Guide · Issuance and entry
After An Immigrant Visa Is Issued
After an immigrant visa is issued, check its printed expiration date and the issuing embassy’s instructions. The visa permits travel and a request for admission; Customs and Border Protection (CBP) decides entry. This guide excludes K-1/K-2 entry.
For: Couples with an issued immigrant visa. K-1/K-2 entry is not covered.
Written from official U.S. government sources. Last reviewed September 2026. Sources and limits.
At a glance
- Arrive and apply for admission by the visa’s printed expiration date. The visa does not guarantee entry.
- Follow your embassy’s document instructions. Keep a sealed packet closed if instructed.
- Check both agencies’ fee instructions. State says before travel; USCIS also permits payment after arrival.
- USCIS will not issue the card until the fee is paid. Record payment and entry dates.
What an immigrant visa allows
Origin: official source. Official sourceStated by a US government publisher on the page we cite.Sources
The visa lets its holder travel and apply for admission by its printed expiration date. CBP may grant or deny admission; a person admitted on an immigrant visa becomes a lawful permanent resident.
The principal applicant must enter before or with derivative family members.
State says to pay the immigrant fee before travel; USCIS also permits payment after arrival and withholds the card until payment. This guide does not resolve that difference.
- The Department of State's visa-expiration, fee-timing, and entry instructions: After the interview.
- Why this guide excludes K-1/K-2 entry: the Department of State's K-1 visa instructions.
- USCIS's current fee and payment instructions: the live immigrant-fee payment page.
- For current embassy or consulate document instructions: the Department of State's embassy or consulate list.
- What USCIS publishes after admission: USCIS post-grant information.
Check the visa, packet, and fee separately
Origin: Togetherward explanation. Togetherward explanationOur reading of the official sources, not something an agency says.
Check the expiration date on the visa, document instructions from the issuing embassy, and fee instructions from both agencies. Keep those sources with your travel record.
Where each fact comes from
Origin: official source. Official sourceStated by a US government publisher on the page we cite.Sources
How long is the visa valid?
- Where the answer lives
- Arrive and apply for admission by the visa’s printed expiration date, as State instructs.
What is in the packet, and can we open it?
- Where the answer lives
- Follow the issuing embassy’s instructions. Keep a sealed packet closed if instructed.
How much is the immigrant fee, and when do we pay?
- Where the answer lives
- USCIS calculates the current fee. State says to pay before travel; USCIS also permits payment after arrival. This guide does not resolve the difference.
When does the green card arrive?
- Where the answer lives
- USCIS requires fee payment before card issuance. This guide predicts no individual delivery date.
What happens at the port of entry?
- Where the answer lives
- CBP decides admission. The visa does not guarantee entry.
Can derivative family members enter first?
- Where the answer lives
- State says the principal applicant must enter before or with derivative family members.
Issued visa: the source for each question
| Question | Where the answer lives |
|---|---|
| How long is the visa valid? | Arrive and apply for admission by the visa’s printed expiration date, as State instructs. |
| What is in the packet, and can we open it? | Follow the issuing embassy’s instructions. Keep a sealed packet closed if instructed. |
| How much is the immigrant fee, and when do we pay? | USCIS calculates the current fee. State says to pay before travel; USCIS also permits payment after arrival. This guide does not resolve the difference. |
| When does the green card arrive? | USCIS requires fee payment before card issuance. This guide predicts no individual delivery date. |
| What happens at the port of entry? | CBP decides admission. The visa does not guarantee entry. |
| Can derivative family members enter first? | State says the principal applicant must enter before or with derivative family members. |
Collection and packet instructions come from your embassy or consulate
Origin: Togetherward explanation. Togetherward explanationOur reading of the official sources, not something an agency says.
The issuing embassy or consulate sets visa collection and document-carrying instructions. Togetherward links to the embassy or consulate when its reviewed record is missing, unpublished, out of date, changed, or conflicting.
- Your embassy or consulate's published collection instructions: embassies.
- What the interview day involved, for the record: the interview day.
- If the portal line has not caught up yet: CEAC status meanings.
Keep dates and documents together
Origin: suggested action. Suggested actionA way to organise your own case. Optional, and required by nobody.
Both partners can use one record to check travel dates and instructions.
1. Record the visa’s expiration date
DatesCopy the date from the visa. State says to arrive and apply for admission no later than that date.
2. Record packet instructions
PacketSave what the issuing embassy told you to carry. Keep a sealed packet closed if instructed.
3. Check both fee instructions
FeeState says before travel; USCIS also permits payment after arrival. Check both and save any payment confirmation.
4. Record the travel plan
TravelKeep the plan beside the visa’s expiration date and current instructions for your case.
5. Record entry and next steps
ArrivalSave the actual entry date. Check USCIS’s current card and address instructions.
When to ask someone qualified
Origin: Togetherward explanation. Togetherward explanationOur reading of the official sources, not something an agency says.
Ask an immigration attorney about a difficult expiration date, a material change before travel, or complicated history. For a visa error or an opened or damaged packet, contact the issuing embassy or consulate.
What to read next
Origin: Togetherward explanation. Togetherward explanationOur reading of the official sources, not something an agency says.
- If part of the case is still under review: administrative processing.
- If a letter arrived instead of a decision: 221(g) letters.
- If a refusal was issued: if a visa is refused.
- Everything else we publish: the guides hub.
Common questions
Showing all 6 questions.
Is the visa the same as a green card?
