Form DS-260 is filed online through the applicant’s personal account using an NVC case number and invoice ID, and it consists of sequential sections — personal information, addresses, family, work and education, petitioner, and security questions — that must be completed in order, with every field checked against the passport and the petition.

In short

  • You can only log into DS-260 with the case number and invoice ID from the email — these can’t be guessed or made up.
  • The address timeline must be filled in without gaps from age 16, including dorms, but excluding hotels and temporary stays.
  • Employment history covers the last 10 years, and foreign travel covers the last 5 years.
  • Details about the spouse, children, and prior marriages must match within the form and with the petition — discrepancies lead to additional review.
  • After completing all sections, the form can still be edited before signing — it’s better to catch a mistake now than at the interview.

Logging into the DS-260 account: case number and invoice ID

To log into the DS-260 page, an applicant needs information that isn’t self-generated but issued only after the petition is approved: a case number and an invoice ID. These are sent by email — an applicant cannot make up or guess these values, and login is only possible with the real data from that message.

These are sent by email — an applicant cannot make up or guess these values, and login is only possible with the real data from that message.

  1. Read the information on the start page and confirm you’ve reviewed it (checkbox).
  2. Enter the case number received earlier by email after petition approval.
  3. Click “Continue” and enter the invoice ID sent by the National Visa Center.
  4. Select your role: applicant, attorney, petitioner, or third party.
  5. Enter the code shown in the image on screen and click “Continue.”

After logging in, the system redirects to the profile. If the form has already been started, the applicant appears under Section IV, Application, as a visa candidate; if the applicant is just beginning, a “Start” button appears on this page, which opens the form itself. DS-260 and DS-160 are forms for different visa categories: DS-260 is completed by immigrant visa applicants, while DS-160 is for nonimmigrant visa applicants. Some field-filling conventions are similar between the two, but they are separate forms with different section logic.

How to Log Into the DS-260 Account

Five login steps based on the case number and invoice ID received by email.

  1. Read the information on the start page and confirm it with a checkbox
  2. Enter the case number received after petition approval
  3. Click “Continue” and enter the invoice ID from the visa center
  4. Select a role: applicant, attorney, petitioner, or third party
  5. Enter the code from the image and click “Continue”

Applicant’s personal information: name, date of birth, nationality

The personal information section opens with the surname — entered exactly as it appears in the passport — followed by the given name in the same spelling, and then the full name in the applicant’s native language. For an applicant whose passport uses a non-Latin script, this means the full name is entered in that original script, not in Latin transliteration.

Next, the form asks whether the applicant has ever used other names — a maiden name, or a religious or professional name. If a woman changed her surname after marriage, she selects “yes” and enters the former surname; there’s a button to add another entry if there are several. The key point here: the name, surname, and any previously listed names must match the case documents exactly. If a surname changed after marriage or other names were used, it’s worth checking beforehand how this is reflected in the passport and the rest of the document set.

Next come gender, current marital status (married, single, divorced, widowed), and date and place of birth. The date of birth must be entered as it appears on the birth certificate and in the passport — meaning these two documents need to match each other.

The second subsection covers nationality and identity document. The country of nationality is selected based on the passport used for the application, and the document type is usually listed as “Passport,” with the country that issued it, plus the issue and expiration dates for that passport.

A separate question concerns a second nationality. If the applicant holds one, the form asks for that country and the corresponding passport details; the system allows listing more than one additional nationality if applicable.

Matching Records

Name, surname, date of birth, and all previously used names must exactly match the passport and other case documents — discrepancies get flagged for extra review.

Address history in DS-260: how to avoid gaps in the timeline

The first line of this section is the current address: street number and name, apartment number, city, region, postal code, country, and the date living there, entered in month-year format.

Next, the system asks whether the applicant has lived at any other addresses since turning 16. For convenience, the service displays the applicant’s 16th-birthday date automatically. If the applicant has lived at the current address since that age or earlier, there will be no previous addresses to list. If not, the applicant must answer “yes” and fill in the entire chain in reverse chronological order, starting with the address right before the current one.

This part of the form is especially sensitive to inaccuracies: the address timeline must have no gaps starting from age 16, and a gap in dates can trigger additional questions later.

the address timeline must have no gaps starting from age 16, and a gap in dates can trigger additional questions later

The list of previous addresses should include permanent places of residence — for example, a college or university dormitory. Temporary addresses, such as hotels during a vacation or similar stays, should not be listed.

For each address in the history, the same details are entered as for the current address: street number, apartment, city, region, postal code, country, plus the start and end dates of residence in month-year format.

