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

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. 

Register >>

Step 2: Get a medical exam in Austria

As soon as you receive your appointment date, you must schedule a medical exam in Austria. Click the Medical Exam Instructions button for a list of designated doctors’ offices. Schedule and attend a medical exam with one of these doctors before your interview.

Medical Exam Instructions >>

Step 3: Complete your pre-interview checklist

It is important that you bring every required original document to your interview. We created a checklist that tells you what to bring. Print the checklist below and bring it to your interview with the documents listed in it.

Pre-Interview Checklist >>

Step 4: Review interview guidelines

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

Interview Guidelines >>

Medical Exam Instructions

Everyone applying for an immigrant visa, no matter how old they are, must have a medical exam before they will be issued a visa.

• 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 the doctor listed below before your visa appointment.

Note: Medical exam results from different doctors or facilities will not be accepted.

Approved Physicians:

Dr. Wolfgang MOLNAR
Untere Augartenstrasse 1-3
1020 Vienna, Austria
Tel.: +43 (1) 330 34 68
https://www.medau.at/en/

Items to bring to your medical examination

Bring these items to your medical exam. The doctor cannot complete the medical exam forms without them:

• Your visa interview appointment letter
• Your passport
• A copy of your vaccination records
• Test results and records of any disabilities or illnesses.
• Form DS-260 confirmation page

You must pay all medical examination fees, including x-ray and blood test fees, directly to the examining doctor’s office. The fee is 360 euros for adults and 310 euros for children under 14 years old.

During the medical exam

The medical examination includes:

1. Medical history review
2. Physical examination
3. Chest X-ray and blood tests for applicants ages 15 and older
4. Tuberculosis (TB) testing for all applicants ages two and older
5. Please be prepared to discuss your medical history, medications you take, and treatments you are undergoing.

More information about general medical requirements for U.S. immigrants is available at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (CDC).

U.S. immigration law requires immigrant visa applicants to get certain vaccinations before a visa is issued. The current immigrant visa vaccination requirements are available at the CDC website: CDC.Gov. You can also read Frequently Asked Questions about our medical examination requirements at Travel.state.gov.

After the medical exam

When your examination is completed, the doctor will either give you the exam results in a sealed envelope or send them directly to the U.S. embassy.

IMPORTANT: If you are given an envelope to carry to your visa interview:

• DO NOT OPEN IT.

Instead, bring it to the interview.

Any x-rays will be given to you. You do not need to bring them to your visa interview unless you are diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB).

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

Remember: The medical report must be less than six (6) months old when you enter the United States as an immigrant.

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Pre-Interview Checklist

Please use the list that follows so you know the items EVERY applicant must bring to the immigrant visa interview.

• Copy of your NVC interview letter (This does not apply to Diversity Visa, fiancé(e), adoptive, or asylee/refugee applicants).
  
  
• Unexpired passport valid for six (6) months after the date you intend to enter the United States and a photocopy of the biographic page (where your name and photo are located).
  
  
• Two (2) color passport-size photographs of every person applying for a visa (5 cm x 5 cm or 2-inch x 2 inch). 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. Include an English translation and a photocopy.
  
  
• Medical examination results in a sealed envelope (if the physician gives them to you).
  
  
• Original or certified copies of birth certificates for all children of the principal applicant (even if the child iis not coming to the United States).

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

For family-based visa applications (IR/CR-1, IR/CR-2, IR-5, F2A, F2B, F1, F2, F3, F4):

• The appropriate Form I-864 Affidavit of Support for every financial sponsor, including the Petitioner, along with a photocopy of either (a) the sponsors’ most recent IRS transcript or (b) the sponsors’ most recent U.S. federal income tax return and the W-2 forms that go with it.)
  
  
• Proof of every sponsor’s U.S. citizenship or legal permanent residency and domicile in the United States. (You can use these documents: Photocopy of a U.S. passport, naturalization certificate, or lawful permanent resident card.)
  
  
• Evidence to prove the relationship between the petitioner and visa applicant. (Such as photographs, letters, or emails.

If you are married: Original or certified copy of your marriage certificate. Include an English translation and a photocopy.

If you were previously married:  Original or certified copy of your divorce certificate or spouse’s death certificate. Include an English translation and a photocopy.

If you are aged 16 or older: The original police certificate from the country where you now reside and any country where you resided for more than one (1) year after you were 16 years old. Include English translations and photocopies.

