Immigrant Visas - General Information

Effective February 1, 2013, all individuals issued immigrant visas overseas must pay a $165.00 USCIS Immigrant Fee before traveling to the United States. Only prospective adoptive parents whose child(ren) is/are entering the United States under either the Orphan or Hague Process, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants who were employed by the U.S. government, returning residents, and those issued K visas are exempt from the new fee. The below USCIS website has more details on the new fee, including contact information for USCIS, if there are further questions: www.USCIS.gov/immigrantfee

Qs and As

When must I pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee?

You must pay the fee prior to departing for the United States. USCIS will not issue your green card until USCIS receives payment. However, even if you have not paid the fee, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers will admit you, as long as you are otherwise eligible to enter.

What if I was issued an immigrant visa before February 1,2013? Do I have to pay the fee?

No. Only applicants issued visas on or after February 1, 2013 will pay the new fee. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the airport or land border will review immigration records to determine when your immigrant visa was issued. If the visa was issued on or after February 1, 2013 but the fee was not paid, the Immigrant Visa package will be collected at the point of entry, but USCIS will not issue a green card until the $165.00 fee is paid.

Who has to pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee?

All applicants issued immigrant visas (including Diversity Visas), except children adopted under the Orphan (IR-3/IR-4) or Hague Processes (IH-3/IH-4), Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants who were employed by the U.S. Government, returning residents (SB-1s), and K visas, will pay the new fee.

How do I pay the new fee?

You will pay the fee by going to www.USCIS.gov/ImmigrantFee, clicking on the link to the USCIS intake page on Pay.gov, answering the questions on the USCIS intake page, and providing your checking account, debit, or credit card information. Because checking payments must be drawn on a U.S. bank, someone else may pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee on your behalf.

DV 2014 Program: Registration for DV 2014 is now closed - additional entries cannot be accepted.
Online registration for the DV-2014 Program began Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concluded Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4).

DV-2014 Program Instructions
The English version of the DV-2014 Program Instructions is available in PDF format (290 Kb) for your convenience and required use. The English language version of the DV-2014 Program Instructions is the only official version.

Important notice!

Effective August 15, 2011, petitioners residing overseas will no longer be able to routinely file Forms I-130,Petitions for Alien Relative, with U.S. Embassies and Consulates except in locations where U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a public counter presence within the Embassy or Consulate. Petitioners residing overseas in countries where USCIS does not have a public counter presence will be required, starting August 15, 2011, to file their Forms I-130 by mail with the USCIS Chicago lockbox. U.S. Embassies and Consulates that do not have a USCIS presence will only be able to accept and process Forms I-130 in exceptional circumstances.

For more information please visit our website at http://romania.usembassy.gov/visas/immediate_relatives.html.

Any foreign national who wishes to reside in the United States permanently must apply for an immigrant visa, whether or not that person plans to seek employment in the United States. U.S. immigration law provides for the issuance of immigrant visas in four general categories: immediate relatives, family-based, employment-based and the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, sometimes known as the "green card" lottery.

For an overview of the types of immigrant visas available under immigration law, please see Visa Types for Immigrants on the Department of State website. For more information about the different types of immigrant visas click one of the links to the left.

The consular section processes immigrant visas for residents of Romania. With a few exceptions, immigrant visa petitions must be filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the United States. Approved petitions are forwarded to the National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The National Visa Center collects fees and documents and schedules the visa interview.

All applicants must come to the Embassy for an interview. To learn how to make an appointment for an interview and pay the application fee, visit the Visa Application Process link. There are many factors that may influence the processing of individual visa cases (such as additional administrative processing or incomplete applications). Applicants are advised not to make any final travel arrangements, dispose of their property, or give up their jobs until visas have been issued to them.

Every applicant must fill out an application packet. For a list of the standard forms required, visit the Immigrant Visa Forms page. Depending on the type of visa, applicants may be required to complete and bring additional documents to the visa interview. Once the immigrant petition is approved, the National Visa Center will advise the applicant what forms and documents to prepare.

For any visa-related question not answered on the consular section’s website, applicants may refer to the A-Z Subject Index or send a message to the following email address: VisasBucharest@state.gov. In most cases, the message will be answered within 3 business days.