Immediate Relative Visas

• Spouses of U.S. citizens
• Children (under 21 and unmarried) of U.S. citizens
• Parents of U.S. citizens

Employment-Based Preference Visas

• Alien with extraordinary ability
• Outstanding professor or researcher
• Multinational executive or manager
• Professional holding advanced degree
• Skilled worker
• Investor (employment creation)

Family-Sponsored Preference Visas

• Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
• Spouses and children (under 21 and unmarried) of lawful permanent residents
• Unmarried sons and daughters (21 and older) of lawful permanent residents
• Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
• Siblings of adult U.S. citizens

You can compare the month and year in which your case became documentarily complete with the month and year shown in the IV Tool to see when the National Visa Center (NVC) is scheduling interviews at the selected U.S. embassy or consulate. The IV Tool is updated monthly.

The timeframe shown on the IV Scheduling Status Tool is based on the date NVC determined that your case file was documentarily complete. The tool shows the documentarily complete month and year for which NVC is scheduling most interviews in your classification at the selected U.S. embassy or consulate.

Because many factors go into scheduling an IV interview, NVC cannot predict precisely when your case will be scheduled for an interview.

For more information, get in touch with NVC using our public inquiry form.

Requirements before getting an interview appointment

NVC must receive all necessary fees and documents from you or your petitioner. If a visa is available, your case may be scheduled for an Immigrant Visa interview:

• You will get a notification by email with the date that NVC marked your case as complete (documentarily complete date).
  
  
• To view the status of your case, log into CEAC. It gives you a summary page.  If the status says “Paid” and the document status is “Complete” at the bottom of the page, that means NVC is done reviewing your case.
  
  
• If a visa is not available because of statutory limits on the number of visas, NVC cannot schedule your interview. Immigrant visa processing follows the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (as amended). This law controls visa availability and doesn’t allow the Department of State to issue a visa if one isn’t available. This affects applicants for certain family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas.  It does not affect immediate relatives.

Family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (as amended) limits how many immigrant visas can be given out each year for family-sponsored and employment-based preference visa categories.

For these cases, NVC can only schedule an interview if a visa is available, based on the “Final Action Dates” in the Visa Bulletin.

Use the Visa Bulletin to check if visas are available

Your priority date is communicated in your I-797 Notice of Action and is available in CEAC.  Your priority date must be earlier than the final action date or “current” to get an interview appointment.

You can compare your priority date against the final action date, get definitions, and other information using the Visa Bulletin.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Find the column that corresponds to your country of birth in Chart A (the foreign state of chargeability or FSC).
   
   
2. Find the row for your visa category.
   
   
3. Compare your priority date with the final action date listed in the bulletin.  This will help you determine if your case has a visa number available.

If the U.S. embassy or consulate is scheduling your case, contact them directly.  You can find contact information on the Department of State’s list of immigrant visa processing posts.

Visa delays or “retrogressions”

When more people apply for visas than there are visas available in a certain category or country, the visa process can slow down.

A retrogression is when the final action dates in the Visa Bulletin move backwards in time from the previous month’s Visa Bulletin. Your priority date could be earlier than the final action date one month, but not the next.  If a visa is not available for your case because your priority date is on or after the final action date, you cannot be scheduled for an interview. This is true even if your documents are complete, and the IV tool lists a date for a given U.S. embassy or consulate.

The IV Tool does not guarantee you will be scheduled for an interview at a specific time. However, it gives you information on when most applicants with a certain documentarily complete month and year are being scheduled for an interview. This helps you make informed decisions while you wait for your interview to be scheduled.

Many factors go into scheduling a visa interview

Appointments at embassies can vary and may not always move forward each month. Some factors that influence visa interview times include:

• Interview capacity of the embassy or consulate
• Case processing times
• Transfer requests
• Local conditions (issues that affect a consulate or embassy’s operations)
• Staffing levels
• Scheduling capacity
• Volume of cases
• Visa Bulletin changes in “final action dates”
• Vetting timelines

NVC interview scheduling process

NVC schedules interviews once we have received and reviewed all the required documents.  The process is as follows:

1. NVC receives all your documents, reviews them, and checks if your priority date is current (for family and employment-based preference visas).
   
