Entering and leaving the United States

• When you travel to a U.S. Port of Entry to apply for admission, there is no requirement that you travel from the United Kingdom.
• You should travel using your visa with the intention of taking up permanent residence in the United States. You no longer qualify to travel as a visitor with ESTA or a nonimmigrant visa.
• If your U.S. address changes before you travel, give the new address to the immigration officers at the U.S. Port of Entry.
• If you hold an immigrant visa, your passport will be stamped with a temporary I-551 which acts as a Permanent Resident Card (‘Green Card’) until your card is issued. Therefore, you may leave the United States to visit other countries, provided that your intention is to remain resident in the United States and you maintain a domicile there.
• If you hold a fiancé(e) visa, it is important that you marry within 90 days of your arrival then apply to adjust status as soon as possible after. You should not depart the U.S. for a honeymoon or any other reason unless you have either received your conditional Permanent Resident Card or you have applied for and received Advanced Parole from USCIS. Failure to obtain the correct paperwork before leaving the United States would mean you would need an immigrant visa to return to the United States to live. You could expect the immigrant visa application process to take at least six months, and possibly considerably longer, during which time you would be required to live outside the United States. No guarantees are possible.

Applying for your ‘Green Card’

• If you are admitted to the U.S. with a valid immigrant visa, the immigration officials at the airport or port will give you the forms to apply for a Permanent Resident Card, commonly known as a ‘Green Card.’
• If you are admitted to the U.S. with a valid fiancé(e) visa, you will need to marry within 90 days of your arrival and then apply to USCIS for Conditional Resident Status. Once the status is approved, you will be sent a conditional Permanent Resident Card (‘Green Card’).

Receiving your ‘Green Card’

•  Your Permanent Resident Card will be mailed to you in the United States.
• If your U.S. address changes, inform USCIS using the contact details on their website.

Do I need to pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee?

You will need to pay the USCIS immigrant fee unless you fall into one of the below listed categories:

• Children who enter the United States under the orphan or Hague adoption programs
• Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants
• Returning Residents (issued with an SB-1 visa)
• Fiancé(e) visa holders (also known as a K visa)

When should I pay the fee?

We strongly recommend that you pay the fee before you travel, if at all possible. While it is possible to pay after you arrive in the United States, processing of your Permanent Resident Card (‘Green Card’) cannot begin until after the fee has been paid.

What information do I need to pay the fee?

You will need your Department of State case ID (typically LND followed by ten digits) and your  invoice number. Check the letter that came with your passport to find that information.

How do I pay the fee and find out more?/What should I do if I am experiencing technical problems with paying the fee?

Click here to visit the USCIS website to pay the fee and find out more. Please contact USCIS directly using the information on that website if you have further questions or technical difficulties.

A visa package is a large paper envelope stamped with DO NOT OPEN. It contains supporting documents for the immigration officials.

Whether or not you received a visa package depended on the type of visa you received and how your application was processed. The consular officer decides whether a visa package is needed so if you did not receive one it is because it was not necessary in your case.

• If your plastic courier envelope contains a visa package (a large paper envelope), it is important that you do not open the visa package. It should only be opened by the immigration officers at the U.S. Port of Entry.
• If your visa is annotated with the phrase “IV Docs in CCD” this means your application was processed as a Modernized Immigrant Visa (MIV). A visa package might not be needed because you scanned your supporting documents as part of the visa application process. However, you should not be concerned if you do receive a visa package because the consular officer determined it was necessary in your case.

The visa expiration date is the last date on which you may travel to a U.S. Port of Entry to apply for admission using the visa. We recommend that you plan to travel well in advance of the expiration date in case of any unexpected delays.

The maximum validity period of a visa is six months but all immigrant and fiancé(e) visas are limited to match the validity period of the medical report because the medical must be valid on the date of travel to the United States.

If you have derived status from your parent’s petition and you are under 21, you must travel before your 21st birthday.

Validity date

All immigrant visas and fiancé(e) visas are limited to match the validity period of the medical report because the medical must be valid on the date of travel to the United States.

If you derive status from your parent’s petition and you are under 21, you must travel before your 21st birthday.

Data Summary sheet

You do not need to be concerned if the Data Summary sheet that is fixed to your immigrant visa package has a mistake. You can explain the correct information to the immigration officials at the Port of Entry.

The visa

• A maximum of 20 letters can be printed per name, so if you have a long name, it may not all display.
• Special characters, including hyphens, cannot be printed on a visa. A space will be used instead of a hyphen.

If there is a spelling error or other mistake on the visa, please contact us with the following information:

• The visa applicant’s name as it is stated in their passport, in the format SURNAME(S), Given Name(s)
• The case number
• A brief description of the error
• The correct information
• Your proposed date of travel to the United States

Please click here to submit that information through our online contact form. We will respond as quickly as possible.

If you were issued with a visa package (a sealed envelope delivered with your passport), it should only be opened by U.S. immigration officials at the U.S. Port of Entry.

My visa package was damaged during delivery

If your visa package received cosmetic damage during delivery, you need not be concerned as long as the tear or puncture is not big enough for any documents to have been removed or lost. You may secure the damaged area with a small amount of clear tape, and explain to the immigration officials at the U.S. Port of Entry that the damage happened during transit.

I accidentally opened my visa package!

Please click here to contact the Immigrant Visa Unit with the following information:

• The full name of the visa applicant(s) as stated in their passport, in the format SURNAME(S), Given Name(s)
• The case number (typically LND followed by 10 digits)
• Confirmation that the visa package has been opened
• Your proposed date of travel to the United States

It is not possible for a visa to be extended. If you have read the above information about visa validity and traveling to/leaving the United States and you are certain that you are unable to travel within the validity period then you must wait until the visa expires. After the visa expires, refer to FAQ 8 or FAQ 9 below for the instructions you need.

