The Immigrant Visa Interview

Applicants registered in the immediate relative category will be contacted within 4 - 6 weeks of the Immigrant Visa Unit completing action on their application with a date for the formal visa interview. Those registered for immigration in the family or employment based preference categories are subject to the annual numerical limitation on immigrants admitted into the United States. In such cases, the appointment for the formal visa interview is scheduled within two months of a visa number becoming available for the applicant’s use.

Who is required to attend?

All applicants registered for immigration in the immediate relative category, including children, are required to visit the Embassy in person for a formal visa interview with a U.S. consular officer. Persons under the age of fourteen who are deriving status from an immigrant visa petition filed on behalf of a parent and are applying for the visa at the same time as the parent need not attend the interview. However, they must attend the medical examination.

Visa fees

Each person immigrating, regardless of age, requires an immigrant visa. The visa processing fee is $400.00 or sterling equivalent. Visa applicants whose case is being processed by the Embassy in London will be required to pay the fee on the day of the visa interview; those whose application is being processed through the National Visa Center (NVC), pay the fee before the NVC begin processing the case.

There is an additional fee for the medical examination.

The visa processing fee cannot be refunded if the applicant is refused a visa.

How to pay

The fees are paid to the Embassy cashier on the day of the interview. Fees may be paid in cash - sterling or dollar equivalent; by International Money Order or Bankers Draft; by Credit Card - Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover or American Express; or Debit Card with the Visa logo. The Embassy does not accept any other credit or debit cards, or personal checks.

Will the visa be issued on the day of the interview?

Visa processing takes 3 - 5 workdays. The visa will be returned to you by the Embassy's courier service, Secure Mail Services. On the day of the visa interview you will be required to purchase an envelope for the return of your documents once visa processing has been completed. The fee for the courier service begins at £14.00 ; payable by debit or credit card or in cash.

Note:Under U.S. visa law some people are permanently ineligible to receive an immigrant visa and are not eligible to enter the United States unless they have obtained a waiver of the permanent ineligibility. These include persons who have been afflicted with a disease of public health significance, including those who are HIV-positive, a mental disorder which is associated with a display of harmful behavior, drug addicts/abusers, and those with criminal records. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply to U.S. visa law. Anyone who has been arrested and/or convicted of any offense, regardless of when it may have occurred, is required to declare the arrest and/or conviction. A determination on a person's eligibility for a visa cannot be made until the day of the formal visa interview. If the applicant is found ineligible for a visa, the consular officer will advise the applicant if he/she is eligible to apply for a waiver of the permanent ineligibility and of the steps which must be taken to apply for and process the waiver.

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