New Special Immigrant Visa Classes of Admission (COAs) for Employees of the U.S. Government Abroad
A new law provides immigrant visas to certain foreign national employees of the U.S. government abroad. Specifically, foreign nationals (and their spouses and children) may receive special immigrant visas when:
- The foreign nationals have been employed by the U.S. government abroad for at least 15 years; and
- The U.S. Department of State has found that it is in the national interest to award the visas.
There are a limited number of such visas available each fiscal year.
The new classes of admission (COAs) associated with these special immigrant visas are:
- GV1: USG SIV Employee—2024 NDAA (Arrival);
- GV2: Spouse of GV1 (Arrival);
- GV3: Child of GV1 (Arrival);
- GV6: USG SIV Employee—2024 NDAA (Adjustment);
- GV7: Spouse of GV6 (Adjustment); and
- GV8: Child of GV6 (Adjustment).
Individuals with these COAs are lawful permanent residents (LPRs). They may present the following documentation that includes a GV1, GV2, GV3, GV6, GV7, or GV8 COA:
- Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (Green Card);
- Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record with a Temporary I-551 Permanent Resident Stamp;
- Foreign passport with a Temporary I-551 Permanent Resident Stamp; or
- Foreign passport with a Temporary I-551 Machine Readable Immigrant Visa.
LPRs are employment authorized incident to their LPR status.
For additional information about documentation, please visit SAVE’s Commonly Used Immigration Documents webpage.
SAVE Verification
SAVE will provide an initial verification response of “Lawful Permanent Resident – Employment Authorized” for a COA of GV1, GV2, GV3, GV6, GV7, or GV8.
If the automated SAVE response is unexpected or is not sufficient for an agency to make a benefit eligibility determination, the agency should institute Additional Verification. SAVE Additional Verification provides a detailed verification response, including:
- Additional immigration statuses and categories, if any; and
- Pending immigration applications.
Additional Information
For more information, see the Government Employee Immigrant Visa Program, section 5104 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024. Pub. L. No. 118-31, § 5104. (The program was previously introduced as the GRATEFUL Act, S. 1877,118th Cong. (2023)).