US Department of State News

What the State Department does in immigration

The US Department of State is the federal executive department responsible for foreign affairs and is led by the Secretary of State. Its Bureau of Consular Affairs runs visa processing at US embassies and consulates abroad. Petitions and green card applications filed inside the country go to USCIS, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Each month the department publishes the Visa Bulletin, which lists final action dates and dates for filing in the family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories, along with Diversity Visa rank cutoffs. The federal fiscal year starts on October 1, so the October bulletin often brings notable shifts. The Diversity Visa program, created by the Immigration Act of 1990, is also run by the department, and a selectee's visa can only be issued before the fiscal year of their selection ends.

A consular officer who cannot finish a case at the interview usually refuses it under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which covers missing documents and administrative processing. Under the doctrine of consular nonreviewability, courts rarely second-guess an individual visa decision, so lawsuits typically target department-wide policies rather than single refusals.