---
kind: "section"
citation: "22 C.F.R. § 42.73"
title: "22"
number: "42.73"
heading: "Procedure in issuing visas."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/22/42.73"
---

# §42.73. Procedure in issuing visas.

- (a) **Evidence of visa.** An immigrant visa shall be evidenced by a physical visa or by an electronic visa located in the Department's records. The appropriate symbol as prescribed in [§ 42.11](/cfr/22/42.11.md), showing the classification of the alien, shall be entered on the visa.
- (b) **Visa format.** A machine-readable visa shall be in the format designated by the Department, and contain, at a minimum, the following data:
  - (1) Full name of the immigrant;
  - (2) Visa symbol;
  - (3) Location of the visa issuing office;
  - (4) Passport number;
  - (5) The registration number (A-number) assigned to the immigrant;
  - (6) Sex;
  - (7) Date of birth;
  - (8) Nationality;
  - (9) Date of issuance;
  - (10) Date of expiration;
  - (11) Visa control number;
  - (12) Any annotations entered to reflect waivers or other information useful to an immigration officer at a port of entry (POE) upon the immigrant's application for admission to the United States;
  - (13) A digitized photo of the immigrant; and
  - (14) **Machine-readable data that can be processed by an immigration officer at a POE.**
- (c) **Disposition of supporting documents.** Post shall, wherever possible, return original supporting documents furnished by the alien. Duplicate copies may be retained in the consular system, as required or necessary.

## Notes

### Amendments

[84 FR 35299, July 23, 2019]

### Authority

Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1104 and 1182; Pub. L. 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681; Pub. L. 108-449, 118 Stat. 3469; The Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (done at the Hague, May 29, 1993), S. Treaty Doc. 105-51 (1998), 1870 U.N.T.S. 167 (Reg. No. 31922 (1993)); 42 U.S.C. 14901-14954 (Pub. L. 106-279, 114 Stat. 825); 8 U.S.C. 1101 (Pub L. 117-31, 135 Stat. 309); 8 U.S.C. 1154 (Pub. L. 109-162, 119 Stat. 2960); 8 U.S.C. 1201 (Pub. L. 114-70, 129 Stat. 561).

### Source

Source: 52 FR 42613, Nov. 5, 1987, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[84 FR 35299, July 23, 2019]