Please follow the steps below before your immigrant visa interview at the U.S. Consulate General in Tokyo, Japan
As soon as you receive your appointment date, you must schedule a medical exam in Japan. Click the “Medical Exam Instructions” for a list of designated doctors’ offices in Japan. Please schedule and attend a medical exam with one of these doctors before your interview.
It is important that you bring all required original documents to your interview. We’ve created a checklist that will tell you what to bring. Please print the checklist below and bring it to your interview along with the listed documents.
Read our interview guidelines to learn about any special actions that you need to take before your visa interview.
All immigrant visa applicants, regardless of age, require a medical examination prior to the issuance of a visa. Only a physician accredited by the U.S. Embassy can perform this exam. It is your responsibility to schedule a medical exam with one of the doctors listed below before your visa interview appointment at the U.S. Embassy. Medical examination results from other physicians will not be accepted. Your medical case will be ready approximately five days after you were notified of your immigrant visa appointment. Please refrain from contacting panel physicians until five days after receipt of your appointment.
The medical examination report is normally valid for maximum of six months.
The medical examination information and approved Physicians are available at the Embassy website.
The medical examination will include a medical history review, physical examination, and chest X-ray and blood tests (forapplicants 15 years of age or older). The United States also requires tuberculosis (TB) testing for all applicants two years of age and older. Please be prepared to discuss your medical history, medications you are taking, and current treatments you are undergoing. More information on general medical requirements for U.S. immigrants is available on Centers for Disease Control website.
U.S. immigration law requires immigrant visa applicants to obtain certain vaccinations prior to the issuance of a visa. Current immigrant visa vaccination requirements are available on CDC's website. You can also read Frequently Asked Questions about our medical examination requirements on Travel.State.Gov.
When your examination is completed, the doctor will provide you a copy of the vaccination worksheet by email or by post. For DV and K visa applicants, the panel physicians will send you the exam results in a sealed envelope. DO NOT OPEN THIS ENVELOPE. Instead, bring it to your visa interview. Any x-rays taken will be given to you. You DO NOT need to bring the x-rays to your interview. However, you must carry the x-rays with you when you travel to the United States for the first time.
Please use the list below to determine the items that the applicant must bring to the immigrant visa interview:
A “LetterPack Plus” self-addressed, prepaid envelope (available at most post offices). Please write “documents” on the “Contents Descriptions” field and include a local address. We will use this to return your passport after the interview.
A copy of you NVC interview letter (does not apply to Diversity Visa, fiancé(e), adoptive, or asylee/refugee applicants).
Unexpired passport valid for six months beyond your intended date of entry to the United States.
Two (2) color passport-size (5 cm x 5 cm, or 2 inch x 2 inch) photographs of each person applying for a visataken against white background. Please review our online photo requirements.
Confirmation page from the Form DS-260 Application for an Immigrant Visa you submitted online at ceac.state.gov/iv.
Your original birth certificate, English translation, and a photocopy.
Original or certified copies of birth certificates for all children of the principal applicant (even if he or she is not accompanying).
Applicants who fall into any category below should bring these additional documents:
For family-based visa applications:
If you are married: Your original marriage certificate, English translation, and a photocopy.
If you were previously married: Your original divorce or spouse’s death certificate(s), English translation(s), and a photocopy.
If you are 16 years of age or older: The original or certified copy of a police certificate from all countries you have lived in using these criteria.
Note: Your Japanese police certificate should be in a sealed envelope. If the seal is broken, the certificate is no longer valid. (Only send a photocopy of the sealed envelope to National Visa Center, but not the actual police certificate itself.)
For employment-based visa applications: A letter from your U.S. employer dated less than one month ago.
If you have ever been convicted of a crime: Court and criminal records, English translation, and a photocopy.
If you have served in any country’s military: Military records, English translation, and a photocopy.
If you are adopted: Adoption papers or custody documents, English translation, and a photocopy.
If you are the petitioner’s stepchild: The original marriage certificate of the petitioner and your biological parent, English translation, and a photocopy along with divorce records for any previous marriages of either parent.
Sending documents to the U.S. Embassy
If the consular officer asks you to submit additional documents to the U.S. Embassy, please follow any instruction given by the interviewer.
Rescheduling or cancelling your interview
If you are unable to attend your appointment, please use the embassy’s Interview Request Form to ask for a new appointment date. There may be a significant wait before the next available appointment, so please attempt to attend the date already assigned. For some family-based and employment preference visa categories, a visa became available within the month you have been scheduled by NVC. DV applicants should be aware that visas are numerically limited and must be issued by September 30 of the program year. There is no guarantee that a visa will still be available on the date of your rescheduled interview. Please consult the Visa Bulletin before you decide to reschedule your interview.
