What happens after an approved I-140 if you live outside the US?

Who this page is for

It is for the beneficiary of an approved Form I-140 (the immigrant petition used for EB-1A extraordinary ability and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver) who will apply at a US embassy or consulate. The beneficiary is the person the petition is for; the petitioner is whoever filed it. USCIS describes the other path, for someone already in the United States, as adjustment of status: applying there without returning home. USCIS also says a person living in the United States may choose to apply abroad instead.

Sources: USCIS: Consular Processing, steps 3 to 8

Step 1: the petition moves to the National Visa Center

USCIS sends the approved petition to the National Visa Center (NVC), part of the State Department, where it waits until an immigrant visa number is available. USCIS says the interview is scheduled once a visa is available or your priority date (your place in line, set by the petition) is earlier than the cut-off date in the monthly Visa Bulletin.

NVC writes when it receives the petition and again when a visa number is about to become available. Its welcome letter includes the fee bills and instructions for Form DS-260 and documents. NVC contacts you; USCIS asks you to contact NVC only if your address or marital status changes or a child turns 21.

Sources: USCIS: Consular Processing, steps 3 to 8; 9 FAM 504.4 (pre-appointment processing)

Step 2: forms and fees at the National Visa Center

This stage happens online in the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC), the State Department’s case website.

• Form DS-261 (choice of address and agent), only if NVC asks. 9 FAM 504.4 says it is not required when the beneficiary is self-petitioning, when NVC has a Form G-28 (an attorney’s notice of appearance) on file, or when the case is in NVC’s newer PIVOT system.
• An immigrant visa application fee bill for each applicant, paid online.
• A Form DS-260, the online immigrant visa application, for each person immigrating, in English only. DHS mails the green card to the US address on it. It is valid for two years from the oath.
• Financial evidence. For an employment-based immigrant, 8 CFR 213a.2 requires Form I-864 (affidavit of support) only when a US citizen or permanent resident relative filed the petition or has a significant ownership interest in the entity that filed it; a brother or sister counts only if a US citizen. No checked source names a financial form for other EB-1A or NIW cases, but NVC and the consular officer can ask for financial evidence.

Sources: 9 FAM 504.4 (pre-appointment processing); 8 CFR 213a.2(a)(2)(i)(C); 22 CFR 22.1, items 32 and 34

Step 3: civil documents and NVC review

Scanned documents are uploaded in CEAC, and the originals come to the interview. The consular officer may require any document needed to decide the case. The core list in 22 CFR 42.65 and 9 FAM 504.4:

• Birth certificate: an original or certified copy from the official custodian of birth records.
• Every marriage certificate, and proof that each earlier marriage ended.
• Police certificates for anyone 16 or older: from the country of nationality and of current residence if lived in for at least six months, and from any other country lived in for a year or more; at any age, from any country of arrest. They are valid for two years.
• Court and prison records for any conviction, even after a pardon, and a military record for anyone who served.
• A passport valid at least 60 days beyond the visa, and photographs to State Department specifications.

Sources: 22 CFR 42.61 to 42.67; 9 FAM 504.4 (pre-appointment processing)

What NVC does with the file

If something is missing or wrong, NVC sends a checklist or a CEAC message. For cases that must be “Fully Qualified”, including every PIVOT case, NVC schedules no interview until every fee, form and document is in. If nobody responds within one year while a visa is available, NVC starts terminating the case. If a document cannot be obtained without real hardship, as opposed to normal delay, the officer may accept other satisfactory evidence.

Sources: 9 FAM 504.4 (pre-appointment processing); 22 CFR 42.61 to 42.67

Step 4: the medical exam

Every applicant, of any age, has a medical examination before the visa is issued, by a panel physician designated by the embassy or consulate where they apply. It cannot be done in the United States. Applicants need at least one dose of each age-appropriate vaccine the CDC requires. Fees are set locally. The exam is valid for six months, or three months for some findings.

Sources: 22 CFR 42.61 to 42.67; 9 FAM 504.4 (pre-appointment processing); 9 FAM 302.2-3(C), 302.2-3(F)(1) and 302.2-6(B)

Step 5: the interview

NVC schedules the interview, generally in the order cases became complete, and emails the appointment letter. You apply at the consulate for where you live unless the State Department directs otherwise. Every applicant appears in person, though the officer may waive this for a child under 14. Each gives fingerprints and swears to the DS-260. The consular officer decides the immigrant classification and whether to issue the visa.

