Form DS-260 and Form DS-261: applying for a green card from abroad

The DS-260 is the application forgreen cardfor applicants applying from outside the United States. The DS-260, officially named the “Online Immigrant Visa Application”, is processed throughthe National Visa Center (NVC)and the local United States embassy or consulate.

What is the DS-261?

The DS-261 is a relatively simple online form telling the Department of State how to contact the applicant during the green card process.

How to apply

The first step in this process is filing the family sponsorship form (I-130) withUnited States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), together with the supporting documents. The sponsoring spouse will usually receive a receipt notice by post from USCIS within about 2 weeks.

Assuming USCIS has all the information it needs, it will usually approve or refuse this petition within a few months, depending on the situation. Once approved, USCIS will transfer the case to the National Visa Center.

The NVC receives the case

When the NVC receives the approved case from USCIS, it will send the applicant a welcome notice by post or email, depending on the notification method the applicant chose. This notice will include the case number, the beneficiary ID number and the invoice ID number.

The beneficiary ID number is a unique number the NVC assigns to each beneficiary in a case (for example: the spouse applying for the green card). The applicant will need all these numbers in order to file the forms and fees online described below at the NVC’s Consular Electronic Application Center.

For the spouse of a United States citizen, the NVC begins processing the case as soon as it is received from USCIS. For the spouse of a United States green card holder, the NVC will hold the case until the case’s “priority date” appears in the Department of State’s visa bulletin.

In that case, the NVC will send the applicant a notice (again by post or email) stating that “a visa is not currently available for your visa category” and that the applicant should follow the visa bulletin to monitor progress.

Form DS-261

The next step is filing Form DS-261 (officially named the “Online Choice of Address and Agent”). This is a relatively simple form telling the Department of State how to contact the applicant, and there is no fee to file it. The NVC may take up to 3 weeks to process the DS-261.

How much does the DS-261 cost?

Once the NVC has processed the DS-261, the applicant will need to pay 2 mandatory fees online, totalling USD 445: the Department of State’s case processing fee (USD 325) and the affidavit of support fee (USD 120).

The applicant will know the DS-261 has been processed when the fee invoices become available at the NVC’s Consular Electronic Application Center. The NVC may take up to 1 week to process the DS-261 payment.

Filing Form DS-260

Once the payment has been processed, the applicant may go online to file the DS-260 (the immigrant visa application). This is the main green card application for relatives living abroad and is administered by the Department of State.

File the DS-260 online athere.

Tips for completing the DS-260

• To begin, the applicant will need the case number, the beneficiary ID number and the invoice ID number from the original welcome notice the NVC sent.
• The whole online DS-260 form must be completed in English. Where the applicant is entering addresses or names not in the Latin alphabet, they must be transliterated.
• Make sure to include information about all children — including stepchildren, adopted children and biological children — regardless of age and regardless of whether they are immigrating to the United States too.
• Make sure to list all the addresses where the applicant has actually lived since the age of 16, not just the addresses used as an official permanent address. For example, where the applicant continued to use their parents’ address as a permanent address while at university, despite not living there, the applicant will need to include the addresses where they actually lived.
• It may take several months for the green card actually to arrive at the United States address, so make sure the mailing address the applicant provides will be valid throughout that period.
• The applicant cannot amend the DS-260 once it has been filed online. Ideally, make sure all the information is correct first time. However, where the applicant discovers an error after filing the DS-260, they may simply notify the consular officer of the error at the interview and ask for it to be corrected at that point.
• Once the DS-260 has been filed online, the applicant must print the confirmation page so that they can bring it to the visa interview at the United States consulate.

Supporting documents

After the applicant files the DS-260, the NVC will send a notice (again by post or email) confirming receipt of the DS-260, usually on the same day. The applicant then also needs to submit the supporting documents to the NVC.

Depending on which consulate is processing the case, the applicant will upload, email or post all the supporting documents to the NVC. The NVC is responsible for gathering all the applications and documents needed to process the green card case and forwarding them to the consulate. The consulate is responsible for scheduling and conducting the immigrant visa interview and making the final decision on the immigrant visa petition.

It is important to submit these documents in the way the NVC directs — some United States consulates require physical printouts, while others allow digital copies to be emailed or uploaded.

Documents from the applicant as the sponsored relative:

• Evidence of nationality (a copy of the birth certificate and the passport photograph page)
• A copy of the marriage certificate (for a marriage-based green card)
• A copy of the document terminating any marriage (a divorce certificate or death certificate), where the applicant has had any previous marriages
• A copy of military records, where the applicant has served
• Copies of police certificates showing any past offences or the absence of any. These certificates, also known as “police clearance letters”, must be obtained from:
  • Anywhere in the home country where the applicant has lived for at least 6 months after the age of 16
  • Anywhere outside the home country where the applicant has lived for at least 1 year after the age of 16
  • Any jurisdiction where the applicant has ever been arrested or charged, regardless of how long they lived there or their age at the time

Documents from the sponsoring relative:

• Evidence of the ability to support the family member in the United States — for further details, see the article on the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864)
• A copy of the document terminating any marriage (a divorce certificate or death certificate), where the applicant has had any previous marriages
• Evidence of domicile, meaning that the applicant has substantial ties to the United States. For a sponsoring spouse or family member living in the United States, proof of address or state-issued identification is usually sufficient evidence. For a sponsoring spouse or family member applying from outside the United States, the acceptable evidence of domicile should be consulted.

Additional tips

• Depending on the case and the United States consulate processing the application, additional documents may be required. That is why it is always worth checking carefully the notices received from the NVC for any special requirements.
• It is important that the applicant submits all the supporting documents in a single package.
• The applicant should submit only copies of official documents, not the originals.
• Be ready to bring the originals to the green card interview at the United States consulate.

The interview and the final fee

Once the applicant has sent the supporting documents, it usually takes a few months before the visa interview is scheduled. The applicant will receive a notice from the NVC or the local United States consulate advising of the time and date of the interview.

DS-260 costs

Once the visa is approved, the applicant will receive an immigrant visa stamp in their passport. At this point, the USCIS Immigrant Fee (USD 235) may be paid online. This fee is required for USCIS to produce and send the physical green card.

It is best to pay this fee online as soon as the visa stamp is received, so that the physical green card can be received shortly after arrival in the United States. The applicant will use the immigrant visa stamp to enter the United States, and will receive the physical green card at their United States address usually within 3-4 weeks of the date of entry.

The DS-260 and DS-261 are key requirements on the road to obtaining a family-based or marriage-based green card for anyone applying from outside the United States. By reading the guidance and following the instructions carefully, applicants may increase the chances of the application process going smoothly and ending with an approved green card.