Follow the steps below before your immigrant visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.

After you receive your visa interview appointment, you must complete each of these steps below.  If you do not complete each step before your visa interview appointment the consular section may require you to reschedule for a later date.

All applicants must follow the instructions below before you go to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Step 1: Register Online and Select a Document Pick-up Location

Before your visa interview appointment, you must register online here.

Your registration ensures we have the correct information to return your passport and documents after your visa interview.  Registration also allows you to cancel or reschedule your interview if necessary.

Step 2: Get a medical exam in Pakistan

As soon as you receive your appointment date, you must schedule a medical exam in Pakistan. Click the Medical Exam Instructions button (below) for a list of approved doctors’ offices.

• Schedule and attend a medical exam with one of them before your interview.

Medical Exam Instructions >>

Step 3: Complete your pre-interview checklist

It is important that you bring all required original documents to your interview. Click the Pre-Interview Checklist button (below) for a checklist that tells you what to bring.

• Complete the checklist, print it, and bring it to your interview with the required documents.
• Failure to bring all required original documents will result in a denial of your visa application. In most cases, applicants must also upload and submit all required and updated documents through the CEAC portal before the interview.

Pre-Interview Checklist >>

Step 4: Review interview guidelines

Read our interview guidelines to learn about any special actions you must take before your visa interview.

Interview Guidelines >>

Medical Exam Instructions

All immigrant visa applicants, no matter their age, must have a medical examination before a visa can be issued. Only a doctor approved by the U.S. Embassy can perform it.

It is your responsibility to schedule a medical exam with one of the doctors listed before your visa interview at the U.S. Embassy.

• Medical examination results from other physicians will not be accepted.
• Click the button (below) for a list of approved physicians in Pakistan.
  
  

List of Approved Physicians >>

Items to bring to your medical examination

Bring these items to your medical exam:

• Your visa interview letter
• Your passport
• Six (6) recently taken passport-sized color photographs
• A copy of your immunization records
• Medical records and test results for any major illnesses or surgeries you had or for which you are currently receiving treatment
• DS-260 confirmation page

You must pay all medical examination fees, including x-ray and blood test fees, directly to the examining physician.

During the medical exam

The medical examination includes a:

• Medical history review
• Physical examination
• Chest X-ray
• Blood tests (for applicants aged 15 years and older)
• Gonorrhea test
• The United States requires tuberculosis (TB) testing for all applicants aged two years and older
• Be prepared to discuss your medical history, medications you are taking, and current treatments.

Note: U.S. immigration law requires immigrant visa applicants to obtain certain vaccinations before a visa will be issued.  Immigrant visa vaccination requirements are available on the Centers for Disease Control website.

More information on general medical requirements for U.S. immigrants is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

You can also read Frequently Asked Questions about our medical examination requirements online.

After the medical exam

1. When your examination is finished, the doctor will either:

• Provide you with exam results in a sealed envelope or
• Send them directly to the U.S. Embassy

If the doctor gives you an envelope to carry to your interview, DO NOT OPEN IT.

• Bring the sealed envelope to your visa interview.

2. Any x-rays taken will be given to you. You DO NOT need to bring them to your interview unless you suffer from tuberculosis (TB).

• However, you must carry the x-rays with you when you travel to the United States for the first time.

3. The medical report must be less than six months old when you enter the United States as an immigrant.

Approved physicians in Pakistan

You must complete a medical exam with one of these physicians BEFORE your visa interview at the U.S. Embassy.

LAHORE
WILCARE
3-M, Model Town Extension, Lahore 54700
Online Appointments (24/7): www.wilcare.org
Helpline: 0304-111-0-945 (Monday to Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm)
Email customercare@wilcare.org

ISLAMABAD
AMC
Dr. Ahmed Raza Jan
House No. 1, Street 16, F-6/3
Islamabad
Phone: 051-287-3191 or 051-287-3192
Fax: 051-287-3193
Email: info@amcpk.com
Clinic hours: Monday to Friday (9:30 am - 4:30 pm)
For information and online appointment, visit www.amcpk.com

ISLAMABAD
IOM
IOM Migration Health Assessment Centre
Ground Floor, IDC, Pakland Square Plaza.
G-8 Markaz, Islamabad, 44000
Phone: 051 111 466 472
Working Hours: Monday to Thursday: 08:00 AM – 04:45 PM / Friday: 08:00 AM – 12:30 PM
For information and online appointment, email: mhdislamabad@iom.int or visit https://g.co/kgs/2eJmZSS

KARACHI
WILCARE
JCHS 71, Block 7/8 Jinnah Cooperative Housing Society, Karachi, Pakistan
Online Appointments (24/7): www.wilcare.org
Helpline: 0304-111-0-945 (Monday to Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm)
Email customercare@wilcare.org

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Pre-Interview Checklist

Use the list that follows to learn the items that EVERY applicant must bring to their immigrant visa interview:

• Failure to bring all required original documents will result in a denial of your visa application. In most cases, applicants must also upload and submit all required  and updated documents through the CEAC portal before the interview.

