Consular Processing - All Eligibility Bases

• When your relative filled out your I-130 or I-140 petition, or when you filled out your lottery application, the provided address or other information will have made it clear to the U.S. government which consulate would be most convenient for you. The NVC will inform you to which consulate you are assigned.
•  The NVC will notify the petitioner and you (the beneficiary) when the visa petition is received and again when an immigrant visa number is about to become available. They will also notify you when you must submit immigrant visa processing fees (commonly referred to as “fee bills”) and supporting documentation. 
•  After your petition has been approved, a central office known as the National Visa Center (NVC) will take care of transferring your file to the appropriate consulate.  Once a visa is available or your priority date is current (earlier than the cut-off date listed in the monthly Visa Bulletin), the consular office will schedule you for an interview. The consular office will process your case and decide if you are eligible for an immigrant visa. 

The steps after an approved petition are:

1. Payment of Fees
2. Submit an affidavit of support, financial and supporting documents
3. Submit Dept. of State forms
4. Undergo a consular personnel interview
5. Get approved for an immigrant visa allowing entry into the United States to claim lawful permanent resident (LPR) status.

In some immigration categories, the number of visas available each year is limited. 

• United States law limits the number of immigrant visa numbers available each year in certain visa categories.  In addition, U.S. law also limits the number of visas available in certain categories by country. For limited categories, the availability of immigrant visa numbers depends on the date your petition was filed and the number of others waiting for the same visa category. This means that even if USCIS approves an immigrant visa petition for you, you may not get an immigrant visa number immediately.
• Immediate Relatives are an exception and are not limited are an exception and are not limited
• The date your petition was filed is called your priority date.
• Priority dates are posted monthly on the Visa Bulletin, which provides up-to-date priority dates for cases NVC is processing. 

• First, your attorney will handle your case so that necessary steps are completed fully and in the right order and submitted to the correct place. 
• The first step will be to select your choice of address and agent online using Dep't of State Form DS-261. 
• At the same time, if you're immigrating through a family member, the NVC will send your Petitioner a request for an Affidavit of Support.  (See below.)
• After the NVC receives your Form DS-261, it will send you a bill for the immigrant visa processing fee.
• Exactly what happens next will depend in part on which embassy you'll be interviewed at. 
• You and the petitioner will have to fill out various forms and paperwork, and undergo a medical exam.  Form DS-260, Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application, is required for all Immigrant Visa applicants and Diversity Visa applicants.
• Please do not submit any original documents to the NVC. Unless specifically directed to do so, please do not mail any documents to NVC, either original or photocopy  
• You, the immigrant, will also have to come up with financial documentation in support of one of the most complex forms you'll have to fill out, the Form DS-5540, Public Charge Questionnaire.  Procedures vary as to where you send them once you're done, and who you hear back from (either the NVC or the consulate).

After you receive an Appointment Letter from the NVC, you need to take the following steps BEFORE the interview date.

1. You will register your appointment for pre-interview instructions specific to your consulate.   As part of the registration process, you will be required to schedule an appointment at one of our Applicant Service Centers (ASCs) to take photos and have your fingerprints taken. This must occur before your interview at the Consulate General.  
2. Schedule and complete a Medical Examination (for yourself and each family member or derivate applicant) with an embassy-approved doctor ("Panel Physician") in the country where you will be interviewed.  Exams conducted by other physicians will not be accepted.  
3. The Panel Physician will either send the exam results directly to the embassy or give you a sealed envelope. If the doctor gives you an envelope, do not open it.  Instead, bring it to your visa interview and give it to the consular officer.
4. Gather Documents Required for your Interview:  Every visa applicant, no matter their age, must bring certain documents to the interview, including requested police records, marital certificates and evidence for spousal petitions, military records, employment records for employment-based petitions, photographs, and the original or certified copy version of all civil documents submitted to NVC.   Gather the originals of documents  submitted to the NVC via CEAC to the interview.
5. Complete your pre-interview checklist.  If you forget something on the list, the consular officer will not be able to complete the processing of your visa. You will have to gather the missing items and provide them to the embassy or consulate, and may have to come for additional interviews. Failure to bring all items on the above list can delay visa issuance.  You do not need to bring your Affidavit of Support or financial evidence that you submitted to NVC.  

• The final step in obtaining your visa is to attend an interview with a U.S. consular official. You'll receive written notification of your interview date.  The government uses the interview as an opportunity to verify the contents of your application after you've sworn to tell the truth, and will check your medical, criminal, and financial records to see whether you're inadmissible.
• Bring the original civil documents that you scanned and submitted through CEAC. If you do not bring your originals, you will delay the processing of your case. 
• If you're applying based on marriage, the consular officer will also ask personal questions designed to reveal whether your marriage is the real thing or fraud to get the immigrant a green card.
• For security reasons, you might not be approved at the interview itself. Instead, assuming all goes well, you will be asked to return to the consulate to pick up your immigrant visa. 
• There will be a time limit after approval on when you can use it to enter the United States.