Security screening procedures
All visitors to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo must follow certain security procedures. Any visitor who declines to be screened by U.S. Embassy security personnel will be unable to enter the embassy. To avoid delaying your entry and that of those in line behind you, please bring only what is required for your interview. For detailed information on screening procedures please refer to our website.
Accompanying persons
The following persons may accompany a visa applicant to their interview:
Attorneys are not permitted to accompany clients into the waiting room or to their interview.
Immigrant visa fees
If you have not paid all required fees to the National Visa Center, please be prepared to pay these fees on the day of your interview.
All fees may be paid in either Yen or U.S. dollars. We accept cash, credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Diner's Club, and JCB) and U.S. postal money order payable to "U.S. Embassy, Tokyo." Please note that if you are found ineligible to receive a visa, the application fee cannot be refunded. A complete list of fees can be found at Travel.State.Gov. Please also be prepared to pay with cash in case the credit card verification system is unavailable. Payment by credit card is billed in U.S. dollars.
Do not make travel plans outside of Japan
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 via mail only. If you have to travel within Japan while your passport is still with us, please make sure you have a valid picture ID other than your passport.
A consular officer can make a decision on a visa application only after reviewing the formal application and interviewing 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 have received your immigrant visa.
If more information is needed
Sometimes a consular officer is unable to make a decision on a visa application because he/she needs to review additional documents or the case requires further administrative processing. When additional documents are requested, the consular officer will give you a letter asking you to submit additional items. The letter will include instructions on how to submit those documents to the embassy. Administrative processing takes additional time after the interview. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days. However, the timing varies based on the circumstances of each case. Before inquiring 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 in your passport. Please review your visa to make sure there are no spelling errors. Some applicants may receive a sealed envelope containing documents that you must give to U.S. immigration authorities when you arrive in the United States.Do not open this envelope. You must carry it with you; do not put it in your checked luggage. After your medical exam, only DV and K visa applicants will receive X-rays on a CD. Bring it with you when you enter the United States on your immigrant visa.
USCIS Immigrant Fee – All individuals who are issued immigrant visas overseas must pay an Immigrant Fee to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) prior to traveling to the United States. This fee is for processing your residency status and printing your Permanent Resident Card. The only people exempt from paying this fee are: children entering the United States under the Hague and Non-Hague Adoption Process, Returning Residents (SB-1), Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants and people traveling on a K visa.
When You Should Travel – You must enter the United States before the expiration date on your visa, which is usually six (6) months from the date of printing. 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, children who are issued a visa before turning 21 years of age must enter the United States before their 21st birthday to avoid losing their immigrant status.
Getting a Green Card – Your Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card, also known as a green card, will be automatically mailed to the address in the United States that you write in your visa application form. This is a very important document that proves you have permission to reside in the United States. We also recommend you check with the airline to ensure you are in compliance with their rules. Once your card is issued, you should 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 are required to have certain vaccinations before they can enroll in school. We recommend that you bring your child’s complete vaccination records with you to the United States. If your child is adopted, you have full custody as a result of a divorce, or you share custody with another parent, you should bring a copy of all applicable adoption or custodial papers from the authoritative court 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 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 prior to your visa interview and gather the required documents.
Below are additional instructions that apply only to DV applicants.
Bring to your interview
In addition to the documents listed on the Pre-Interview Checklist in this package, DV applicants should also bring the following items to your visa interview:
Review your DV Lottery entry
Prior to your visa interview, we recommend that you review the data on your initial E-DV entry. On your initial E-DV application, you must have correctly entered your marital status. If you are legally married you must have listed your spouse, even if you are currently separated from him/her (unless your spouse is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident).
Additionally, 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 in accordance with the laws of your country (unless your children are a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Residents).
Failure to have listed an existing spouse or children at the time of your entry in the Diversity Visa lottery will result in the denial of your visa and visas for your family. Any fees paid to the U.S. government in support of your visa application(s) are nonrefundable. If you failed to include a child who had already been born, or a spouse to whom you were married when you entered the lottery, you should not proceed with the visa application. You can review the eligibility requirements at Travel.State.Gov.
Last Updated: 3/5/2024
1-10-50 Akasaka
Minato-ku, Tokyo
107-8420 Japan