A copy of your NVC interview letter (does not apply to fiancé (e), adoptive, or asylee/refugee applicants).

Unexpired passport valid for six months after the date you plan to enter the United States

Bring a photocopy of the biographic page (where your name and photo are located).

Two (2) recent photographs of every person applying for a visa (5 cm x 5 cm).  Please review online photo requirements.

Your original birth certificate with

• An English translation and
• Photocopies.

Medical examination results in a sealed envelope (if the physician gives them to you).

Original or certified copies of birth certificates for all the principal applicant’s children (even if he or she is not going with you).

Applicants who fall into any category listed in italics below must bring these additional documents:

For family based applications:

The appropriate Form I-864 Affidavit of Support for each financial sponsor

• With a photocopy of the sponsor’s IRS transcript or most recent U.S. federal income tax return
• All related W-2s.
  • Proof of the sponsor’s legal status and domicile in the United States (For example, a photocopy of a U.S. passport, naturalization certificate, or lawful permanent resident card).

Proof of the U.S. petitioner’s legal status and domicile in the United States (For example, a photocopy of a U.S. passport, naturalization certificate, or lawful permanent resident card).

The petitioner’s original birth certificate with

• An English translation and
• A photocopy

If you are married: Your original marriage certificate with

• An English translation and
• A photocopy

If you were previously married: Your original divorce or spouse’s death certificate with

• An English translation, and
• A photocopy

If you are older than 16 years of age: an original police certificate is required from Pakistan.

• Additionally, an original police certificate is required from every country where you have lived. For more information about how to obtain these certificates, visit Reciprocity by Country.
  
  
• If these items are all true, you must get a more recent police certificate and bring it to the interview:
  
  1. You are older than 16 years
  2. Your stay in that country was more than a year and
  3. You obtained a police certificate and submitted it to NVC more than one year ago or

• You must get a more recent police certificate if you still live in the country that issued it and you submitted it to NVC more than one year ago.

For employment-based visa applications:  Letter from your U.S. employer dated less than one month before your interview.

If you have ever been convicted of a crime:

1. Original or certified court and criminal records
2. English translations,
3. Photocopies

If you have served in any country’s military:

• Military records
• English translations
• Photocopies

If you are adopted: Adoption papers or custody documents,

• Adoption papers or custody documents
• English translations
• Photocopies

If you are the petitioner’s stepchild:

• The original marriage certificate of the petitioner and your biological parent
• Divorce or death records for all previous marriages of either parent
• English translations
• Photocopies

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Interview Guidelines

Arrival at the embassy

The U.S. Embassy is located in the Diplomatic Enclave.

• All applicants must take a shuttle bus from the 3rd Avenue, Quaid-e-Azam University Road, Islamabad to the embassy.
• The fee for the shuttle is approximately 1500 Pakistani Rupees for a two-way trip. (The shuttle service is a private company, and the price is subject to change without notice.)

Sending documents to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad

After your interview, if you must send any documents, DO NOT mail them to the embassy directly.

• Instead, follow the instructions the consular officer gives you during your interview.

Rescheduling or cancelling your interview

If you cannot attend your appointment:

• For K-1, LPR, and SB-1 applicants, please go to US Travel docs to select a new appointment date.
• For all other visa categories, please visit the Islamabad Immigrant Visa Navigator.
• There may be a long wait before the next available appointment, so please try to attend the original interview date scheduled by NVC.
• For some family-based and employment preference visa categories, a visa may become available within the month you are scheduled by NVC.
• The number of visas available in some of our visa categories is limited. There is no guarantee that a visa will still be available on the date of your rescheduled interview.
• Carefully review the Visa Bulletin before you ask to reschedule your interview.

Security screening procedures

All visitors to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad must follow the security procedures. Visitors who refuse to be screened by U.S. Embassy security personnel cannot enter the embassy.