Can we open the packet given with the visa?
When do we pay the USCIS immigrant fee?
How long is the visa valid for?
When will the green card arrive?
Can derivative family members enter before the principal applicant?
Related guides
- After the interviewWaiting In Administrative ProcessingUnderstand what administrative processing is and how to wait without guessing
- Medical and interview preparationWhat Happens at an Immigrant Visa InterviewUnderstand the general shape of a consular immigrant visa interview day
- NVC and sponsorshipReading the Consular Portal Without Reading Into ItInterpret the fee, form, and document states shown in the consular portal
How Togetherward helps
SuggestionKeep the visa’s expiration date, fee receipt, travel plan, and actual entry date together in Togetherward.
- Look at the sample case — Opens Joe and Kat’s fictional sample workspace.
- See the other guides — Opens the guide library index.
- Apply for the private beta — Opens the beta page, where you can read what the beta covers and apply.
In Togetherward
Sign in to your case to continue where this leaves off.
Sign in to continueThis page describes official instructions for an issued immigrant visa. It is not legal advice, does not predict admission, and does not resolve the different fee-timing instructions currently shown by the Department of State and USCIS.
Sources and limits
Last reviewed and verification status
- Last reviewed
- Last recorded source review: . We aim to re-read it every 90 days.
- Review recorded.
- Verification status of the sources behind this page
- 5 of 5 sources are recorded as checked. Nothing is awaiting verification.
Verified (5)
- VerifiedDepartment of State — After the interview — checked .
- VerifiedDepartment of State — K-1 nonimmigrant visa — checked .
- VerifiedUSCIS — Immigrant Fee payment portal — checked .
- VerifiedDepartment of State — Immigrant visa posts — checked .
- VerifiedUSCIS — After we grant your green card — checked .
About this guide and its review
Guide scope
- Issuance and entry
- CR-1 / IR-1 (Form I-130)
- F2A (spouse of a permanent resident)
- After arrival: entry and first documents
- Who this is for
- Couples with an issued immigrant visa. K-1/K-2 entry is not covered.
- Stage it covers
- After visa issuance, before U.S. admission.
- What it helps you do
- Check the visa date, embassy packet instructions, and USCIS next steps.
- What this page cannot tell you
- Your visa’s validity: read its printed expiration date.
- The current immigrant fee: check USCIS.
- Your travel date: State says to arrive and apply for admission by the printed expiration date.
- Which fee-timing instruction to follow: State and USCIS differ.
- Admission: CBP may grant or deny it.
- Card delivery: USCIS requires fee payment before issuance; no personal delivery date is predicted.
How we put this page together
Togetherward analysisThis page uses State’s after-interview and embassy or consulate instructions, USCIS’s immigrant-fee portal, and USCIS post-grant information. It preserves the agencies’ different fee-timing instructions and makes no card-delivery prediction.
What we did not include
- The immigrant fee amount, and any visa validity period.
- Any copied card-delivery duration or case-specific delivery estimate.
- Advice on when to book travel, ship belongings, or give notice.
- Anything about admission decisions at the port of entry.
- Post-arrival tax, benefits, or employment advice.
- K-1/K-2 entry and adjustment of status; those nonimmigrant visa routes are outside this guide's immigrant-visa scope.
Review record
- Author
- The Togetherward editorial team. The people who build Togetherward. We are not attorneys and we do not give legal advice.
- Review
- Reviewed by Togetherward Team
- Scope of review
Read the full review scope
Review scope: The source review completed the operator-authorized source review on 2026-09-28, covering the guide's immigrant-visa scope, printed visa-expiration and entry-order instructions, fee instructions, post-specific document boundary, and limits on card-delivery claims. Department of State directs payment before travel; USCIS's current payment portal permits payment after arrival, so the guide preserves both instructions without resolving them. This source review does not apply law to an individual case; consult a qualified immigration attorney about case-specific questions.
- Dates
- Last reviewed · Published .
- Review status: Review recorded.
- How this guide was prepared
- How we review guides.
- What the labels in this guide mean
- Official factStated by a U.S. government publisher on the source page we cite.
- Togetherward analysisOur reading of the official sources, not something an agency says.
- SuggestionA way to organise your own case. Optional, and not a requirement.
- Limitations
- This is an explanation of a published government process, not legal advice, and not a prediction about your case.
- Figures that move — processing ranges, Visa Bulletin dates, fees, form editions, interview availability — are described rather than reproduced here, so you read the current number at the source.
- USCIS, the National Visa Center, the embassy, or the consular officer may ask for something this page does not mention.
- This page covers immigrant-visa entry as a permanent resident. It does not cover K-1 or K-2 nonimmigrant visa entry and adjustment of status.
- The Department of State's after-interview page directs payment of the immigrant fee before travel. USCIS's live payment page also permits payment after arrival. This guide records both instructions and does not choose a deadline.
- USCIS says it will not issue the card until the immigrant fee is paid. This guide makes no individual delivery prediction.
- No fee amount, visa validity period, admission prediction, inspection script, or inspection-duration estimate appears here.
- Commercial independence
- Commercial independence: nobody pays to appear on this page. There are no sponsors, no advertising, no referral fees, no affiliate links, and no paid placement of any attorney, agency, or service. Togetherward makes money from couples who use the product, and a commercial relationship cannot change what this page says, when it was last reviewed, whether it is flagged as out of date, or whether it stays in search results.
- Corrections
- Report a correction using the form below, support@togetherward.app or use the support page.