   
2. NVC notifies you that it has received and reviewed all required documents – the date of this determination is the date on which your case became “documentarily complete.”
   
   
3. NVC works with the assigned U.S. embassy or consulate to schedule your interview appointment.
   
   
4. The embassy or consulate gives NVC available interview dates and times.
   
   
5. NVC assigns appointments in the order in which cases were complete (when all required documents were received and reviewed).
   
   
6. Approximately 2-3 months in advance of your appointment, NVC sends you, your petitioner, and your agent or attorney (if applicable) an email with an appointment date and time.
   
   
7. You can use the IV Tool to view the documentarily complete month and year for which NVC is scheduling most interviews in your classification at the selected U.S. embassy or consulate.  This information lets you estimate how long you may need to wait before your interview is scheduled.

The IV Tool only shows you U.S. embassies and consulates where the Department currently processes immigrant visa applications.

• The IV Tool cannot be used to select a U.S. embassy or consulate that has suspended or reduced visa services.
  
  
• Please review the Department of State’s official list of embassies to view their current operating status.
  
  
• The scheduling status at an embassy or consulate does not guarantee appointment availability. 

Review the steps on how to prepare for your interview. 

There are certain visa cases that are not reflected in the IV Tool, including: Diversity Visas, Afghan Special Immigrant Visas, I-601A provisional waivers, and Adoptions.

Diversity Visas

The IV Tool does not show information for Diversity Visas. If you are a Diversity Visa selectee, your case is processed by the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC).

• You can check the status of your case online.
  
  
• If you have been selected for the chance to participate in the Diversity Visa Program and your questions have not been answered on the E-DV website or the Diversity Visa Instructions, you can contact KCCDV@state.gov.
  
  
• Include your name, birthdate and case number exactly as they appear in the Entrant Status Check (ESC) website.

Afghan Special Immigrant Visas

The IV Scheduling Status Tool cannot be used for Afghan special immigrant visa (SIV) cases.  If you need more information about your COM-approved Afghan SIV case, please email NVCSIV@state.gov.  

Pending I-601A provisional waiver

If you are applying for an I-601A provisional waiver, we cannot schedule your immigrant visa interview until USCIS informs us about their decision on your application. The IV Tool will not show you wait times for these cases because no interviews can be scheduled at that point.

Adoptions

The IV Tool cannot be used for adoption cases processed as IR-3, IR-4, IH-3, or IH-4. The Embassy or Consulate schedules the final visa interview once all required documents have been provided. The Department of State is committed to processing immigrant visas for adopted children expeditiously. 

These are the requirements to get approval to speed up a visa case:

• For family sponsored and employment-based preference visas: The priority date must be current. The visa must also be available for you or your relative’s category.
  
  
• The case involves a life-or-death medical emergency.

How to expedite a visa case

For medical emergencies, please send a scanned letter or statement to NVCExpedite@state.gov from a physician or medical facility. The letter must:

• Include the physician or medical facility contact information.
  
  
• Explain why a life-or-death medical emergency exists.
  
  
• Include your case or receipt number in the subject line.
  
  
• Include at least one (1) of the following:
  • Petitioner’s name and date of birth
  • Beneficiary’s name and date of birth
  • Invoice ID number

NVC will work with the interviewing embassy or consulate to determine whether it can accommodate the request.

What happens next

NVC will contact the designated U.S. embassy or consulate to review your request.

• The consular section reviews requests on a case-by-case basis. It then notifies NVC of its decision.
  
  
• If your request for expedited processing is approved, either NVC or the embassy or consulate will schedule your interview. This depends on the specific circumstances of your request.