Sources: 9 FAM 504.4 (pre-appointment processing); 22 CFR 42.61 to 42.67; USCIS: Consular Processing, steps 3 to 8

Issued, or refused under 221(g)

Once the application is made, the officer must issue or refuse the visa; 9 FAM says there is no informal refusal or pending case. A missing document, or a check that is not finished (administrative processing), leads to a refusal under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It is overcome by bringing the missing evidence or when the processing is completed. There is no waiver for 221(g). An applicant has one year from a refusal to submit further evidence.

Sources: 9 FAM 504.11-4 (overcoming a refusal); INA 221(c), (e) and (h), 8 U.S.C. 1201

A visa is not admission

An immigrant visa is valid for up to six months, and no longer than the medical exam. The officer hands over a sealed visa packet, which you must not open. USCIS encourages paying its Immigrant Fee online before you travel.

At the port of entry, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer takes the packet, inspects you and decides whether to admit you as a permanent resident. By law, a visa does not entitle anyone to admission if they are found inadmissible on arrival. If CBP admits you, USCIS says you then have lawful permanent resident status.

Sources: INA 221(c), (e) and (h), 8 U.S.C. 1201; 9 FAM 302.2-3(C), 302.2-3(F)(1) and 302.2-6(B); USCIS: Consular Processing, steps 3 to 8; USCIS: USCIS Immigrant Fee

When the green card arrives

After admission, USCIS checks that the Immigrant Fee is paid and mails the card to the address given to the State Department or, if it changed, to CBP. If it has not arrived within 90 days, USCIS says to ask for help. Without the fee, no card is sent; status is unaffected, but the temporary I-551 stamp in the passport is evidence of it for only one year.

Sources: USCIS: USCIS Immigrant Fee; USCIS: Consular Processing, steps 3 to 8

Government fees, as of 27 October 2026

Fees change; check the State Department and USCIS fee pages before paying. The I-140 fee is not included. Lawyer fees, translations, police certificates and travel are separate costs set by others.

• Immigrant visa application fee, employment-based: $345 per person (22 CFR 22.1, item 32(b)), paid to the State Department.
• Affidavit of support review: $120, only when Form I-864 is required and reviewed in the United States (item 34).
• USCIS Immigrant Fee: $235 (8 CFR 106.2(c)(3)), for each immigrant; USCIS lets you pay for family members in one transaction.
• Medical exam and vaccinations: set locally by the panel physician.

Sources: 22 CFR 22.1, items 32 and 34; 8 CFR 106.2(c)(3); USCIS: USCIS Immigrant Fee; 9 FAM 302.2-3(C), 302.2-3(F)(1) and 302.2-6(B)

Timing

No official source checked for this guide gives a processing time for NVC or for interview scheduling; times vary. The fixed periods: a DS-260 lasts two years from the oath, police certificates two years, the medical exam six or three months, the visa up to six months, and an applicant has one year from a refusal to submit further evidence.

Sources: 9 FAM 504.4 (pre-appointment processing); 9 FAM 504.11-4 (overcoming a refusal); INA 221(c), (e) and (h), 8 U.S.C. 1201

Family members

A spouse or child immigrating with you repeats most steps: their own DS-260, fee, documents, medical exam and interview. The principal applicant also documents the relationship to the spouse and every child, including children who are not coming.

Sources: 9 FAM 504.4 (pre-appointment processing); 22 CFR 42.61 to 42.67

Where cases commonly stall

• A missing document leads to a 221(g) refusal at the interview; 9 FAM uses a missing birth certificate as its example.
• Someone who does not travel while the medical exam is valid needs a new exam, unless the CDC has extended it.
• A changed US address has to be given to CBP at entry so the card reaches you.

Sources: 9 FAM 504.11-4 (overcoming a refusal); 9 FAM 302.2-3(C), 302.2-3(F)(1) and 302.2-6(B); USCIS: USCIS Immigrant Fee

How Visa Trouble can help

Free route discovery at Visa Trouble covers EB-1A and the National Interest Waiver, and we’re building application preparation for both; it is planned, not open yet. Visa Trouble does not book interviews, pay government fees or submit anything for you, and it is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.