Contact information

After the addresses comes a block of contact details:

  • a primary phone number where the applicant can be reached;
  • additional phone numbers — if other numbers were used within the past 5 years, they must be listed;
  • additional email addresses — same five-year period;
  • social media accounts managed by the applicant;
  • optionally, any websites the applicant wishes to add.

A separate item is the mailing address — where correspondence about the visa application will be sent. By default it matches the residential address; if it doesn’t, the form opens a separate field for a distinct mailing address.

Permanent Addresses Only

The address history since age 16 should include permanent places of residence, including dorms, but not temporary stays such as hotels or vacation spots.

U.S. address and green card delivery

After the residential address history, the form moves to a separate block — the U.S. address where the applicant plans to live after arrival. This is not the same as the addresses listed in the residence history: those covered the past, while this one concerns the future place of residence after the move.

For this address, the following must be completed:

  • the name of the person currently living there — for example, a spouse, if they are already in the U.S. at this address;
  • street number and apartment number, if applicable;
  • city, state, and ZIP code;
  • a phone number for this address.

If any of these items don’t apply to the applicant’s situation, the form allows selecting “not applicable” instead of filling in the field.

A separate question asks whether the green card should be delivered to this same address. If so, the applicant selects “yes,” and it will be the address listed above. If the card should be sent elsewhere, a separate delivery address is entered.

Family section: parents, spouse, previous marriages, and children

The family section opens with information about the father: surname, given name, date and place of birth. The form separately asks whether the father is still living — if not, the year of death is entered. For fields the applicant doesn’t remember, there’s a “do not know” option: in that case the day, month, year of birth, city, region, and country can be left blank. If the information is known, it should be filled in completely. The same set of fields is repeated for the mother: surname, given name, date and place of birth. The form additionally asks whether the mother is still living — and if so, requires her address: street, house number, apartment number, city, region, and postal code.

Next is the spouse block — it appears if marital status in the personal information section was listed as “married.” The applicant enters the spouse’s surname, given name, date and place of birth, city, region, country, and address, as well as the spouse’s occupation (chosen from a list or entered manually if no suitable option exists) and the date and place of marriage: day, month, year, city, region, country.

The form separately asks whether the spouse will be immigrating together with the applicant. If this is a family reunification case and the spouse already lives in the U.S., the answer is “no”; the system then asks whether the spouse will follow later. If, for example, the case involves reunification with a sibling or parents and the spouse is immigrating along with the applicant, “yes” is selected.

The next question concerns previous marriages: whether the applicant has had a former husband or wife. If the answer is yes, the form asks for the number of prior marriages and, for each one, the surname, given name, date of birth, marriage start and end dates, and how it ended: annulment, death of the spouse, divorce, or other, plus the country where the marriage was dissolved. For multiple former spouses, entries are added one by one through a separate button.

All information about the spouse, children, and prior marriages — dates, addresses, circumstances — must be fully consistent within the form itself and must not contradict the petition or supporting documents. It’s precisely in these details that errors most often occur, leading to additional review later.

The final block in this section covers children. If there are no children, the applicant answers “no”; if there are, the applicant states the number and, for each child, provides the surname, given name, date and place of birth, city, region, country. The form asks whether the child lives with the applicant: if not, the child’s address must be provided. A separate question asks whether the child is immigrating to the U.S. together with the applicant; if the answer is “no,” the system further asks whether the child’s move is planned for later.

A passport next to the DS-260 form fields for entering name and date of birth
Consistency Across the Form

Dates, addresses, and circumstances involving a spouse, children, and prior marriages must match within the form itself and with the petition — this is where mistakes most often trigger additional review.

Previous U.S. trips and visa history

The section on previous trips to the U.S. follows right after the block on children. If the applicant has never been to the United States, never received a visa, and never faced a denial of entry, the form closes the section without further questions — this is what happens in most forms, where the answer is “no” across the board.

If there were prior trips to the U.S., DS-260 requires information about the five most recent visits: date of arrival and length of stay — in years, months, weeks, or days. The form separately asks whether an A-number was ever issued: it begins with the letter A and is typically found on a green card. If there is no such number, the applicant answers “no.”

Next comes a question about previously issued U.S. visas — with the date of issuance, type, and number. If the applicant doesn’t remember whether a visa was lost, stolen, cancelled, or revoked, they can select “don’t know” instead of a yes or no answer.

A separate item asks about any prior visa denials or refusals of entry into the country. Here the circumstances must be described: when it happened, in which city, and what type of visa was refused. If an applicant has a visa history — prior visas, trips, or denials — this section should be completed with particular care, checked against old documents rather than relying on memory, and the circumstances should not be concealed. In disputed situations, it’s worth consulting a lawyer.

Visa History

Past visas, trips, and denials should be entered accurately from documents rather than memory, without concealing circumstances — consult a lawyer in disputed cases.

