Follow the steps below before your immigrant visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda.
As soon as you receive your appointment date, you must schedule a medical exam in Rwanda. Click the Medical Exam Instructions button below for a list of designated doctors’ offices in Rwanda. Schedule and attend a medical exam with one of the doctors listed below before your interview. The US Embassy will contact you with the date of your mandatory in-person prescreening appointment.
It is important that you bring all required original documents to your interview. We created a checklist that tells you what to bring. Click the Pre-interview Checklist button below. Print the checklist, complete it and bring it to your interview with the listed documents.
Read our interview guidelines to learn about special actions you must take before your visa interview.
Everyone applying for an immigrant visa, no matter how old they are, must have a medical exam before a visa will be issued. Only a physician approved by the U.S. Embassy can do the exam.
It is your responsibility to schedule and attend a medical exam with one of our approved list of doctors.
Medical exam results from non-approved doctors will not be accepted.
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Migrant Health Assessment Clinic (MHAC)
KG 501 Street, Kacyiru
Kigali, Rwanda
Dr. Fred Rwizibuka
Dr. Ariane Mutangana
Dr. Jeanette Iyonizera
To schedule an appointment online, go to this website: https://mymedical.iom.int/apps/omas/#_frmHome
To schedule an appointment by phone, call: +250-788-383-667
To book an appointment or to request information by email, send an email to this address: [email protected]
For more information, please visit: rwanda.iom.int
Please schedule your medical exam at least two weeks before your visa interview to make sure the exam results are ready before your interview. Please bring these items to your exam:
All medical examination fees (not including x-ray and blood test fees) must be paid directly to the IOM clinic through the I&M Bank.
The basic exam fee is USD 115.00 for all applicants, no matter how old they are. Required vaccinations and additional tests will be charged separately. IOM will tell you the required fees.
The medical exam will include:
More information on general medical requirements for immigrants to the U.S. is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Vaccinations: U.S. immigration law requires that immigrant visa applicants get certain vaccinations before a visa will be issued. The vaccination requirements are on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
You can also read Frequently Asked Questions about our medical examination requirements at Travel.State.Gov.
When your examination is finished, the doctor will either give you the exam results in a sealed envelope or send them directly to the U.S. Consulate.
IF THE DOCTOR GIVES YOU AN ENVELOPE TO CARRY TO YOUR INTERVIEW, DO NOT OPEN IT.
- Keep it sealed and bring it to your visa interview.
If x-rays are taken, they will be given to you. You DO NOT need to bring the x-rays to your visa interview unless you suffer from tuberculosis.
- Note: However, you must carry the x-rays with you when you travel to the United States for the first time.
IMPORTANT: The medical report must be less than six (6) months old when you enter the United States as an immigrant.
Use this checklist to learn what you must bring to the immigrant visa interview.
EVERY DOCUMENT THAT IS NOT IN EITHER ENGLISH OR FRENCH MUST ALSO HAVE A CERTIFIED ENGLISH TRANSLATION.
Applicants who are in any of the categories listed in italics below must bring these additional documents:
For family-based visa applications:
(Note: This requirement does not apply to refugee and asylee follow-to-join family members):
If you are 18 years of age or older you must document your marital status by bringing all documents that apply:
REMEMBER: EVERY DOCUMENT THAT IS NOT IN EITHER ENGLISH OR FRENCH MUST ALSO HAVE A CERTIFIED ENGLISH TRANSLATION.
Rescheduling or cancelling your interview
If you cannot attend your appointment, email [email protected] to schedule a new appointment date.
1. There may be a significant wait before the next available appointment, so please make every effort to attend the appointment NVC scheduled for you.
2. For some family-based and employment preference visa categories, there is also no guarantee that a visa will still be available on the date of your rescheduled interview. Please carefully consult the Visa Bulletin before you request to reschedule your interview.
3. DV applicants should be aware that the number of visas is limited and must be issued by September 30 of the program year.
4. There is no guarantee that a visa will still be available on the date of your rescheduled interview.
5. Review the Visa Bulletin carefully before you ask to reschedule your interview.
Please note: You need to register your original NVC/KCC appointment online before you can reschedule it. Rescheduling is only possible on a date after your assigned appointment.
Security screening procedures
All visitors to the U.S. Embassy must follow certain security procedures.
1. Any visitor who refuses to be screened by U.S. Embassy security personnel cannot enter the embassy.
2. Please leave bags and electronics at home. You cannot bring them into the embassy.
3. To avoid delaying your entry and those in line behind you, bring only what is required for your interview.
4. Please do not arrive more than 15 minutes before your appointment. Space is limited in our waiting room.
Accompanying persons
Attorneys cannot accompany clients into the waiting room or to their interview.