• You cannot bring cell phones, cameras, or any other electronic equipment into the embassy.
• All bags are searched. To avoid delaying your entry and those in line behind you, bring only what is required for your interview.

Accompanying persons

Anyone whose name is not listed on the visa appointment letter will not be allowed to enter the embassy. Petitioners are not required to attend the applicants’ immigrant visa interview. Due to limited space in the visa waiting room, we cannot accommodate petitioners or attorneys in the waiting room or at visa interviews. 

Only these people may accompany a visa applicant to their interview, and all others will be refused entry:

• Interpreter: Applicants who do not speak English or Urdu well enough to participate in an interview may bring ONE interpreter.
• Special Needs Visitors: Applicants may bring ONE person to help if they are elderly, disabled, or a minor child.

Immigrant visa fees

If you have not paid all required fees to the National Visa Center, be prepared to pay them at the U.S Embassy before your interview on the day of your appointment.

• All fees may be paid in either U.S. dollars or the Pakistani Rupee equivalent.
• We accept cash and credit cards only.
• Note: If you are found ineligible to receive a visa, the application fee cannot be refunded.
• A complete list of fees can be found on our Fees for Visa Services webpage.

Do not make travel plans outside of Pakistan prior to visa issuance

If your visa is approved, we will keep your passport at the embassy while we prepare your immigration packet and print a visa for your passport.

• We will return your passport to you later by courier services only.
• If you have to travel in Pakistan while your passport is still with us, please make sure you have a valid picture ID other than your passport.

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After Your Interview

Consular officers can only make decisions on applications after they review the formal application and interview the applicant.

• There is no guarantee that you will receive a visa.
• Do not sell your house, car or property, resign from your job or make non-refundable flight or other travel arrangements until you receive your immigrant visa.

If more information is needed

Sometimes a consular officer cannot make their decision on a visa application because they need to review additional documents or the case requires more administrative processing.

When additional documents are requested:

• The consular officer will give you a refusal letter that asks you to submit additional documents or take certain actions.
• The letter will include instructions about sending those documents to the embassy.

Administrative processing takes additional time after the interviewand varies based on the circumstances of each case.

What happens after visa approval?

Passport, Visa, and Sealed Immigrant Packet: We will print your immigrant visa on a page in your passport.

• Please review your visa to make sure there are no spelling errors.
• In some cases, we will give you a sealed envelope containing documents that you must give to U.S. immigration authorities when you arrive in the United States for the first time.
• Do not open this envelope. You must carry it with you. Do not put it in your checked luggage.
• If you receive X-rays during your medical examination, carry those with you and give them to the U.S. immigration authorities.

When You Should Travel: You must enter the United States before the expiration date on your visa, which is usually six months from the date it is printed.

• Your visa cannot be extended and all fees are nonrefundable.
• The principal applicant must enter before or at the same time as other family members with visas.
• Unless they are eligible for benefits under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), children who are issued a visa before they turn 21 years old, must enter the United States before their 21^st birthday to avoid losing their immigrant status.

USCIS Immigrant Fee: Everyone who is issued an immigrant visa overseas must pay an Immigrant Fee to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before traveling to the United States.

• This fee is for processing your residency status and printing your Permanent Resident Card.
• The only people who do not have to pay this fee are: Children entering the United States under the Hague Process, returning residents, and people traveling on a fiancé (e) (K) visa.

Getting a Green Card: Your Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card (also called a green card) will be automatically mailed to the United States address that you wrote in your visa application form.

This is a very important document. It proves you have permission to live in the United States.

If you plan to travel outside the U.S. before your green card arrives:

• Consult the USCIS and CBP websites for  rules about what documents you need to re-enter the country.
• Check with the airline to make sure you are within their rules.
• Once your card is issued, do not stay outside of the United States for more than one year. If you do, you will lose your status as a Lawful Permanent Resident.

Children’s Issues: In the United States, children must have certain vaccinations before they can enroll in school.

• Bring your child’s complete vaccination records with you to the United States.
• If your child is adopted, you have full custody because of a divorce, or you share custody with another parent, bring a copy of all applicable adoption or custody papers from the court with authority in your home country.
• You will need these papers (translated into English) for issues such as school enrollment, medical care, and eventual citizenship.

Information for New Immigrants: Please visit the USCIS web page for helpful information about moving to the United States. You can read their publication, Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants online.

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