After you receive your visa interview appointment, you must complete each of these steps below.  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 the instructions below before you go to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.  

Step 1: Register your appointment online

Before your visa interview appointment, you must register online here. 

Your registration ensures we have the correct information to return your passport and documents after your visa interview.  Registration also allows you to cancel or reschedule your interview if necessary. 

Register >>

Step 2: Get a medical exam in Czech Republic

As soon as you receive your appointment date, you must schedule a medical exam in the Czech Republic. Click the Medical Exam Instructions button below for a list of the designated doctors’ offices in the Czech Republic. Schedule and attend a medical exam with one of them before your interview.

Medical Exam Instructions >>

Step 3: Complete your pre-interview checklist

It is important that you bring every required original document to your interview. We created a checklist that tells you what to bring. Print the checklist below and bring it to your interview with the listed documents.

Pre-Interview Checklist >>

Step 4: Review interview guidelines

Read our interview guidelines to learn about any special actions you must take before your visa interview.

Interview Guidelines >>

Medical Exam Instructions

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 can do the exam.

• It is your responsibility to schedule and attend a medical exam with one of the approved doctors listed below before your interview at the U.S. Embassy.

Important: Medical exam results from different doctors will not be accepted.

Approved Physicians:

MyClinic:
Telehouse building
Gen Piky, 430/26
Praha 6 – Dejvice
Telephone: 222-900-900
E-mail: myclinic@myclinic.cz

Items to bring to your medical examination

The doctor needs these items to complete the medical exam forms:

• Your visa interview appointment letter
• Your passport
• One (1) recently taken passport-sized color photographs
• A copy of your immunization records

You must pay all medical examination fees, including x-ray and blood test fees, directly to the physician.

During the medical exam

The medical examination includes:

1. A medical history review 
2. A physical examination
3. A chest X-ray 
4. Blood tests for applicants ages 15 and older 
5. Tuberculosis (TB) testing for all applicants ages two and older 
6. Please be prepared to discuss your medical history, medications you are taking, and current treatments you are undergoing.

More information on general medical requirements for U.S. immigrants is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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.

After the medical exam

When your examination is finished, the doctor will either (1) provide you with the exam results in a sealed envelope to carry to your interview or (2) send them directly to the U.S. Embassy.

IMPORTANT: If you are given an envelope to carry to your interview:

• DO NOT OPEN IT. Instead, bring it to your visa 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.

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Pre-Interview checklist

Please use the list that follows so that you know the items every applicant must bring to the immigrant visa interview.

Remember: Any documents that are not in English must be accompanied by a certified English translation and a photocopy.

Appointment Letter: A copy of your NVC interview letter (This does not apply to Diversity Visa, fiancé (e), adoptive, or asylum/refugee applicants).

Unexpired passport valid for six (6) months after the date you intend to enter the United States. and a photocopy of the biographic page (where your name and photo are located).

Photographs: Two 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 https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/.

Birth Certificates: Your original birth certificate and a photocopy.

Medical examination results in a sealed envelope (if the physician gives you these results).

Birth Certificates: Original or certified copies of birth certificates for all of the principal applicant’s children (even if she or he is not coming to the United States).

Applicants who are in a category that is listed in italics (below) must bring these additional documents:

For family-based visa applications:

Affidavits of Support: The appropriate Form I-864 Affidavit of Support for every financial sponsor along with a photocopy of the sponsor’s IRS transcript or most recent U.S. federal income tax return and the W-2 forms that go with it.

Proof of status: Documents that prove 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 married: Your original marriage certificate.

If you were previously married: Your original divorce or your spouse’s death certificate,

Court certificates for applicants older than 16 years: The original court certificate (and English translation and photocopy) from the country where you live now and countries where you previously lived.

If these three items are all true, you must bring a more recent police certificate to the interview:

1. You are older than 16 years
2. You got a police certificate more than one year ago
3. You still live in the country that issued the police certificate

For employment-based visa applications: A letter from your U.S. employer dated less than one month ago.

If you have ever been convicted of a crime: Court and criminal records, English translations and photocopies.

If you have served in any country’s military: Military records, English translations and photocopies.

If you are adopted: Adoption papers or custody documents, English translations and photocopies.

If you are the petitioner’s stepchild: The original marriage certificate of the petitioner and your biological parent and divorce records for any previous marriages of either parent. Include English translations and photocopies.

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Interview Guidelines

Sending documents to the U.S. Embassy in Prague

If the U.S. Embassy requests additional information or documents, you must submit themat a Czech Post location. You can find additional instructions online.

Rescheduling or cancelling your interview

If you cannot attend your appointment, please go to usvisascheduling.com to make a new one.