Only these people may accompany a visa applicant to the interview:
Interpreter: Applicants who do not speak English, French, or Kinyarwanda well enough to participate in an interview may bring an interpreter.
Special Needs Visitors: Applicants may bring someone to help if they are elderly, disabled, or a minor child.
Immigrant visa fees
You must pay all required fees to the National Visa Center or through the appointment website before your interview. (Exception: Diversity Visa Applicants who pay on the day of the interview).
1. All fees may be paid in U.S. dollars or Rwandan francs. We accept cash and credit cards.
2. Please note that if you are found ineligible to receive a visa, the application fee cannot be refunded.
3. A complete list of fees can be found here.
Do not make travel plans outside of Rwanda
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 send you an email notice that tells you when and where to pick up your passport.
- If you must travel within Rwanda while your passport is still with us, make sure you have a valid picture ID other than your passport.
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 consular officers 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. It will include instructions about sending those documents to the Embassy.
Administrative processing takes more time after the interview. Most administrative processing is finished within 60 days. However, the time it takes is different based on the circumstances of each case. Before you ask about the status of administrative processing, please wait at least 60 days after your interview.
What happens after visa approval
Passport, Visa, and Sealed Immigrant Packet: We will place your immigrant visa on a page in your passport.
1. Please check your visa to make sure there are no spelling errors.
2. Depending on your visa category, you may also be given a sealed envelope containing documents 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.
3. If you receive X-rays during your medical examination, carry those with you and give them to the U.S. immigration authorities.
4. 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.
5. 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 was printed.
1. Your visa cannot be extended and fees cannot be refunded.
2. The principal applicant must enter before or at the same time as other family members with visas.
3. Unless they are eligible for benefits under the Child Status Protection Act, children who are issued a visa before they turn 21 years old must enter the United States before their actual 21st birthday to avoid losing their immigrant status.
Getting a Green Card: Your Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card, also called a green card, will be automatically mailed to the address in the United States you wrote in your visa application form. This is a very important document. It proves that you have permission to live in the United States.
If you plan to travel outside the U.S. before your green card arrives: Please consult the USCIS and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection websites for rules about what documents you need to re-enter the country. Check with the airline to make sure you follow 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.
1. Bring your child’s complete vaccination records with you to the United States.
2. If your child is adopted, or if you have full custody because of a divorce, or if you share custody with another parent, bring a copy of all adoption or custody papers from the court that has the authority for such matters in your home country.
3. 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 on moving to the United States. You can read their publication, “Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants” online.
If you are interviewing for a Diversity Visa (DV), all of the above instructions apply to you. Please schedule and attend a medical examination before your visa interview and gather the required documents.
The instructions below apply only to DV applicants.
Bring to your interview
In addition to the documents listed on the Pre-Interview Checklist, DV applicants must bring these items to their visa interview:
Review your DV Lottery entry
Before your visa interview, we recommend that you review the data on your first E-DV entry.
1. On your first E-DV entry, you must have correctly entered your marital status. If you are legally married you must have listed your spouse, even if you are now separated from him or her. (Unless your spouse is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident.)
2. Also, you must have listed ALL of your living children who are unmarried and under 21 years old. This includes your natural children, your spouse’s children or children you have formally adopted under the laws of your country.
If you did not list an existing spouse or child at the time of your entry in the Diversity Visa lottery, your visa and the visas for your family will be denied.
All fees paid to the U.S. government for your visa application(s) cannot be refunded.
When you entered the lottery, if you failed to include a child who had already been born, or a spouse you were married to, you should not proceed with the visa application. You can review the eligibility requirements online.
Please read all the Special Instructions that follow for important information that will help you prepare for your immigrant visa interview appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda.
This document will help you learn:
Please read this document carefully before contacting us. If the answer to your question is here, we will refer you back to this document. Thank you for your cooperation.
If you have any questions that are not answered by this document, you may contact us at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you for your interview soon at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali!
When is my interview? Immigrant visa interviews are by appointment only. Interview appointments for most cases are given by the National Visa Center (NVC) or Kentucky Consular Center (KCC). The exceptions are K visa petitions or cases.
K Visa Applicants
Please complete the DS-160 form and schedule your appointment on our servicer’s website at: https://www.usvisaappt.com/visaapplicantui/login.
Please follow all other directions below.
