Step 4 – Visa Issuance
After you arrive for your interview, a member of our consular staff will prepare the case for review by a Consular Officer. If your documents are complete and no additional administrative processing is required, an immigrant visa will be issued within a week or two after your interview. This immigrant visa will be valid for six months, giving you time to arrange your affairs before traveling to the United States. The Consulate will send your passport with the immigrant visa and a packet of information by courier (Aramex for residents of East Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza, or Sha’al for residents of West Jerusalem and Israel). Do not open the packet of information; USCIS officials will open the packet at the port of entry into the United States. Please carry your x-ray with you to the United States.
If your case is missing required documents, the Consular Officer will provide you a refusal letter listing the documents that are necessary to complete your case. In most cases, applicants have one year to provide the missing documents. You can send any missing documents to the Consulate via a courier service, postal mail, or drop off at the reception desk in front of the Consular building.
Occasionally cases will require additional administrative processing before a visa can be issued. Unfortunately we are unable to predict how long this administrative processing will take because each case is unique. It generally takes 6-12 weeks but it could take much longer. We will contact you when your visa is ready to issue.
Prior to arriving in the United States, we strongly suggest that you review Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants, a comprehensive guide containing practical information to help immigrants settle into everyday life in the United States. This helpful document also contains basic civics information that introduces new immigrants to the U.S. system of government.