Work, education, and foreign travel in recent years

The work and education section opens with current occupation — selected from a drop-down list, and if the applicant works in multiple fields, an additional position can be added. The form separately asks what the applicant plans to do for work in the U.S. — this field is also completed by selecting from a list.

Next comes a question about employment history over the last 10 years, starting with the most recent employer. For each place of employment, the following must be entered:

  • company name, address (city, region, postal code, country), phone number;
  • job title;
  • surname and given name of the immediate supervisor;
  • dates of employment.

If there were several jobs, all of them are entered. When some details can’t be recalled, the form offers “not apply” and “don’t know” options — but these should be used only as a last resort, after making every effort to recover the information as accurately as possible.

The next block covers education. The form first asks whether the applicant has attended any educational institutions at all: if not, no further questions follow. If yes, the applicant states the number of institutions — and the list should include not just the one where a degree was earned, but every institution the applicant has ever attended. For each one, the name, address (city, region, postal code, country), field of study, degree or certificate obtained, and dates of attendance must be entered.

After education, the form asks whether the applicant has traveled to other countries in the past 5 years — if so, those countries must be listed. The section’s final question concerns military service. If the applicant served, the country, branch of the armed forces, rank, military specialty, and dates of service must be provided; multiple postings can all be added.

Visa stamps and travel entries in a passport for the DS-260 visa history section

Petitioner, health, security, and Social Security number

The “Petitioner” section begins by identifying who filed the petition for the case: father, mother, brother, sister, spouse, child, stepfather, stepmother, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather, or the applicant themselves. After that, the petitioner’s details must be entered — surname, given name, address (street, city, state or province, postal code, country), and phone number.

Next, the form moves to health and security questions — these need to be read carefully and answered according to the applicant’s actual situation. The health block covers tuberculosis, U.S.-required vaccinations, and physical or mental conditions. A separate, larger block covers security, and among other things, the form asks about any ties to terrorist organizations.

Toward the end of the section comes a question about a Social Security number — the form asks whether the applicant has ever applied for one before. This is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens and permanent and temporary residents. If a number was already issued, the system will ask for it. A separate follow-up question asks whether one should be issued now — this can be answered “yes” or “no.”

What happens after completing all sections of DS-260

After the final section on security questions and Social Security number, the form is considered complete, and the system opens the option to review it. At this stage, editing is available: any field can be corrected before moving on to signing and submission.

Before submission, the entire form should be reviewed, not just spot-checked. Dates, addresses, names, document numbers, and answers throughout every section — from personal information to the petitioner section — should all be checked.

How carefully the form is completed and reviewed at this stage affects the likelihood of delays and further requests on the case down the line. A mistake missed during the final review doesn’t surface in the online account anymore — it surfaces in correspondence with the embassy or at the interview.

A mistake missed during the final review doesn’t surface in the online account anymore — it surfaces in correspondence with the embassy or at the interview.

What to check before submitting DS-260

Frequently asked questions

What should I do if my connection drops or the session times out while filling out DS-260?

DS-260 saves entered data after clicking “Save” or moving between sections, so logging back in with the case number and invoice ID opens the form under Section IV, Application, showing the applicant as an already-started visa candidate rather than starting from a blank form.

Can a mistake in DS-260 be corrected after the form is submitted?

Editing is only available at the review stage before signing and submission — that’s when any field can be corrected. Once the form has been submitted, it can no longer be changed through the online account: a missed mistake will surface later in correspondence with the embassy or at the interview.

What happens if a period of residence is missing from the address history?

A gap in dates when completing the address history since age 16 can trigger additional questions at later stages of case review, so the timeline should be checked for gaps before the form is submitted.

Do relatives other than a spouse or children need to be listed in DS-260?

The family section in DS-260 covers only the applicant’s parents, spouse (including former spouses), and children — there is no separate block for other relatives such as siblings, unless one of them happens to be the petitioner.

What if the petitioner is already someone listed in the family section?

The petitioner’s details are entered separately in the “Petitioner” section, even if it’s the same person mentioned in the family section (for example, a spouse or child): their surname, given name, address, and phone number need to be entered again specifically in that section.

Is it mandatory to obtain a Social Security number when filling out DS-260?

No, it isn’t mandatory: the form has a separate question asking whether a Social Security number should be issued now, and the applicant can answer “no” if they don’t need it right after receiving the visa.

What happens if the information in DS-260 doesn’t match the petition documents?

Discrepancies in dates, addresses, or circumstances between the form, the petition, and supporting documents are among the details that most often lead to additional review of the case, so all information about family, marriages, and addresses should be checked against these documents before submission.