Please follow the steps below before your immigrant visa interview at the U.S. Consulate General in Naha, Japan. After you receive your visa interview appointment, you must complete each step in this document. If you do not complete each step before your visa interview appointment the consular section may require you to reschedule for a later date. All applicants must follow these instructions before you go to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
Before your visa interview appointment, you must register online at this link.
Once you register, you may contact the call center for questions about your application. Please note: At this part of the process, that at this time, you do not need to schedule or reschedule appointments through this channel.
Military dependents who live on base: You may pick up your visa when it is ready.
As soon as you receive your appointment date, you must schedule a medical exam in Japan. Click the Medical Exam Instructions button below for a list of designated doctors’ offices in Japan. Schedule and attend a medical exam with one of these doctors before your interview.
The validity of your immigrant visa is connected to your medical exam results and is usually valid for six months from the date of the exam. Once a visa is issued, visa applicants must travel to the United States before the Immigrant Visa expires.
Your visa cannot be extended, and all fees are nonrefundable.
It is important that you bring all required original documents to your interview. We created a checklist that will tell you what to bring. Please print the checklist and bring it to your interview with the listed documents.
Read our interview guidelines to learn about any special actions that you need to take before your visa interview.
Everyone applying for an immigrant visa, no matter how old they are, must have a medical exam before they get their visa. Only a physician approved by the U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate can do the exam.
Plan to allow yourself enough time. If your medical examination will not be completed by the date of your interview, you must reschedule your interview appointment.
Note: Medical exam results from different facilities will not be accepted.
The medical examination report is normally valid for a maximum of six months.
The medical examination information and designated facilities are available at the Embassy website.
The medical examination includes:
More information on general medical requirements for U.S. immigrants is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website (CDC).
U.S. immigration law requires immigrant visa applicants to get certain vaccinations before a visa is issued. Current immigrant visa vaccination requirements are available at CDC.Gov. You can also read Frequently Asked Questions about our medical examination requirements at Travel.state.gov.
When your examination is completed, the doctor will:
IMPORTANT: If you are given an envelope to carry to your interview:
Any x-rays will be given to you. You do not need to bring them to your visa interview unless you are diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB).
However, you must carry the x-rays with you when you enter the United States as an immigrant.
Remember: The medical report must be less than six (6) months old when you enter the United States as an immigrant.
Please use the list that follows so you know the items every applicant must bring to the immigrant visa interview.
If you cannot present every required document at the interview, your application will be refused. If you cannot gather all original or certified copies of the required documents before your scheduled interview date, we strongly encourage you to reschedule your appointment
Appointment Letter: A copy of your NVC interview letter. (This does not apply to Diversity Visa, fiancé(e), adoptive, or asylee/refugee applicants.)
Passport valid for six (6) months after the date you intend to enter the United States. Any previous passports with valid U.S. visas should also be submitted.
Photographs: Two (2) color passport-size photographs of every person applying for a visa (5 cm x 5 cm or 2-inch x 2 inch). Please review our online photo requirements.
DS-260 Confirmation Page of the Form DS-260 Application for an Immigrant Visa you submitted online at ceac.state.gov/iv.
Birth Certificates: Your original birth certificate with an English translation.
Marriage Certificate: Your original marriage certificate with an English translation.
Divorce or Death Certificate (if any): Both you and your spouse’s original divorce decree of every prior marriage or prior spouse’s death certificate with English translations.
Police Certificate: An original or certified copy of a police certificate from every country you have lived in. Use the standards explained at this link. For each country, find the information you need to obtain their police certificates at this link: Reciprocity Schedule.
Important Note: Your Japanese police certificate must be in a sealed envelope. If the seal is broken, the certificate is not valid. (Send only a photocopy of the sealed envelope to the National Visa Center, but not the actual police certificate itself.) Bring the sealed envelope to your interview.
Court and Criminal Records (if any): Court and criminal records with English translations and photocopies.
Military Records: If you served in the military of any country, a military record with an English translation and a photocopy.
Applicants who are in any category listed in italics below must bring these additional documents:
Family-based visa applications: The appropriate Form I-864 Affidavit of Support for every financial sponsor, along with a photocopy of the sponsors’ most recent IRS transcript. If the transcript is unavailable, submit the sponsors’ most recent U.S. federal income tax return and the W-2 forms that go with it.
Proof of your U.S. petitioner’s status and domicile in the United States. (A photocopy of a U.S. passport, naturalization certificate, or lawful permanent resident card).
Evidence of the relationship between the petitioner and visa applicant (such as photographs, letters, or emails).
If you are 16 years old or older: You must obtain an original or certified copy of a police certificate from the following countries:
Important Note: Your Japanese police certificate must be in a sealed envelope. If the seal is broken, the certificate is not valid
If these items are all true, you must get and bring a more recent police certificate to the interview:
Employment-based visa applications: An original job offer letter signed by the petitioning company on their company letterhead and issued one (1) month before your interview.
Form I-864 is not required unless a relative is the petitioner or has a 5% or more ownership interest in the petitioning business.
If you are adopted:
A certified copy of the adoption decree.
If custody took place before the adoption, a legal custody decree.
A statement showing the dates and places where the child resided with the adoptive parents.
If you are the petitioner’s stepchild: The original marriage certificate of the petitioner and your biological parent, and divorce records for any previous marriage of either parent with English translations.
Sending documents to the U.S. Consulate General in Naha
If the consular officer asks you to submit additional documents to the U.S. Consulate, follow all instructions she or he gives you.
