Track a United States application

What each stage actually means

Submitted

The immigration service has your application and your fee. Nothing is being assessed yet — it is in a queue. This stage can last as long as the whole rest of the process.

Under process

An officer has opened your file. There is nothing for you to do, and contacting the office does not move you up the queue.

Additional documents requested

The officer needs something specific. This is the one stage where speed on your side matters: reply with exactly what was asked for, in the format asked for, and nothing more. Most applications that stall, stall here.

Decision made

The officer has decided but has not yet told you what. The status changes before the letter reaches you.

Issued

Approved. Your passport or your electronic authorisation is on its way back to you. Check the dates and the number of entries on it the moment you get it — errors happen and are easier to fix straight away.

Refused

Declined, with a reason given in the letter. Read the reason before reapplying: submitting the same application again almost always gets the same answer. Some countries allow an appeal, with a deadline.