NVC and the DS-260 for an Employment Green Card: The Consular Steps After Your I-140 Is Approved
Your I-140 is approved and the case is going abroad. Here is every NVC step from case number to immigrant visa, and what can stall each one.
Part of our guide to H-1B visa stamping.
After an I-140 is approved for consular processing, the DS-260 employment based process runs through the State Department, not USCIS. USCIS forwards the approved petition to the National Visa Center (NVC). NVC invoices the immigrant visa fee, then asks each applicant (you, your spouse and each unmarried child under 21) to submit a DS-260 and upload civil documents. A complete file is "documentarily qualified," but the consulate schedules the interview only once your priority date is earlier than the Final Action Date for your category and country of chargeability.
Status as of 2026-11-01:
- November 2026 Visa Bulletin (published 2026-10-22): consular cases use its Final Action Dates (EB-2 India 2013-11-01, EB-3 India 2014-01-22, EB-2 rest of world 2025-04-01). The December bulletin is not out.
- Proclamation 10998 (39 countries): in effect since 2026-01-01, unchanged. Nationals of all 39 countries, partial-list countries included, are barred from immigrant visas, subject to its exceptions. No amendment was published 2026-10-10 through 2026-11-02.
- The 75-country immigrant-visa pause: blocked (vacated 2026-08-21). The State Department says it is "no longer in effect"; the appeal (2d Cir. No. 26-2573) is pending.
How the DS-260 employment based route works, in short
Consular processing turns an approved I-140 into an immigrant visa issued abroad. The National Visa Center collects each applicant's fee, DS-260 and civil documents. An embassy or consulate interviews the applicant once the priority date is earlier than the Visa Bulletin's Final Action Date, and permanent residence begins when CBP admits the immigrant at a US port of entry.
Three groups use this route: workers living abroad, workers in the US whose I-140 asked for consular processing, and spouses or children abroad following to join a principal who is already a permanent resident. If you are in the US and still choosing, the trade-offs (portability, travel, USCIS's PM-602-0199 memo, in effect and challenged) are in our guide to consular processing vs adjustment of status for employment cases.
What happens after my I-140 is approved for consular processing?
The file leaves USCIS and waits at NVC until a visa number is close. USCIS's consular processing page says it sends the approved petition to the National Visa Center and that "the petition will remain there until an immigrant visa number is available for you." It adds: "You do not need to contact the National Visa Center about your petition; they will contact you for the information they need."
From there, the State Department's immigrant visa process runs in this order:
- Watch for NVC's welcome notice. NVC creates a case from the forwarded I-140 and notifies you and the petitioning employer.
- Pay the immigrant visa fee NVC invoices for each applicant in the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC). Read the amount on the invoice and on State's Fees for Visa Services page, not in an old article. NVC's document list says whether your case needs Form I-864; most employment cases do not, unless, for example, a relative filed the I-140 or owns a significant share of the employer.
- Submit a separate DS-260 in CEAC for each applicant, and save every confirmation page.
- Collect civil documents for each applicant: passport, birth and marriage certificates, and police certificates and court records where State's country rules require them, with certified translations.
- Upload the scans in CEAC, following State's document upload step, and answer any rejection NVC posts.
- Reach documentarily qualified status, when NVC finds nothing missing. State's NVC Timeframes page shows which submission dates NVC is reviewing now.
- Wait for the appointment. USCIS: "Once a visa is available or your priority date is current (earlier than the cut-off date listed in the monthly Visa Bulletin), the consular office will schedule you for an interview." Track your post on State's IV Scheduling Status Tool.
- Book the medical exam with a panel physician the embassy designates.
- Attend the in-person interview with originals, DS-260 confirmation pages and the post's checklist items; employment applicants commonly bring a current job-offer letter from the petitioner.
- Pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online after you receive the visa packet and before you travel, as USCIS encourages, then enter the US. If CBP admits you, you are a permanent resident; the green card arrives by mail.
The NVC stages at a glance (as of 2026-11)
Durations change weekly, so none is printed here; the State pages linked in steps 6 and 7 carry the live figures.
| Stage | What moves it forward | What commonly stalls it |
|---|---|---|
| Case creation | Approved I-140 forwarded to NVC | Priority date far from current; NVC holds the file |
| Fees and DS-260s | Each invoice paid; one form per applicant | A child's form missing; inaccurate answers |
| Civil documents | NVC accepts each upload | Unreadable scans, missing police certificate or translation |
| Interview scheduling | Documentarily qualified, current Final Action Date, open slot | Retrogression, post capacity, Proclamation 10998 |
| Medical and interview | Exam done; officer issues the visa | 221(g) for documents or administrative processing |
| Entry and card | Admission; Immigrant Fee paid | Visa expiring before travel; unpaid fee |
When do I submit the DS-260?
