If your visa has been approved, you will be informed how and when your passport and visa will be returned to you. In general, a passport with a visa will be returned by mail within seven to ten days from an interview.

You will receive a sealed packet containing documents along with your passport. When you receive a packet, DO NOT OPEN THE SEALED PACKET and present it to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at a Port-of-Entry (often an airport) upon your arrival in the United States.

You must arrive and apply for admission in the United States no later than the visa expiration date printed on your visa. The validity of your visa is tied to the validity of your medical examination, which is 6 months from completion of the medical exam. If a Class A or B TB condition exists, the visa is valid for 3 months from the time the evaluation is completed. An immigrant visa is usually valid for up to six months from the date of issuance unless your medical examination expires sooner, which may make your visa valid for less than six months. It is your responsibility to check your visa expiration date and to leave before it expires.

You must pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) after you receive your immigrant visa and before you travel to the United States. Only children who enter the United States under the Orphan adoption programs, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants, returning residents (SB-1s), and those issued K visas are exempt from this fee. USCIS will NOT issue a Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551 or Green Card) until you have paid the fee.

Carefully review After the Interview on usvisas.state.gov to learn what to do when you receive your visa, entering the United States, paying the USCIS Immigrant Fee, and other important information.