Country of chargeability

The foreign state of chargeability is a United States immigration concept – it is the country determined to be the applicant's origin. In general, the applicant's country of birth will determine their country of chargeability. For certain applicants born in oversubscribed countries such as India and China, approval to be chargeable to another country can significantly reduce the waiting time for their adjustment of status or consular processing of their green card application. This process is also known as "alternate chargeability".

The rules, codified in section 202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, allow USCIS to determine the country of chargeability according to the following rules:

USCIS – Foreign State of Chargeability Uscis.gov (n.d.). USCIS – Foreign State of Chargeability. Retrieved 20 Aug 2013.

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