After NVC invites you and the fee for that applicant shows as paid in CEAC. USCIS says NVC notifies you "when the visa petition is received and again when an immigrant visa number is about to become available," and tells you when to submit fees and documents. If your priority date is years from current, a quiet NVC case is normal, not a lost file.
Each person files their own DS-260: you, your spouse and each derivative child. Answer every question accurately and completely; the officer can compare it with your earlier DS-160s, the PERM and I-140 record and your US immigration history. If you find an error in an earlier form, ask an immigration attorney how to address it.
If you or your family will also apply for H-1B or H-4 visa stamps while the green card case is pending, those applications have been subject to State's expanded online-presence review since 2025-12-15; our guide to H-1B social media vetting before a visa interview covers what State has published. Mintz wrote on 2026-10-30 that "mandatory social media vetting for H, F, J, and M applicants is adding time." That statement concerns those nonimmigrant classes, not the DS-260.
What does documentarily qualified mean at NVC?
It means NVC has everything it asked for; it does not, by itself, get you an interview. "Documentarily qualified" (often shortened to DQ) is the long-used name for the point when NVC has reviewed the fees, every applicant's DS-260 and the civil documents and found nothing missing. State's current pages call it "documentarily complete"; the two terms mean the same milestone.
Two more things must line up: a priority date earlier than the Final Action Date for your category and country, and an interview slot at the post. Once both are true, NVC generally schedules cases in the order they became documentarily complete, as each post's capacity allows. To estimate your place, compare the date NVC marked your case complete with the month the IV Scheduling Status Tool shows for your embassy and category; it is an estimate, not a promise. State's Global Visa Wait Times page covers nonimmigrant appointments, so it will not tell you when an immigrant visa interview comes.
USCIS says to contact NVC if you move, marry or divorce, or a child turns 21; use NVC's contact page.
Which chart decides when my consular interview is scheduled?
The Final Action Dates chart, every month, for every consular case. USCIS sometimes lets I-485 applicants in the US use the Dates for Filing chart, and for November 2026 it requires that chart on its adjustment filing charts page. That choice never applies at NVC or a consulate.
Employment-based cutoffs, November 2026 Visa Bulletin (as of 2026-11)
| Category and chargeability | Final Action Date (consular cases) | Dates for Filing (US I-485s only) |
|---|---|---|
| EB-1 India | 2023-02-01 | 2024-07-01 |
| EB-1 China | 2023-08-01 | 2024-07-01 |
| EB-1 rest of world | Current | Current |
| EB-2 India | 2013-11-01 | 2015-01-15 |
| EB-2 China | 2021-10-01 | 2023-01-01 |
| EB-2 rest of world | 2025-04-01 | 2026-03-15 |
| EB-3 India | 2014-01-22 | 2015-01-15 |
| EB-3 China | 2022-01-22 | 2024-04-01 |
| EB-3 rest of world | 2024-06-15 | 2024-08-01 |
| EB-3 Philippines | 2023-08-15 | 2024-01-01 |
Source: the Visa Bulletin, as transcribed by Fragomen and other firms whose values agree. Mexico follows the rest-of-world column. The December 2026 bulletin had not been published as of 2026-11-01; any December figure you see is a forecast.
Two different tests apply abroad: the bulletin charges you by country of birth (unless cross-chargeability through a spouse applies), while Proclamation 10998 looks at nationality. A person born in India with another citizenship stays in the India column; a national of a listed country can be barred wherever they were born, subject to the proclamation's exceptions.
Worked example: one bulletin, three hypothetical cases
- Case A. Born in India, EB-3, priority date 2013-12-15. That is earlier than the EB-3 India Final Action Date of 2014-01-22, so once documentarily qualified the case can be scheduled when the post has a slot.
- Case B. Same facts, but the I-140 is EB-2. The EB-2 India date is 2013-11-01, so the case is not current. Priority dates from 2013-11-01 through 2014-01-21 are current in EB-3 India but not EB-2 India this month. That gap is why some employers file a new EB-3 I-140, with the priority date generally carried over (check per case; see our EB-3 downgrade strategy guide). The employer's attorney makes that call.
- Case C. Born in, and a national of, a rest-of-world country not on the Proclamation 10998 list; EB-2, priority date 2025-03-01, so current in November. If the bulletin retrogresses before the interview, scheduling can stop.