• There may be a significant wait before the next available appointment, so please make every effort to attend the appointment NVC scheduled for you.
• For some family-based and employment preference visa categories, visas only became available in the month that they were scheduled by the National Visa Center.
• Diversity-visa applicants (DV) should be aware that visas are limited in number and must be issued by September 30 of the program year. It is very important for DV applicants to collect all the required documents before their appointment to make sure they stay eligible for the program.

If you reschedule your interview, there is no guarantee that a visa will still be available. Please carefully review the Visa Bulletin before you decide to reschedule your interview.

Please note: You must register your original NVC/KCC appointment online before you can reschedule it. Rescheduling is only possible on a date after your assigned appointment.

Security screening procedures

Every visitor to the U.S. Embassy in Prague must follow certain security procedures. Any visitor who refuses to be screened by U.S. embassy security personnel cannot enter the embassy.

To avoid delaying your entry and those in line behind you, please bring only what is required for your interview.

Accompanying persons

Only these people may accompany visa applicants to their interview: 

• Special Needs Visitors: Applicants may bring one person to help if they are elderly, disabled, or a minor child.
• Interpreter: Applicants who do not speak English or Czech well enough to participate in an interview may bring one interpreter. 

Attorneys cannot go with their clients into the waiting room or to the interview. 

Immigrant visa fees

If you have not paid all required fees to either the National Visa Center or through the appointment website, please be prepared to pay these fees on the day of your interview.

• All fees must be paid in U.S. dollars, cash Czech crowns or by credit card.

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.

Do not make travel plans outside of Czech Republic

If your visa is approved, we will keep your passport at the embassy while we prepare your immigration packet and print a visa for your passport.

We will return your passport to you later by courier service only.

If you must travel in the Czech Republic while your passport is still with us, please make sure you have a valid picture ID other than your passport.

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After Your Visa Interview

A consular officer can make a decision on a visa application only 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 receive your immigrant visa.

If more information is needed

Sometimes a consular officer cannot decide a visa application because he or she needs to review additional documents or the case requires further administrative processing.

When additional documents are requested, the consular officer will give you a refusal letter that explains what documents are needed. It will also include instructions about how to send them to the embassy.

Administrative processing takes additional time after the interview. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days. However, the timing is different based on the circumstances of each case. Before you inquire about the status of administrative processing, please wait at least 60 days after your interview.

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 you must give to U.S. immigration authorities when you arrive in the United States for the first time.   

• Do not open the envelope. 
• You must carry it with you. Do not put it in your checked luggage. 

USCIS Immigrant Fee: Everyone who is issued immigrant visas overseas must pay an Immigrant Fee to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before they travel 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, which is usually six (6) months from the date of the medical examination. 

• Your visa cannot be extended and fees cannot be refunded. 
• The principal applicant must enter before or at the same time as other family members with visas. 

Unless the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) applies, children who are issued a visa before their twenty-first (21st) birthday, 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. It proves you have permission to reside in the United States.

Do not travel outside the United States until you receive your Permanent Resident Card (green card). 

Once you receive your card, do not 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. 

1. Bring your child’s complete vaccination records with you to the United States. 
2. If your child is adopted, or if you have full custody because of a divorce, or if you share custody with another parent, bring a copy of all adoption or custody papers from the court that has the authority for such matters in your country. 
3. You will need these papers (translated into English) for things such as school enrollment, medical care, and eventual citizenship.

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.

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Diversity Visa - Additional Information

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 and gather the required documents before your visa interview.

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 have two years of qualifying work experience. The work experience must have been in the most recent five years before your application (This applies to the principal applicant only. More information is available at travel.state.gov).
• Payment in cash or credit of the $330 Diversity Visa Application Fee.

Review your DV Lottery entry

Before your visa interview, we recommend that you review the information on your first E-DV entry.

1. On your first E-DV entry, you must have correctly entered your marital status. If you are legally married you must have listed your spouse, even if you are now separated from him or her. (Unless your spouse is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident.)
2. Also, you must have listed ALL your living children who are unmarried and under 21 years old. This includes your natural children, your spouse’s children or children you have formally adopted under the laws of your country.

• If you did not list an existing spouse or child at the time of your entry in the Diversity Visa lottery, you will be disqualified and the visas for your family will be denied.

If your application is missing any required information, it may be disqualified or refused 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.

• This includes your biological children, your spouse’s children, or children you have formally adopted according to the laws of your country.
• 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 you were married to when you entered the lottery program, you should not proceed with the visa application.

You can review the eligibility requirements at travel.state.gov.

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