The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has made substantial updates to Form DS-260, Online Immigrant Visa Application. The revised form expands the personal, family, passport, employment, travel, and social-media information requested from immigrant visa applicants.
Applicants who are preparing to file Form DS-260, or whose applications may need to be reopened before their immigrant visa interviews, should be prepared to provide additional historical information.
Expanded Passport Information
The revised DS-260 asks whether the applicant has held any other passport during the preceding 15 years that has not already been listed in the application.
If the answer is “Yes,” the applicant is asked to provide information regarding each additional passport, including:
- Country or region of issuance
- Passport number
- An option to indicate that the passport number is not known
- Additional entries where the applicant has held more than one prior passport
Applicants should begin collecting available information regarding expired, cancelled, or otherwise previously held passports, particularly where these documents relate to the 15-year period covered by the form.
More Detailed Family Information
The revised DS-260 requests expanded information regarding certain family members, including a spouse, children, and siblings.
Notably, applicants are asked to provide information for all siblings, including full siblings, half-siblings, step-siblings, and adopted siblings. The form may request the following information:
- Number of siblings
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Nationality
The form also appears to request nationality information for immediate family members. Some users have reported technical issues with certain nationality selections in the online drop-down menu. Applicants encountering such problems should retain documentation of the issue and consider contacting the National Visa Center (NVC) or the appropriate U.S. embassy or consulate for guidance.
Travel History Extended to 15 Years
One of the more significant changes is the expansion of the travel-history period. Previously, the DS-260 generally requested certain travel information for the preceding five years. The revised form asks whether the applicant has traveled to any country or region, other than the United States, during the last 15 years.
For each relevant trip, the form may request:
- Country or region visited
- Cities visited
- Date of arrival
- Length of stay
- Person or entity that paid for the trip
The available payment categories include self, another person, present employer, U.S. employer, and another company or organization.
Applicants should carefully reconstruct international travel over the relevant 15-year period. Old passports, visa stamps, airline records, employer travel records, email confirmations, calendars, and personal travel documents may be useful in preparing an accurate response.
Employment History Also Expanded
The revised DS-260 requires applicants who are over 14 years of age to provide employment information covering the preceding 15 years.
This may be particularly important for applicants who have changed employers frequently, worked in multiple countries, had periods of self-employment, or experienced gaps in employment. Applicants should ensure that their employment history is complete and consistent with information submitted in other immigration filings, including immigrant visa petitions and supporting documents.
Social-Media Questions Updated
DOS also has updated the social-media portion of Form DS-260. The revised application includes additional platforms and appears to remove or rename certain previously listed services.
Examples of newly listed or updated platforms include Bluesky, Discord, Douyin, GroupMe, IMO, Jodel, Kuaishou, RedNote / Xiaohongshu, QQ, QZone, Skype, Telegram, Threads, TikTok, Truth Social, Twitch, WeChat, Weibo, Weixin, and WhatsApp.
As with prior social-media questions, applicants should answer carefully and accurately. The form generally seeks identifying information, such as social-media handles or user names, rather than passwords.
Revised Family-Related Terminology
The revised form also changes certain terminology relating to spouses and children. Rather than asking whether a spouse or child is “immigrating” to the United States, the form now asks whether the individual is “applying for a U.S. immigrant visa.”
Although this change may be primarily technical or clarifying in nature, applicants should review the question closely and ensure that the response accurately reflects the family member’s immigrant visa plans and case status.
Privacy Act Acknowledgment
At sign-in, applicants may now be required to acknowledge that they have read the Privacy Act Statement. This reflects an additional privacy-related notice incorporated into the DS-260 process.
Practical Considerations
The updated DS-260 reflects DOS’s effort to obtain more extensive biographical, travel, employment, and family information from immigrant visa applicants. Completing the revised form may require more time and advance preparation than under prior versions of the application.
Applicants who have already submitted a DS-260 and whose cases require the form to be reopened before the visa interview should be aware that the additional questions may need to be completed. Depending on the circumstances, it may be advisable to request that the application be reopened so that material information can be updated and the revised questions can be addressed.