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.
Before your visa interview appointment, you must register online.
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.
As soon as you receive your appointment date, you must schedule a medical exam in Kosovo. Click the Medical Exam Instructions button below for the designated panel physician in Kosovo. Please schedule and attend a medical exam before your interview.
It is important that you send all required documents to the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Pristina the week before your interview, on Tuesdays at 16:00 (Example: if your appointment is on Monday, September 10th, 2026 you should send original documents to the Embassy on Tuesday, September 4, 2026 at 16:00). You may bring your medical examination results on your interview date. We created a checklist that tells you what documents to submit.
Read our interview guidelines to learn about any special actions 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 can do the exam.
Important: Medical exam results from different doctors will not be accepted.
Approved Physicians:
American Hospital Kosova
Dr. Gresa Elezi and Dr. Linda Cara
Shkupi 35, te rrethi i Spitalit
10000 Pristina
Tel: +383 (0)38-221 661 / +383 45 500 910,
+383 45 503 255 / +383 49 513 513
(8 am – 8 pm M – F)
The doctor needs these items to complete the medical exam forms:
You must pay all medical examination fees, including x-ray and blood test fees, directly to the physician.
The medical examination includes:
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.
When your examination is finished, the doctor will either (1) provide you with 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:
(E-Medical will be transmitted electronically from panel physicians to the U.S Embassy).
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.
Remember: Any documents that are not in English must be accompanied by a certified English translation and a photocopy.
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).
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 https://ceac.state.gov/ceac.
Your original birth certificate and a photocopy.
Medical examination results in a sealed envelope (if the physician gives you these results).
Original or certified copies of the birth certificates for all of the principal applicant’s children (even if she or he is not coming to the United States).
Applicants who fall into any category listed in italics below should bring these additional documents:
For family-based visa applications:
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.
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). For IR5 applicants petitioner Birth Certificate.
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) from the country where you now reside and countries where you previously resided. If you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime you must declare it on the DS-160/260 application. Bring all court documents related to the charges.
For employment-based visa applications: A letter from your U.S. employer dated less than one month ago.
If you have served in any country’s military: Military records and photocopies.
If you are adopted: Adoption papers or custody documents and photocopies.
If you are the petitioner’s stepchild: The original marriage certificate of the petitioner and your biological parent and a photocopy along with divorce records for any previous marriages of either parent.
English Translation of any civil document if it is not issued in Serbian or Albanian.
Sending documents to the U.S. Embassy in Pristina, Kosovo
If the U.S. Embassy requests additional information or documentation from you, the letter the consular officer gives you at the interview will tell you how to complete your application. Follow the instructions in the letter
Rescheduling or cancelling your interview
If you cannot attend your appointment, please email: PristinaVisas@state.gov.
There is no guarantee that a visa will still be available on the date of your rescheduled interview. Please carefully review the Visa Bulletin before you decide to reschedule your interview.
Security screening procedures
Every visitor to the U.S. Embassy in Pristina 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:
Attorneys cannot go with their clients into the waiting room or to their 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.
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 Kosovo
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. Usually, you may pick up your approved visa and documents two working days after your interview. However, cases involving administrative processing may take much longer. If you must travel to other countries while your passport is still with us, please make sure you have a valid national ID other than your passport.
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.
With the new Modernized Immigrant Visa format, applicants will no longer receive sealed envelopes with documents.
However, older cases will continue to receive an envelope containing documents that must be given to U.S. immigration authorities when you arrive in the United States for the first time.
If you receive X-rays during your medical examination, carry them with you and give them to the U.S. immigration authorities.
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, Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants, returning residents, and people traveling on a K visa.
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 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.
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 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 (2) 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.
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 via travel.state.gov.
Last Updated: 7/24/2026
Arberia 3
4 Korriku #25
Pristina, Kosovo
10000
