Form DS-260: the US immigrant visa application
Form DS-260 is the online application for a US immigrant visa (to live permanently in the US). You are registered for immigration when you complete it and pay the fee. fam.state.gov · read
Immigrant visa fees
- Immigrant visa, family-based: $325 ecfr.gov · read
- Immigrant visa, employment-based: $345 ecfr.gov · read
- Other immigrant visas: $205 ecfr.gov · read
These are the State Department's processing fees. Other agencies' fees for the same immigration case are separate.
We could not read the steps after you submit the DS-260 on travel.state.gov when we last checked, so we do not repeat them here. Read them on travel.state.gov, the State Department's own site, or your US embassy's website.
Visiting rather than moving? That is Form DS-160. Last checked 4 October 2026. Not legal advice. What changed