What documents must I bring to my interview? All applicants must bring the following original documents to the immigrant visa interview. Additional documents may be required depending on your particular case.
| WARNING: If you submit any fraudulent documents with your application, you will not receive a visa. Documents you present are subject to independent proof. Do not take the risk of presenting a false document! |
1. Passports
Every applicant must present a passport that is valid for at least six months after the date you plan to travel to the U.S. Please bring your current passport, and all old passports that have a U.S. visa, even if that visa is expired. (For refugee or asylee applicants, this requirement may be waived.)
2. Photographs
Two color photographs of every applicant are required.
3. Medical Exam
Every applicant, including infants and children, must have medical exams and vaccinations in order to immigrate to the United States.
Note: A medical exam is valid for six months from the date it was completed, if the exam does not identify any health-related disqualifications. You must have valid medical report to enter the U.S. on an immigrant visa. K visa applicants, refugee and asylee applicants are exempt from vaccination requirements but they must still complete the rest of the medical exam.
4. Criminal Record
All applicants age 16 years or older must provide a criminal record or police certificate from:
Please see travel.state.gov to determine whether police certificates are available for a particular country.
Applicants who submitted a police certificate more than six months before their scheduled interview must bring new, signed police certificates to the interview. (Refugee and asylee applicants are exempted from this requirement.)
We cannot issue a visa without a current, valid police certificate.
Rwandan Citizens and Residents
Alternate Documents: A Criminal Investigation Clearance issued by the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) is an acceptable substitute for U.S. immigration purposes, because it requires the applicant to first obtain the Extrait du casier judiciaire (Criminal record clearance). This document is on white paper with a stamp overlapping the applicant’s photograph at the top and a stamp overlapping the signatory’s named at the bottom. It is signed by the Director General of Criminal Investigations.
5. Birth Certificate: Each applicant, including adults, must present a birth certificate. Birth records must be presented for all unmarried children under age 21, even if the children are not applying for a visa at this time.
6. Marital Status Documents: Applicants eighteen years or older must document their current marital status. This must include as many of the following documents if they apply:
For marriages that occurred in Rwanda, the accepted marriage document is the acte de marriage/marriage certificate.
Note: The attestation de mariage or livret de mariage will not be accepted in place of the acte de mariage/marriage certificate.
7. Translations of all Civil Documents: If a document was issued in any language other than English or French, you must provide a certified translation of every required civil document. (Such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, divorce certificates, and police and court records).
Submit the translations to the National Visa Center along with photocopies of the documents.
You must bring the original document to your immigrant visa interview along with the certified translation.
Please Note: Most Rwandan civil documents are issued in Kinyarwanda, French, and English. They do not need to be translated.
8. Affidavit of Support (Form I-864 or I-134 for K visa) Each family must provide one original Affidavit of Support with original signatures and a photocopy for every additional family member.
If there is any doubt that the petitioner financially qualifies to sponsor all the applicants according to poverty guidelines (published on form I-864-P), to avoid delay, bring a Joint Sponsor Form I-864 with the Joint Sponsor’s original signature and all supporting documentation to the interview.
If a Joint Sponsor Form I-864 is required, you must bring the original and copies of the Joint Sponsor I-864 as well.
If you are submitting documents from a Joint Sponsor, you must also provide a photocopy of the biographic page of the Joint Sponsor’s passport, Certificate of Naturalization or both sides of their Alien Registration (Green) Card. (Refugee and asylee applicants are exempt from this requirement.)
Your sponsor(s) may have submitted the affidavit of support documents to the National Visa Center before your Interview. To avoid delay, bring them to the interview in case any documents are missing. All forms and instructions are found at www.uscis.gov.
Additional documentation that may be required depending on your particular situation:
1. Proof of Rwandan residency for non-Rwandan passport holders: The U.S. Embassy in Kigali only processes immigrant visa cases for applicants who live in Rwanda.
2. Military Records: A certified copy of all military records, including a discharge letter, if applicable.
3. Court and Prison Records:People convicted of a crime must get a certified copy of every court record and all prison records, even if you were given amnesty or pardon.
4. Relationship Evidence (spouses): For cases based on a marriage relationship (IR1, CR1, F32, F42, and F21 immigrant visa categories), evidence can include:
The spouse-petitioner is not required to attend the initial interview. If she or he does choose to come to the Embassy on the interview day, the spouse will probably be asked to wait outside the Embassy due to limited waiting room space.
5. Relationship Evidence (biological children): For cases based on biological parent-child relationships (IR2, CR2, F31, F33, F11, F12, F43, F22, F23, and F24 immigrant visa categories), evidence usually includes an original birth certificate that lists both parents.