Travel bans and pauses that affect employment immigrant visas
Two restrictions are in force and one has been struck down; check each against every family member.
| Item | Status as of 2026-11-01 | What it means for an EB immigrant visa |
|---|---|---|
| Proclamation 10998 | In effect since 2026-01-01; 19 countries fully and 20 partially restricted; no amendment published 2026-10-10 through 2026-11-02 | Nationals of all 39 are barred from immigrant visas, subject to its exceptions (for Turkmenistan, only immigrant visas are restricted). Visas issued earlier were not revoked. |
| 75-country immigrant-visa pause | Blocked: vacated 2026-08-21 in CLINIC v. Rubio (S.D.N.Y.); appeal 2d Cir. No. 26-2573 pending | Clinch Law reports State's page confirms it "is no longer in effect." According to Maki Law Firm's tracker, a single Second Circuit judge on 2026-10-19 temporarily stayed only the part of the judgment that sent individual refusals back for review; a panel decides the rest, and the policy stays vacated. It never covered F, J or H-1B. |
| CDC Ebola entry suspension (DRC, Uganda, South Sudan) | In effect; the current order, issued 2026-10-11 for 30 days, ends 2026-11-10 unless continued (CDC has continued it each month since May) | Bars entry of foreign nationals who were in those countries in the prior 21 days; check the CDC page after 2026-11-10. |
If you are a national of a listed country, our guide to an employment green card from a travel-ban country compares the US and consular routes. If an interview was cancelled or a visa refused under the 75-country pause, ask a licensed immigration attorney how the vacatur and appeal apply to you.
Can my spouse abroad follow to join?
Generally yes, through NVC; the paperwork depends on how you became a permanent resident. A spouse, and an unmarried child under 21 as the Child Status Protection Act counts age, can get derivative immigrant visas, accompanying you or following to join later (see our CSPA age calculation guide). The relationship generally must exist when you become a permanent resident.
- You adjusted status in the US. You file Form I-824, selecting Part 2, Item Number 1.c, asking USCIS to notify a consulate through NVC. The instructions (edition 04/01/24) say: "This will permit your spouse and/or children to apply for an immigrant visa and follow-to-join you in the United States." Each family member then goes through NVC: fee, DS-260, documents, interview.
- You entered on an immigrant visa yourself. The instructions say not to file Form I-824; you "may contact the NVC for information on how to request follow-to-join benefits for your dependents."
A follow-to-join case uses your category and priority date, so it also waits for a current Final Action Date; if the bulletin has retrogressed since your own approval, your family waits too. The instructions add: "The approval of Form I-824 does not guarantee a visa will be granted by the U.S. Consulate overseas." Your spouse's own nationality decides Proclamation 10998 exposure.
What if I get a 221(g) after the immigrant visa interview?
A 221(g) means the visa was not issued that day, either because something is missing or because the case needs administrative processing. Timing will vary with the circumstances of each case, and there is no fixed end date; requested documents are due within a year, or a new application fee is needed. Mintz wrote on 2026-10-30 that 221(g) holds "can delay issuance for weeks or months." Our 221(g) administrative processing guide covers the refusal slips, responses and escalation.
Until the visa is in your passport, avoid irreversible steps such as resigning, selling a home or booking non-refundable travel. If you left the US on H-1B for the interview, whether you can return in H-1B status during a hold depends on your visa stamp, petition and dates; settle that with the employer's immigration attorney before you fly.
If you are in the US on H-1B while the case sits at NVC
Waiting at NVC does not change your H-1B. Your status still rests on your approved petition and continued employment, and while per-country limits keep a visa number out of reach, an approved I-140 can support three-year H-1B extensions under AC21 section 104(c) (see our guide to what happens after an I-140 is approved). The interview is abroad, though: you leave the US for it, and if the visa is issued you return as an immigrant and become a permanent resident on admission.
The case rests on the petitioning employer's job offer. Among requests not to file, the I-824 instructions list sending information to State "regarding an employment-based application or petition if your employment for the original petitioner has ended." There is no consular equivalent of I-485 job portability, so talk to the attorney before any job change.
Common mistakes
- Reading the Dates for Filing chart for a consular case. Consular cases always use Final Action Dates.
- Treating documentarily qualified as an interview date. The priority date and the post decide scheduling.
- Filing only your own DS-260. Your spouse and each child need their own form and fee.
- Assuming an approved I-140 overrides Proclamation 10998. It does not; check every family member's nationality.
- Changing jobs before the visa is issued. The offer must still exist, and a 221(g) hold has no promised end date.
- Skipping the USCIS Immigrant Fee. USCIS: "If you do not pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee within the time listed in the notice, you will not receive your Green Card." Your status is unaffected, but the temporary I-551 stamp is evidence for only one year from admission.
Frequently asked questions
What happens after my I-140 is approved for consular processing?
USCIS sends the approved petition to the National Visa Center, which contacts you and your employer. NVC collects the fee, a DS-260 per applicant and civil documents; the consulate interviews you only when your priority date is earlier than the Final Action Date. That applies to every consular case as of 2026-11-01.
