Applying for an immigrant or fiancé(e) visa is a comprehensive process involving several stages and agencies. It can take anything from six months to many years. The first step is to check the list of visa categories to find out about the eligibility criteria and how a petition is filed or how to submit a Diversity Visa entry.
If you have been notified by email or letter that your case has been received by the Embassy in London and it is now time for you to apply for the visa, or if your visa interview appointment has been booked for you by NVC, click here for information about the next steps in your case.
Due to unavoidable backlogs and unprecedented demand caused by the ongoing impact of COVID-19, you should expect delays at every stage of the process.
Petition approval does not guarantee visa issuance. You should not resign from work, give up accommodation, book travel tickets, or make other final plans to move to the United States unless you have received your passport containing a valid immigrant or fiancé(e) visa. No expedited visa processing service is available.
If your petition or Diversity Visa entry has been submitted, click on your scenario below to find out what to expect and who you can contact with any questions at this stage.
1) My immigrant visa petition was submitted to USCIS in the U.S. and the petition application is still being processed
What to expect
Petition processing may take many months. USCIS will contact the petitioner as soon as petition processing is complete, or if more information is needed. In the meantime, you can check your petition case status on the USCIS website.
Who to contact
Visit the USCIS website to check the status of your case online, update your address, or find information about approximate processing times.
The Immigrant Visa Unit at the Embassy cannot answer any questions about the status of a petition filed with USCIS.
2) My petitioner applied for Exceptional Circumstances consideration for my I-130 petition
A consular officer reviews each Exceptional Circumstances submission and replies as soon as possible.
What happens next?
If the consular officer confirms that your case qualifies for Exceptional Circumstances consideration, your petitioner will be given instructions about how to file the I-130 petition directly with the Immigrant Visa Unit in London. If the petition is approved, the Immigrant Visa Unit will send you information about how and when to apply for the visa.
If the consular officer determines that your case does not qualify for Exceptional Circumstances consideration, this means that your petitioner will need to file your petition with USCIS in the United States. Visit the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website for petition filing information. Your petitioner should contact USCIS in the U.S. directly with any questions about petition filing, including about how to pay the petition filing fee. Click here for USCIS contact details.
3) My immigrant visa petition was submitted to USCIS Field Office in London before April 1, 2020
The USCIS Field Office in London is now permanently closed. All of the petitions filed before the closure on April 1, 2020, have either been approved or denied.
What happens next?
If your petition has been approved, your case file has been forwarded to the Immigrant Visa Unit at the Embassy in London. They will contact you to confirm when you can begin the steps to apply for the visa. You will need this confirmation before you can start the visa application process.
If you are unsure of the status of your petition, please complete an online contact form to contact the Immigrant Visa Unit. Please make sure you provide the full name of the petitioner, the full name of the visa applicant, and the date on which the petition was filed with USCIS London.
4) A fiancé(e) visa petition was submitted for me
What to expect
Petition processing may take many months. USCIS will contact the petitioner as soon as petition processing is complete, or if more information is needed. In the meantime, you can check your petition case status on the USCIS website.
Who to contact
Visit the USCIS website to check the status of your case online, update your address, or find information about approximate processing times.
The Immigrant Visa Unit at the Embassy cannot answer any questions about the status of a petition filed with USCIS.
What happens next?
If the petition is approved, the case will be forwarded to NVC who will send it to the Embassy in London.
When the Immigrant Visa Unit at the Embassy has received your case file and assigned your case number, they will contact you to confirm when you can begin the steps to apply for the visa. You will need this confirmation before you can start the visa application process.
5) My immigrant visa petition was approved by USCIS in the U.S. and sent to National Visa Center (NVC)
What to expect
If your petition has been approved and forwarded by USCIS to National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing, you should expect all action up to and including scheduling the visa interview to undertaken by NVC. The Immigrant Visa Unit at the Embassy in London communicates overall appointment availability to NVC but has no involvement with scheduling individual appointments.
If you applied for a visa as the sibling or adult child (aged 21 or over) of a U.S. citizen, a spouse of child of a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), or an employment visa, further action in your case will depend on the availability of a visa number. This is because there are limits on the numbers of those visas that can be issued each year. We cannot predict when a visa number may be available as they can advance, recede or remain static from month to month. If action in your case is awaiting the availability of visa numbers, please monitor the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin which is updated once a month.
Contact details
If you have questions after checking the NVC Frequently Asked Questions, or if you need to update your address or any other details, please contact NVC directly using the information on that webpage. The Embassy cannot answer any questions about cases being processed by NVC, including any questions about document requests you have received from NVC.
Any requests for expedited processing must also be submitted to NVC directly, not to the Embassy.
What happens next
As soon as your visa interview has been scheduled, you will be advised how to prepare for your appointment and how to book a medical with the Embassy’s panel physician in London.
6) I submitted a Diversity Visa Program entry
What to expect
The Diversity Visa Program accepts entries for a short period each Fall (Autumn). If you submitted an entry, you will be able to find out the outcome in May of the following year through the Entry Status Check website.
If your entry is selected at random for further processing by Kentucky Consular Center (KCC), this does not mean that a visa is guaranteed. It means that there is a possibility you may be able to apply for a visa. Approximately 100,000 applications are selected worldwide and no more than 50,000 visas are issued. The difference is to account for applicants that decide not to continue with the visa application process, who do not complete the process in time, or who do not qualify for the visa.
If your entry is selected, you will be contacted through your Entry Status Check account with instructions.
Important: The only official Diversity Visa Program entry website is dvprogram.state.gov. No third party organization, website or individual has been authorized by the U.S. Government to provide information about the DV Program, submit a registration, or notify individuals about the outcome of their entry. If you have received an email saying you have “won” the Diversity Visa Lottery, click here for important information about Diversity Visa scams.
Who to contact
The Embassy has no involvement with the Diversity Visa application process until after an interview appointment has been scheduled. Therefore, we cannot answer any questions. Please check your Entry Status Check account and the Diversity Visa instructions for the information you need.
