The Immigrant Visa process begins with a filing of an appropriate immigrant visa petition.

The US citizen or permanent resident relative of intending immigrants, who plan to base their immigrant visa application on family relationship, must submit a Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office nearest their place of residence. However, petitioners in Argentina are now required to file their Forms I-130 by mail with the USCIS Chicago lockbox at one of the addresses below.

USCIS Chicago Lockbox addresses for regular mail deliveries:
USCIS
P.O. Box 804625
Chicago, IL 60680-4107

USCIS Chicago Lockbox address for express mail and courier deliveries:
USCIS
Attn: I-130
131 South Dearborn-3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60603-5517

Once USCIS approves the petition, they will send the petitioner a notice of approval (Form I-797). USCIS will also forward the approved petition to the National Visa Center. For information regarding the processing at the NVC, please click here.

Important Notice: US law limits the number of immigrant visas that are available each year. This means that even if the USCIS approves an immigrant visa petition for you, you may not get an immigrant visa petition immediately. In some cases, several years could pass between the time your immigrant visa petition is approved and the time your immigrant visa is issued. Immigrant visas are issued in the chronological order in which the petition was filed until the numerical limit for the category is reached. The filing date of the petition becomes the applicant’s priority date.

Immigrant visas cannot be issued until the applicant’s priority is reached. Check the Visa Bulletin for the latest priority dates. USCIS will send the approved immigrant visa petition to the National Visa Center where it will remain until the priority date is available. You do NOT need to contact the National Visa Center. The National Visa Center will contact you with the Instruction package for immigrant visa applicants.

Once you have received notification that the petition has been approved,  the visa applicant must follow the instructions regarding the visa fees and documentation required for visa application.

If you filed an Immigrant visa petition with USCIS and it was sent to the NVC:

Please click here for specific instructions.

Appointments are necessary for immigrant visa interviews. Everyone applying for immigrant visa or K visa must appear in person: the principal applicant and eligible accompanying family members or derivatives.  Petitioners are not required to appear at the time of the visa interview; however, they are welcome to do so if they wish.

Visa interviews are conducted on Monday and Thursday mornings, with the exception of U.S. and Argentine holidays.  We strive to process all applicants promptly and efficiently, but please plan for the process to take 2-3 hours.  Please be advised that your case will be delayed further if you are missing documents.  Please do not purchase a plane ticket or make travel arrangements to go to the U.S. without confirmation of issuance of your visa.

If you are unable to appear for the interview, you may cancel or reschedule your appointment at the Official Visa Information and Appointment system page.  You may do so, after you have registered the original interview date assigned by the NVC. Rescheduling an appointment may result in a delay in processing your visa case.  You should try to reschedule your appointment only if absolutely necessary.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires that all immigrant visa applicants and certain non immigrant visa applicants (including K fiancee visa applicants), regardless of age, undergo a medical examination before receiving a visa.  The medical exam is valid for 6 months, unless there is a special medical condition, in which case the validity will be limited. Please click here (PDF 1MB) for detailed information.

We cannot accept medical examination results from other sources. The fee for the medical exam, which is paid in pesos, is in addition to fees paid directly to the US government.

Dear Applicant,

• Please arrive no more than fifteen (15) minutes before your scheduled appointment time.
• Only visa applicants, the parents of child applicants, and those assisting the elderly or disabled will be allowed into the Embassy.
• To enter the Embassy, all persons must go through a security screening.  Please be advised that certain items are prohibited in the Embassy.  Any person refusing to comply with the security process will be denied entry into the Embassy.
• Once you are inside the Embassy, you will be given a ticket number.  Please wait until your number is called and proceed as directed.
• After you have completed the intake process, you will be interviewed by the Consular Officer.

If all the required documentation is in order and the interviewing officer is satisfied that the beneficiary qualifies for the immigrant visa, the visa will be authorized and you will receive your visa within one week. If not, you will be instructed how to proceed with your case.

If you are found ineligible for a visa, you will be given a refusal letter with the specific reason(s) why you were ineligible.

In certain circumstances, individuals who have been found ineligible for an immigrant visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) may be eligible to apply for a waiver of the ineligibility. If there is a waiver available for the ineligibility, you will be given instructions on how to apply for a waiver. Not all visa ineligibilities are waiverable. If the consular officer determines that an applicant is ineligible for a visa, the applicant may request for a waiver of the ineligibility from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which has jurisdiction for adjudicating all waiver applications.  Effective June 4, 2012, the process for filing all I-601 and some I-212 waiver applications changed to be more efficient and transparent.

For further information, please see the USCIS I-212 page and USCIS I-601 waiver page.

If additional administrative processing of your visa is needed, this process can delay the final adjudication of your case.  The consular officer will provide you with a letter of instructions on how to proceed.