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Case Status
Immigrant visas

How to Apply

Filing an Immigrant Petition DS-117

Apply for an Immigrant Visa

The Interview

Case Status

After the Interview

At the end of your immigrant visa interview, the consular officer will inform you whether your visa application is approved or denied.

Some visa applications require further administrative processing, which takes additional time after the visa applicant’s interview by a consular officer. Applicants are advised of this requirement when they apply. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days of the visa interview. When administrative processing is required, the timing will vary based on the individual circumstances of each case.  You can check the status of your visa application on ceac.state.gov.

If you are asked to submit additional documents, please follow the instructions you received at the time of the interview.

If your visa has been denied, you may find useful information on Ineligibilities and Waivers.

Applicants for immigrant and K-visa can view the status of their visa cases from the CEAC launch page  

How to use the system:
In order to use the CEAC Status Check, you will need to enter the case number (CDJ…)
If you submitted your petition at the USCIS office in the U.S., a case number will only be assigned after the petition has been approved by USCIS and forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). At that time, the case number will be provided to you.

Statuses for IV applicants:
The check will return one of the following statuses.

Ready Your case is ready for your interview when scheduled at the U.S. Consular section.  If you have already scheduled an appointment for an interview, please prepare your documents as directed in your appointment letter and appear at the consulate on the appointed date and time.  Otherwise, please wait until you have been notified of your interview appointment.  Additional information about how Immigrant Visa interview appointments are scheduled can be found at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/interview.html 
Administrative Processing Your visa case is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing. This processing can take several weeks.  Please follow any instructions provided by the Consular Officer at the time of your interview. If further information is needed, you will be contacted.  If your visa application is approved, it will be processed and mailed.  Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, Immigrant Visas for “Diversity Visas” cannot be issued after September 30th of the year in which you were selected to apply for a Diversity Visa.

In addition, please note that some immigrant visas may not be able to be issued if the annual numerical limit for that category has been reached.
Issued Your visa has been printed. Your visa will be mailed or available for pickup soon.  If there are further questions, or if we need updated contact information, you will be contacted.
Refused A U.S. consular officer has adjudicated and refused your visa application. Please follow any instructions provided by the consular officer. If you were informed by the consular officer that your case was refused for administrative processing, your case will remain refused while undergoing such processing. You will receive another adjudication once such processing is complete. Please be advised that the processing time varies and that you will be contacted if additional information is needed.
Returned to NVC Your case has been returned to the National Visa Center (NVC). Please contact NVC for further information.  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/national-visa-center.html 
Transfer in Progress Your Immigrant Visa case has been transferred to another U.S. Consular office.  You should check back for your case status at a later date.
Expired You have been notified that your registration for an immigrant visa was cancelled, and any petition approved on your behalf was also cancelled.  We informed you that your application might be reinstated if, within one year, you could establish that your failure to pursue your immigrant visa application was due to circumstances beyond your control.

Since you have failed to do so, the record of your registration and any petition approved on your behalf and all supporting documents have been destroyed; any Department of Labor certification has been returned to your prospective employer.

If you are still interested in obtaining an immigrant visa, the petitioner should contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Office of Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) regarding filing a new immigrant visa petition.
Expiring Soon Section 203(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires that your registration be canceled and any petition approved on your behalf canceled, if you do not apply for your immigrant visa within one year of being advised to do so.

You were advised of this requirement over 1 year ago, but we have not received a response from you since then.  As a result, your application for a visa has been canceled and any petition approved on your behalf has also been canceled.

Your application may be reinstated and any petition revalidated if, within one year, you can establish that your failure to pursue your immigrant visa application was due to circumstances beyond your control.  Please provide a written statement to the Embassy or Consulate outlining the circumstances beyond your control and noting that you still wish to pursue this visa petition.
Application Receipt Pending Please allow up to 20 business days from the day the DS-260 was submitted for the form to be reviewed.
*At NVC Please follow the instructions you received from the National Visa Center (NVC) for the next step in the processing of your visa petition.

If you have misplaced the instructions sent to you by the NVC or did not receive them, please contact us at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/national-visa-center.html  for additional information.