When do I submit the DS-260?
After NVC invites you and that applicant's immigrant visa fee is paid in CEAC. Each applicant, spouse and children included, submits a separate DS-260. USCIS says NVC notifies you when a visa number is about to become available, so a long wait is normal for a far-off priority date.
What does documentarily qualified mean?
It is the long-used name for the point at which NVC has reviewed the fees, every applicant's DS-260 and the civil documents and found nothing missing; State's own pages call this documentarily complete. It is not an interview date. An employment case also needs a priority date earlier than the Final Action Date and an open slot at the post, and State's IV Scheduling Status Tool shows how far NVC has reached in scheduling at each embassy.
Which chart decides when my consular interview is scheduled?
Always the Final Action Dates chart. In the November 2026 bulletin that is 2013-11-01 for EB-2 India, 2014-01-22 for EB-3 India and 2025-04-01 for EB-2 rest of world. USCIS's Dates for Filing choice applies only to I-485s, and the December 2026 bulletin was not out as of 2026-11-01.
Can my spouse abroad follow to join?
Generally yes, if the marriage existed when you became a permanent resident; an unmarried child can follow while under 21 as CSPA counts age. If you adjusted in the US, you file Form I-824; if you entered on an immigrant visa, contact NVC instead. The case uses your priority date, and each family member's nationality is checked against Proclamation 10998, in effect as of 2026-11-01.
Sources
- USCIS, Consular Processing, USCIS Immigrant Fee, Form I-824 and Adjustment of Status Filing Charts
- State Department, Immigrant visa process, document upload step, Fees for Visa Services, NVC Timeframes, IV Scheduling Status Tool, NVC contact information, Visa Bulletin, Proclamation 10998 announcement and Global Visa Wait Times
- CDC, Ebola entry suspension order
- Fragomen, November 2026 Visa Bulletin summary; Clinch Law and Maki Law Firm on CLINIC v. Rubio; Mintz, business immigration outlook (2026-10-30)
How we checked this: we read USCIS's consular processing, Immigrant Fee and filing-charts pages, the Form I-824 instructions (edition 04/01/24), the CDC order page and the law-firm summaries cited, on 2026-11-01 and 2026-11-02. travel.state.gov blocks automated reads, so bulletin values come from law-firm transcriptions that agree with each other, and we print no figure from State's fee, timeframe or scheduling pages; open them for the live numbers.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your own I-797, NVC notices and appointment letter, and a licensed immigration attorney (or your DSO for anything still tied to F-1 or SEVIS), govern over anything published here.
If you are on OPT, STEM OPT or H-1B and still looking for an employer whose sponsorship can carry you to this stage, F1Jobs helps international candidates run a focused search for sponsoring employers.
Frequently asked questions
What happens after my I-140 is approved for consular processing?
USCIS sends the approved petition to the State Department's National Visa Center, which contacts you and your employer. NVC then collects the immigrant visa fee, a DS-260 for each applicant and civil documents, and the consulate schedules your interview only when your priority date is earlier than the Final Action Date for your category and country. That is the rule for every consular case as of 2026-11-01.
When do I submit the DS-260?
After NVC invites you and the immigrant visa fee it invoices for that applicant is paid, in the State Department's Consular Electronic Application Center. Each applicant, including your spouse and each child, submits a separate DS-260. USCIS says NVC notifies you when an immigrant visa number is about to become available, so a long quiet wait is normal if your priority date is far from current.
What does documentarily qualified mean?
It is the long-used name for the point at which NVC has reviewed your fees, every applicant's DS-260 and the civil documents and found nothing missing; State's own pages call this documentarily complete. It is not an interview date. An employment case also needs a priority date earlier than the Final Action Date and an open slot at the post, and State's IV Scheduling Status Tool shows how far NVC has reached in scheduling at each embassy.
Which chart decides when my consular interview is scheduled?
Always the Final Action Dates chart of the State Department's Visa Bulletin. In the November 2026 bulletin that date is 2013-11-01 for EB-2 India, 2014-01-22 for EB-3 India and 2025-04-01 for EB-2 rest of world. USCIS's choice of the Dates for Filing chart applies only to I-485 filings in the US, and the December 2026 bulletin was not out as of 2026-11-01.
Can my spouse abroad follow to join?
Generally yes, if the marriage existed when you became a permanent resident; an unmarried child can follow to join while under 21 as the Child Status Protection Act counts age. If you adjusted status in the US, you file Form I-824 asking USCIS to notify a consulate through NVC; if you entered on an immigrant visa, the I-824 instructions say not to file it and to contact NVC instead. The family member's case uses your category and priority date, and their own nationality is checked against Proclamation 10998, in effect as of 2026-11-01.