If you are more than 16 years old:  The original police certificate from your country of current residence and countries of previous residence. If these three items are all true, you must bring a more recent police certificate to the interview:

1. You are more than 16 years old
2. You got a police certificate more than one year ago
3. You still live in the country that issued the police certificate

If you have ever been convicted of a crime: Court and criminal records. Include English translations and photocopies.

If you have served in any country’s military: Military records. Include English translations, and photocopies.

If you are adopted: Adoption papers or custody documents. Include an English translation and a photocopy.

If you are the petitioner’s stepchild: The original or certified copy of the marriage certificate of the petitioner and your biological parent, and divorce records for any previous marriages of either parent. Include English translations and photocopies.

For MIV Applicants: Please bring the original of every document you uploaded in CEAC.

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Interview Guidelines

Reconfirm your appointment

You must contact the embassy two weeks before your visa interview appointment and confirm that you will attend. You can email us at [email protected].

If you cannot attend your appointment, please tell us by email at [email protected].

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, a visa became available in the month you were scheduled by NVC.

3. Diversity-visa (DV) applicants should be aware that visas are limited in number and must be issued by September 30 of the program year.

Important: If you reschedule, there is no guarantee that a visa will be available on your new interview date.

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.

Sending documents to the U.S. Embassy in Vienna

If the embassy asks you for additional documents, submit them according to the instructions the consular officer gives you. If you are told to send documents by email, please scan and save your document as a PDF and attach it to an email addressed to [email protected].

Security screening procedures

Every visitor to the U.S. Embassy must follow certain security procedures. If a visitor refuses to be screened by U.S. Embassy security personnel she or he cannot enter the embassy. To avoid delaying your entry and those in line behind you, bring only what is required for your interview.

Accompanying persons

Only these people may accompany a visa applicant to their appointments:

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

Attorneys cannot go with their clients into the waiting room or to their appointments.

Immigrant visa fees

If you have not paid all required fees to the National Visa Center or through the appointment website, please be prepared to pay them on the day of your interview.

• All fees must be paid in U.S. dollars.
• We only accept cash and credit cards.

Please note: 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.

Do not make travel plans outside of Austria

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 by courier services only.

If you must travel in Austria 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 Visa Interview

Consular officers can decide on a visa application only 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 decide on a visa application because she or he needs to review additional documents or because the case requires further administrative processing.

When additional documents are requested, the consular officer will give you a refusal letter that explains what to submit. The letter will include instructions about how to send the documents to the Embassy.

Administrative processing takes additional time after the interview. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days. However, the timing is different based on the circumstances of each case. Before you inquire 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.

Please check your visa to make sure there are no spelling errors.

We will also give you a sealed envelope that contains 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.

USCIS Immigrant Fee: Everyone who is issued immigrant visas 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 K visa.

When You Should Travel: You must enter the United States before the expiration date on your visa. That is usually six months from the date of printing.

• Your visa cannot be extended and fees cannot be refunded.
• The principal applicant must enter before or at the same time as other family members with visas.

Important: If children will turn 21 years old after a visa is issued, they must enter the United States before they turn 21. Otherwise, they will lose 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 that you gave in your visa application form.

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

Do not travel outside the United States before your green card (Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card) arrives.

Once your card is issued, you should not stay outside 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, an 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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Diversity Visa - Additional Information

If you are interviewing for a Diversity Visa (DV), all the above instructions apply to you. Please schedule and attend a medical examination before your review appointment, and gather the required documents.

Additional instructions that apply only to DV applicants follow.

Bring to your interview

In addition to the documents listed on the Pre-Interview Checklist in this package, DV applicants must bring these items to their visa interview:

• Appointment information printed from the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website
• Documents that show you have either a qualifying high school education OR two years of qualifying work experience that took place in the five (5) years immediately before your application. (This only applies to the principal applicant.)
• Payment in cash of the $330 Diversity Visa Application Fee

Review your DV Lottery entry

Before your visa interview, we recommend that you review the information 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 her or him. (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, you will be disqualified and the visas for your family will be denied.

Your application may be disqualified or refused, if it is missing any required information, at any time before selection, after selection, or during the visa application process.

All DV applications must include the name, photograph, date and place of birth of the principal applicant, the applicant’s spouse and all children who are unmarried and under age 21 on the date of the first entry.

• This includes your biological children, your spouse’s children, or children you have formally adopted according to the laws of your country.

Fees paid to the U.S. government for your visa application(s) cannot be refunded.

If you did not include a child who was already born or a spouse to whom you were married when you entered the program, you should not proceed with the visa application.

You can review the eligibility requirements at travel.state.gov.

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