What to expect when your green card interview is abroad

This page covers immigrant visa interviews at U.S. embassies and consulates. It is general information, not legal advice. To compare this with applying inside the U.S., see Paths to a green card: the complete guide.

What happens before the interview?

After USCIS approves the petition your relative filed (usually Form I-130), it sends the case to the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC). NVC collects fees and documents and then schedules your interview. The State Department lists the steps as petition, NVC, fees, affidavit of support, online application, civil documents, and interview, with a medical exam before it (State Department, The Immigrant Visa Process, checked October 19, 2026).

1. Pay two fees in CEAC. The immigrant visa application fee ($325 for each family based applicant) and the affidavit of support review fee ($120, charged once when the affidavit is reviewed in the U.S.).
2. Your sponsor submits Form I-864 with tax returns and proof of income. If income is short, add a joint sponsor.
3. Fill out the DS-260 for each person immigrating. Answer every question truthfully. It must match your past forms.
4. Upload civil documents. The rules require, if you can get them, a police certificate from each country where you lived long enough, and certified copies of your birth record, any prison record and any military record (22 CFR 42.65). Marriage certificates, divorce papers and your passport are also needed.
5. Wait for NVC to confirm your case is complete, then for an interview date. Wait times depend on the embassy and on your visa category. Family members who are not immediate relatives also wait for a visa number.

What is the medical exam?

Every immigrant visa applicant, of any age, must have a medical exam before the visa is issued. It must be done by a panel physician approved by that embassy, chosen by you from its list (22 CFR 42.66). Your own doctor cannot do it.

Bring your passport, your vaccination records and the interview letter, and follow the embassy's instructions on how to book. The exam follows U.S. Public Health Service rules. Book early so it is done before your interview.

What happens at the interview?

You must appear in person. The officer may excuse a child under 14 (22 CFR 42.62).

On the day:

• Fingerprints. Your prints are taken.
• Oath. You swear or affirm that what is in your application is true (22 CFR 42.67).
• Questions. Usually short. The officer checks that you qualify and that nothing makes you inadmissible.

Common questions in a marriage case:

• How and when did you meet? When did you marry?
• What does your spouse do for work? Where do they live?
• Have you lived together? Do you have children?
• Have you been to the United States before? How did you enter and leave?
• Have you ever been arrested or convicted, anywhere?
• Have you ever been refused a visa or ordered removed?

Answer simply and honestly. If you don't know, say so. If you need an interpreter, ask the embassy ahead of time how it handles languages.

What happens after the interview?

The officer must either issue the visa or refuse it, under the inadmissibility grounds or under section 221(g) (22 CFR 42.81(a)).

If approved:

1. The visa goes in your passport, with a sealed packet. Do not open it.
2. Pay the $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee online before you travel. A relative, friend or lawyer can pay for you with your A number and DOS case ID. Without it, USCIS will not mail your card (USCIS Immigrant Fee, checked October 21, 2026).
3. Travel within the visa's dates, up to 6 months from issue.
4. At the U.S. port of entry, CBP admits you as a permanent resident and stamps your passport. Give CBP your new address if it changed.
5. USCIS mails your green card. If you never pay the fee, your status is not affected, but the passport stamp proves it for only one year.

What if the visa is refused or delayed?

• 221(g) refusal. This often means the officer needs more documents, or the case needs more review ("administrative processing"). Your letter says what to send. Send it fast.
• Refusal for a ground of inadmissibility, like a crime, a past immigration violation or public charge. Some can be waived. Your lawyer can tell you if a waiver form, like Form I-601, fits.
• New evidence within a year. If you are refused and, within one year, bring evidence that tends to overcome the reason, the case must be reconsidered, with no new application fee (22 CFR 42.81(e)).

Do the 2026 travel restrictions affect me?

They might. Two State Department actions matter in 2026:

• Proclamation 10998, in effect since January 1, 2026, suspends immigrant visas for nationals of listed countries and removed the earlier exception for spouses, children and parents of citizens. Exceptions are case by case. The State Department reported no change as of October 21, 2026 (State Department announcement, checked October 21, 2026).
• A 75 country pause on immigrant visa issuance ran from January 21 to August 21, 2026, and ended under a court order in CLINIC v. Rubio (State Department update, checked October 19, 2026).

If your country may be listed, talk to a lawyer before you pay fees or travel to an interview.

I live in the U.S. now. What should I know before I leave?

This is the step that can change everything. If you were in the U.S. without status for more than 180 days, leaving can trigger a 3 year bar. A year or more triggers a 10 year bar (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)).

• Get a provisional waiver first. Form I-601A lets you ask, while still in the U.S., to forgive those bars, based on extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or green card holder spouse or parent. It takes effect only after you leave and the consulate finds you otherwise eligible (8 CFR 212.7(e), checked October 18, 2026).
• The permanent bar is different. If you were here unlawfully for more than a year in total, left, and came back without inspection, the I-601A does not cover it (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(C)). Leaving could keep you out for at least 10 years.
• Check first whether you can apply here instead. See Can I get a green card inside the US if I entered without papers?
• Plan for the gap. Interviews abroad can be delayed. Make a plan for children, rent and work. See Checklist before leaving the United States.

Is there a checklist I can print?

Questions people ask

Does my spouse have to come to the interview? The rules require the applicant, not the sponsor, to appear. Check your embassy's instructions about anyone else coming with you.

How long until I get an interview? It depends on the embassy, your category and NVC's queue. NVC schedules once your case is complete. The State Department's Global Visa Wait Times page covers visitor, student and work visas, not immigrant visas. For your case, check your embassy's own website (find it here) and your NVC case status.

Can I bring my lawyer? Embassies set their own rules. Your lawyer can help you prepare and answer follow up requests.

My visa was approved but I can't travel within 6 months. What now? Contact the embassy before it expires. A visa cannot be used after its end date.

Who can help?

Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

• CLSEPA, East Palo Alto (San Mateo and Santa Clara counties). 650-326-6440. Walk in Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1861 Bay Road. clsepa.org
• Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, Redwood City. Free first consultation by appointment, (650) 587-1558. iibayarea.org
• Catholic Charities San Francisco (serves San Mateo County). Family petitions. (650) 285-6451. catholiccharitiessf.org
• Asian Law Alliance, San Jose. (408) 287-9710. asianlawalliance.org
• Anywhere in California: CDSS legal services list. Anywhere in the U.S.: USCIS, Legal Services.