In order to request reissuance, you will be required to undergo a new medical examination, pay new visa fees, and you may be required to obtain new documentation. The consular officer will also need to consider whether the reason you were unable to travel was beyond your control. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you travel within the validity period of the visa if at all possible.

Please note, if you were issued with a Diversity Visa, the guidance below does not apply. Please see the Department of State’s website for important information about Diversity Visa validity.

If you were unable to travel with your immigrant visa for a reason beyond your control for which you were not responsible, please complete the following steps to apply for visa reissuance:

1. Book and attend a new medical examination.
2. If you received a visa package (a sealed envelope marked ‘Do not open’) with your passport, you will need to take it to your appointment. You should also click here to check if you have the documents required during the appointment. Make sure you check the police certificate guidance on that page for information about validity periods.
3. If your application Form DS-260 was completed under 12 months ago, you will not be required to update your application form unless your answers to the ‘Security and Background’ questions have changed. If your Form DS-260 was completed 12 months or more ago, log in to your CEAC account to update and resubmit your DS 260 application form, prior to attending the appointment. Please ‘sign and submit’ the form in order to complete the submission.
4. Book a new appointment through your Visa Appointment Service account. If no appointments are available when you first check the calendar on your account, please check it regularly for newly released appointments. We do not operate a waiting list.
5. If your travel is for critical humanitarian reasons (‘life or death’) reasons, you may request an expedited appointment by following the instructions provided in your Visa Appointment Service account after you have booked an appointment.
6. Click here for information to help you prepare for the appointment.
7. On the day of the appointment, you will be required to pay a new visa fee in cash. Click here to check the amount.
8. The consular officer will determine during the appointment whether it is possible for a new visa to be issued to you. No guarantees are possible and no expedited processing service is available.

If you were unable to travel with your fiancé(e) visa for a reason beyond your control for which you were not responsible, please complete the following steps to apply for visa reissuance:

1. Book and attend a new medical examination.
2. If you received a visa package (a sealed envelope marked ‘Do not open’) with your passport, you will need to take it to your appointment. You should also click here to check if you have the documents required during the appointment, including a new Statement of Intent. Make sure you check the police certificate guidance on that page for guidance about validity periods.
3. Book a new appointment through your Visa Appointment Service account. If no appointments are available when you first check the calendar on your account, please check it regularly for newly released appointments. We do not operate a waiting list.
4. If your travel is for critical humanitarian reasons (‘life or death’) reasons, you may request an expedited appointment by following the instructions provided in your Visa Appointment Service account after you have booked an appointment.
5. Click here for information to help you prepare for the appointment.
6. You will not be required to complete a new application Form DS-160. If information has changed, discuss this with the consular official during your appointment.
7. On the day of the appointment, you will be required to pay a new visa fee in cash. Click here to check the amount.
8. The consular officer will determine during the appointment whether it is possible for a new visa to be issued to you. No guarantees are possible and no expedited processing service is available.

Medical records

• If you were issued with a visa package (a sealed paper envelope sent to you with your passport), all the medical information needed by the immigration officials is inside the envelope, which you should not open. It is only to be opened by immigration officials at the U.S. Port of Entry.
• If you were not issued with a visa package, the medical information is provided to the immigration officials electronically.

Copies of your medical report

• If a medical report is requested by USCIS for an application to adjust status or to remove conditions, contact USCIS directly for guidance. If they wish to request information from the U.S. Embassy through official channels, they may do so.
• Medical records requested by the Embassy become part of the visa record. They belong to the Department of State and cannot be released, so we cannot provide copies for employment purposes or for your records.

X-Ray CD

• If you have received an X-Ray CD it was provided for your records only so you don’t need to be concerned if the envelope containing the disc was open. If you do not have your X-Ray CD and you would like one, please contact the panel physician directly.

Here is some information about life in the United States, and resources to help you find out more.

You can find information about health, housing, finances, laws, and U.S. public holidays on usa.gov.

Check the USCIS Guide For New Immigrants to find important information about ‘Green Cards,’ obtaining a Social Security number, filing taxes, and life in the United States.

Working in the United States

• If you are admitted to the U.S. with an immigrant visa, you may work in the U.S. by virtue of your Permanent Resident Card. Until your card arrives, the I-551 stamp in your passport serves as evidence of your status while it remains valid (within 12 months of your date of admission).
• If you enter with a fiancé(e) visa, you may apply to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for permission to work.

Practicalities

• You are not required to carry your Social Security card every day.
• If you will be enrolling your children in school, you may be asked to show their vaccination records and birth certificate (plus any custody or adoption papers, if applicable).
• The emergency service telephone number (police, fire, ambulance) is 911.
• The imperial system of measurement is used: feet, inches and pounds (lbs).
• Appliances run on 110 volts.
• Prices displayed in shops do not include sales tax.
• The minimum legal age to purchase alcohol is 21. Some jurisdictions do not permit the sale of alcohol.
• Vehicles drive on the right-hand side of the road.
• Tipping is commonplace at bars and restaurants, for hair/beauty treatments, food delivery, and taxi (cab) drivers.

If your child was born after your visa was issued but before you move to the United States, you should first check if your child may have a claim to citizenship as the child of a U.S. citizen. If not, then your child may travel with you when you move to the United States using your visa, provided that you show the child’s long-form birth certificate which states the names of both parents.

If you are a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) and you have had a child overseas during a temporary absence from the United States, click here for the information you need.

In order that we may consider your request, please contact us with scanned copies of the following documents:

• The original Form I-797 issued to the principal applicant
• A copy of the principal applicant’s approved Form I-140 petition
• A copy of the principal applicant’s Permanent Resident Card
• Form G-28 from the attorney/agent of record (if applicable)