DS-260 Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application
The immigrant visa application, completed online in the Consular Electronic Application Center once the National Visa Center says a case is documentarily ready. Every intending immigrant in the case files one, including children. It replaces the old paper DS-230 and is the consular equivalent of the I-485.
- Fee
- $325 per person for immediate relative and family preference cases. $345 for employment-based cases on an approved I-140 or I-526. $205 for other immigrant categories including I-360 self-petitioners, special immigrants, and returning residents. $330 for diversity visa selectees. No fee for certain Iraqi and Afghan special immigrant applicants. A $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee is also payable after visa issuance, before or after travel.
- Fee waiver
- Not available
- Who files
- Each intending immigrant in a consular case, including derivatives, and diversity visa selectees.
- Where to file
- Online at ceac.state.gov, through the National Visa Center.
Usually filed with
Part of these processes
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- Submitting the DS-260 is treated as an election to proceed with consular processing and can complicate a later switch to adjustment of status. State's 2025-26 guidance on adjudicating applicants in their country of residence has slowed cases for people living outside their country of nationality.
Official page. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/forms/online-immigrant-visa-forms.html. Download the form there, never from a third-party site; check the edition date and fee before filing.