6. Relationship Evidence (stepchildren): For cases where the petitioner is the step-parent (not the biological parent) of the beneficiary child, you must provide evidence of the marriage relationship between the petitioner and the beneficiary’s biological parent. (Evidence of the biological relationship between the child and the biological parent must also be provided.
7. Relationship Evidence (adopted children): For cases based on parent-child adoption relationships, and the child is not the biological child of the petitioner or another beneficiary (IR2, CR2, F31, F33, F11, F12, F43, F22, F23, and F24 immigrant visa categories), evidence must include the final adoption decree.
8. Secondary School Certificate (DV applicants only): Diversity Visa (Lottery) applicants must provide evidence that they completed secondary school in order to qualify for the visa. For applicants who finished secondary school in Rwanda, that is normally shown by the Rwanda Education Board A-Level National Exam Certificate, Cambridge A-Level exam certificate, or TVET Certificate.
9. Confirm the completeness of data from your initial E-DV entry (DV applicants only): On your initial E-DV application, you must have listed your spouse, even if you are now separated from him or her, unless you are legally separated.
If you are legally separated or divorced, you do not need to list your former spouse, but you must document your maritalstatus.
On your initial E-DV application, you must have listed ALL of your living children who are unmarried and under 21 years old. That includes your natural children, your spouse’s children, or children you have formally adopted according to the laws of your country.
Before you submit your visa application, check the eligibility requirements at: travel.state.gov
| Applicants must meet all qualifications for the visa. If a Consular Officer determines that an applicant does not meet the requirements for the visa, or is otherwise ineligible under U.S. law, the officer cannot issue a visa, and the applicant will lose all fees paid. |
10. Payment (all applicants except DV): In most cases, your petitioning relative in the U.S. will have already paid the required fees before your interview.
Double-check the NVC records to be sure the required fees. However, to avoid delay and the need to reschedule your appointment, we ask that you come prepared to pay the fees in case your petitioner did not pay the National Visa Center (NVC). If your relative in the U.S. did pay the fee to the NVC, you do not need to pay again.
The fee is US$230 per person for Family based petitions and US$405 per person for Employment based petitions. (See below for Diversity Visa payment procedures.) Payment can be made in USD or RWF at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali if required on the day of your interview.
(Refugee and asylee applicants are exempted from payment.)
11. Payment (DV applicants only): DV applicants pay their visa application fees at the U.S. Embassy on the day of their interview.
Note: There is no guarantee that a Diversity Visas will be available after the month of your scheduled appointment. There will be no refunds if your visa is refused.
The Diversity Visa interview fee is $330 per person.
What if I am missing a required document on the day of my interview? the consular staff will inform you which documents are needed and how you can make an appointment to drop off your documents. We will not be able to continue processing your case until we receive the requested document.
Note: In F visa categories that are limited in number, such as Diversity Visas, there is no guarantee that visas will be available after the month of your scheduled appointment. Priority is given to applicants who are fully qualified at the time of their interview. Please carefully review the checklist before your appointment.
What can I expect on the day of my interview?
Arrive no earlier than fifteen (15) minutes before your scheduled Interview. Space is limited and we do not have room inside for early arrivals. A fully prepared case with all of the required documents moves through the process the fastest.
Please have all of the required documents ready for your interview to simplify the processing of your case.
On the day of the interview, you can expect the following steps. They may take up to three hours:
Pick up your immigrant visa and travel packet. If the consular officer determines that an immigrant visa can be issued, it may be a few days to a couple of weeks before your immigrant visa package is ready for pick up. The consular staff will tell you when to return to collect your passports and travel packets.
Do not make airline reservations until you have your immigrant visa in hand! Sometimes visas are delayed, even after we have given you an appointment to pick up your packet.
Pay the USCIS Immigrant Visa Fee. Since February 1, 2013, USCIS has charged an Immigrant Visa Processing Fee of $165 per person.
Successful IV applicants must pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee directly to USCIS before they travel to the United States.
The fee covers the processing of your residency status and the printing of your Legal Permanent Resident (Green) Card.
There are no Immigrant Visa Fees for children adopted under the Orphan (IR- 3s/IR-4s) or Hague Processes (IH-3s/IH-4s), Iraqi or Afghan special immigrants who were employed by the U.S. Government, returning residents (SB-1s), and those issued K visas.
Make your travel plans! Pay attention to your visa expiration date. Your visa has an expiration date, usually six months after it was issued.
If there is a visa available, you will be required to complete a new medical exam and pay the visa interview fee again.
You must hand-carry your immigrant visa package to the United States. Immigration officials will examine the documents contained in the package upon your arrival in the United States.
Do not put your visa package/travel packet into your checked baggage.
Last Updated: 11/6/2026
