S-5 / S-6 / S-7 · Timeline

How a request moves

1. 1

   The agency prepares Form I-854

   The agency completes Form I-854 (the State Department's manual calls the S request Form I-854-A) with attachments showing the nature of your cooperation, the need for your presence in the United States, all conduct or conditions that may make you inadmissible, and the reasons a favorable waiver is warranted. The U.S. Attorney with jurisdiction over the investigation or prosecution must certify and endorse it, and the agency's own certification must come from its headquarters (seat-of-government) level if federal, or its highest level if a state agency. You, and any family member on the request who is 18 or older, sign a statement on the form acknowledging that you are limited to the specific terms of the S provisions of the law as the only means by which you may remain permanently in the United States.^[1,2]

2. 2

   Justice Department review

   The agency sends the form and all required attachments to the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, who considers the negative and favorable factors in your case. Where necessary, an advisory panel of agency representatives reviews the application and prioritizes cases in light of the annual numerical limit, to determine which cases are forwarded. Only properly certified applications that fall within the limit go on (an S-6 request must also be certified by the Secretary of State), and USCIS receives the application for a decision if the Assistant Attorney General recommends approval.^[1,2]

3. 3

   USCIS decides

   If USCIS approves, admission is authorized for no more than 3 years. A decision to deny is sent in writing to the agency and to the Assistant Attorney General, who has 7 days to object (an objection goes to the Deputy Attorney General for a final resolution); neither you nor the agency has a right to appeal a denial. Most S applicants are already in the United States; if you are outside the country, the request for an S visa then goes to the Secretary of State, and it cannot go there unless USCIS has approved and forwarded it.^[1,2]

The State Department's manual notes that, instead of an S visa or to prepare for an S application from inside the United States, the agency may prefer to ask for you to be paroled into the United States, which is decided case by case.^[2]