Immigrant Visas

General Information

Any foreign national who wishes to reside in the United States permanently must apply for an immigrant visa, whether or not that person plans to seek employment in the United States. U.S. immigration law provides for the issuance of immigrant visas in four general categories: immediate relatives, family-based, employment-based and the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, sometimes known as the "green card" lottery.

For an overview of the types of immigrant visas available under immigration law, please see immigrant visa classifications on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. For more information about the different types of immigrant visas click one of the links to the left.

The consular section processes immigrant visas for residents of Romania and Moldova. With a few exceptions, immigrant visa petitions must be filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the United States. Approved petitions are forwarded to the National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The National Visa Center collects fees and documents and schedules the visa interview.

All applicants must come to the Embassy for an interview. To learn how to make an appointment for an interview and pay the application fee, visit the Visa Application Process link. There are many factors that may influence the processing of individual visa cases (such as additional administrative processing or incomplete applications). Applicants are advised not to make any final travel arrangements, dispose of their property, or give up their jobs until visas have been issued to them.

Every applicant must fill out an application packet. For a list of the standard forms required, visit the Immigrant Visa Forms page. Depending on the type of visa, applicants may be required to complete and bring additional documents to the visa interview. Once the immigrant petition is approved, the National Visa Center will advise the applicant what forms and documents to prepare.

For any visa-related question not answered on the consular section’s website, applicants may refer to the A-Z Subject Index or send a message to the following email address: VisasBucharest@state.gov. In most cases, the message will be answered within 3 business days.

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