Sofa Cards for Non-US Citizens
If the family member is from a SOFA restricted country they will need one of the following:
•green card
•an approved green card application
•an immigrant (not tourist) visa
The passport office needs one of the documents listed above, official orders to Germany, and the family member’s passport. These items will be mailed to higher headquarters for issuance of the SOFA card. This generally takes 2 weeks.
If the family member holds a foreign passport that is not a SOFA-restricted country (Germany, France, Mexico, etc.), the passport office will simply need the passport in order to issue the SOFA card.