be the only consular post requiring that the NVC transmit the cases via diplomatic pouch. It is this process that is causing the delay with these cases. As part of the routine process, the diplomatic pouch containing the case documents was sent to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) mailroom in Washington, D.C. The cases were then held, awaiting anthrax decontamination. The consulate in Chennai advised the applicants that their cases could not move forward based solely upon the electronic file.

The U.S. Department of State Visa Office is attempting to resolve the issue. They are considering amending their foreign affairs manual to specify that NVC electronic records are acceptable substitutes for lost petitions. For now, the consulate in Chennai has announced that it will accept attorney certified copies of the petition and supporting documents, but they require the original approval notice (Form I-797) for the I-130 or I-140 Petition.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association is continuing in its efforts to convince the U.S. consulate at Chennai to accept NVC electronic records. According to AILA, the NVC has printed out its records and is transmitting them to Chennai. It is uncertain whether Chennai will change its policy once the printed records from NVC have been received.