Immigrant Visa

#What this actually means

An immigrant visa is the type of visa that lets you come to the U.S. to live permanently. It's issued at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad, and when you enter the country with it, you're admitted as a lawful permanent resident. Your green card shows up in the mail a few weeks later.

This is different from a non-immigrant visa (tourist, student, work visas), where you're expected to leave when it expires. An immigrant visa is your one-way ticket to permanent residency.

#Why it matters

If you're outside the U.S. and going through consular processing for your green card, the immigrant visa is the end goal of that process. It's what you receive after your interview at the consulate goes well. Once stamped in your passport, it's valid for 6 months to travel to the U.S.

Your first entry to the U.S. with the immigrant visa activates your permanent resident status. That entry date becomes your official admission date for immigration purposes.

#Where this comes up

• Marriage-based green cards when the beneficiary is outside the U.S.
• Green cards for parents and children processed through a consulate
• Employment-based green cards processed abroad
• Diversity Visa Lottery winners

#Key things to know

• An immigrant visa is not a green card, but it leads directly to one. You get the physical green card after entering the U.S.
• The visa has an expiration date. You must enter the U.S. before it expires, or you'll need to go through the process again.
• If you're already in the U.S. and adjusting status, you don't get an immigrant visa. You get your green card through the I-485 process instead.
• There's a fee called the USCIS Immigrant Fee that you pay online after your visa is issued but before you travel. Don't forget this step — it's required for your green card to be produced.