Rescheduling or cancelling your interview
If you cannot attend your appointment, please go to https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-jm/iv for instructions about scheduling a new appointment date. (Make sure you select Naha).
If you cannot present all required documents at your interview, your application will be refused. We strongly encourage you to reschedule your appointment if you cannot gather all of the original or certified copies of the required documents before your scheduled interview date.
For visa categories, that are limited in number, there is no guarantee that a visa will still be available on the date of your rescheduled interview. Please consult the Visa Bulletin before you decide to reschedule your interview.
Security screening procedures
Every visitor to the U.S. Consulate in Naha must follow certain security procedures. Any visitor who refuses to be screened by U.S. Consulate security personnel cannot enter the Consulate.
To avoid delaying your entry and that of those in line behind you, please bring only what is required for your interview.
For detailed information about screening procedures, please visit the embassy website.
Accompanying persons
The following people may accompany a visa applicant to their interview:
Attorneys cannot go with their clients into the waiting room or to their interview.
Immigrant visa application fees
If you have not paid all required fees either to the National Visa Center or through the appointment website, please be prepared to pay them on the day of your interview.
Please note: If you are found ineligible to receive a visa, the application fee cannot be refunded.
A complete list of fees can be found at travel.state.gov.
Note: Please be prepared to pay with cash or you can withdraw cash from an ATM in case the credit card verification system is not available. Payment by credit card is billed in U.S. dollars.
Do not make travel plans outside of Japan
If your visa is approved, we will keep your passport at the consulate while we prepare your immigration packet and print a visa for your passport. We will return your passport to you later by mail only. If you must travel within Japan while your passport is still with us, please make sure you have a valid picture ID other than your passport.
A consular officer can only make a decision on a visa application after reviewing the formal application and interviewing the applicant.
There is no guarantee that you will receive a visa. Do not sell your house, car, or property, resign from your job or make non-refundable flight or other travel arrangements until you have received your immigrant visa.
If more information is needed
Sometimes a consular officer refuses a visa application because they need to review additional documents or for administrative processing.
For additional documents:
For administrative processing:
What happens after visa approval
Passport, Visa, and Sealed Immigrant Packet: We will place your immigrant visa on a page in your passport.
Please check your visa to make sure there are no spelling errors.
We will also give you a sealed envelope that contains documents that you must give to U.S. immigration authorities when you arrive in the United States for the first time.
Do not open this envelope. You must carry it with you. Do not put it in your checked luggage.
After your medical exam, only K visa applicants will receive X-rays on a CD. Bring it with you when you enter the United States on your immigrant visa.
USCIS Immigrant Fee: Everyone who is issued immigrant visas overseas must pay an Immigrant Fee to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before traveling to the United States.
This fee is for processing your residency status and printing your Permanent Resident Card.
The only people who do not have to pay this fee are children entering the United States under the Hague Process, returning residents, and people traveling on a K visa.
When You Should Travel: You must enter the United States before the expiration date on your visa. That is usually six months from the date of printing.
Important: Unless they are eligible for benefits under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), if children are issued a visa before they turn 21 years old, they must enter the United States before they turn 21. Otherwise, they will lose their immigrant status.
Getting a Green Card: Your Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card (also called a green card) will be automatically mailed to the address in the United States that you gave in your visa application form.
This is a very important document that proves you have permission to reside in the United States.
If you plan to travel outside the U.S. before your green card arrives: Please consult the USCIS and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) websites for rules about the documents you must have to re-enter. We also recommend that you check with your airline to make sure you are following their rules.
Once your card is issued, you cannot stay outside the United States for more than one year. If you do, you will lose your status as a Lawful Permanent Resident.
Children’s Issues: In the United States, children must have certain vaccinations before they can enroll in school.
Information for New Immigrants: Please visit the USCIS web page for helpful information about moving to the United States. You can read their publication Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants online.
If you are interviewing for a Diversity Visa (DV), all the instructions in this package apply to you.
Please schedule and attend a medical examination before your review appointment, and gather the required documents.
Additional instructions that apply only to DV applicants follow.
Bring to your interview
In addition to the documents listed on the Pre-Interview Checklist in this package, DV applicants must bring these items to their visa interview:
Appointment information printed from the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website
Documents that show you have either a qualifying high school education OR two years of qualifying work.
Experience that took place in the five (5) years immediately before your application. (This only applies to the principal applicant.) More information is available at travel.state.gov.
Payment in cash or by credit card for the Diversity Application Fee. (We accept VISA, MasterCard, Diners Club or American Express.)
Evidence of financial status or financial support: More information is available on our embassy website.
The Immigration and Nationality Act requires all immigrant visa applicants to prove that they are not likely to become a public charge. Their evidence must satisfy:
Review your DV Lottery entry
Before your visa interview, we recommend that you review the information on your first E-DV entry.
Your application may be disqualified or refused, if it is missing any required information, at any time before selection, after selection, or during the visa application process.
All DV applications must include the name, photograph, date and place of birth of the principal applicant, the applicant’s spouse and all children who are unmarried and under age 21 on the date of the first entry.
Fees paid to the U.S. government for your visa application(s) cannot be refunded.
If you did not include a child who was already born or a spouse to whom you were married when you entered the program, you should not proceed with the visa application.
You can review the eligibility requirements at travel.state.gov.
Last Updated: 8/6/2026
2-1-1 Toyama, Urasoe City,
Okinawa, Japan 901-2101
