Please follow the steps below before your immigrant visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Albania.
You need to register your appointment online. Registering your appointment provides us with the information we need to return your passport to you after your interview. Registration is free. Click the “Register” button below to register.
If you want to cancel or reschedule your appointment, you will be able to do so after you register your appointment.
As soon as you receive your appointment date, you must schedule a medical exam in Albania. Click the “Medical Exam Instructions” button below for a list of designated doctors’ offices in Albania. Please schedule and attend a medical exam with one of these doctors before your interview.
It is important to upload all required documents in the case and then send the original documents via mail service (not by DHL) to the Consular Office of the U.S. Embassy in Tirana two (2) weeks prior to your interview. The document should be uploaded in the case according to this link: http://ceac.state.gov/iv
Exception: If your interview is in less than 7 days, you can bring all documents with you – you do not have to send them via courier in advance. We’ve created a checklist that will tell you what to submit.
Read our interview guidelines to learn about any special actions that you need to take before your visa interview.
All immigrant visa applicants, regardless of age, require a medical examination prior to their visa interview date. Only a physician accredited by the U.S. Embassy can perform this exam. Please read the instructions at the following link: https://tiranapanelclinic.com/apply-for-the-medical-examination-for-u-s-immigration/
It is your responsibility to submit the online medical examination form three (3) weeks prior to your interview date, and schedule a medical exam with one of the doctors listed below before your visa interview at the U.S. Embassy. Medical examination results from other doctors will not be accepted.
Dr. Dritan Cela, Dr. Dritan Muzha & Dr. Elsa Muzha
Tirana Panel Clinic
Rr. Kavajes, Komplesi Delijorgji,
Kulla H, Kati 2,
Tirana, Albania
Email: contactus@tiranapanelclinic.com
Web: https://tiranapanelclinic.com
Map: Tirana Panel Clinic Map
Follow these steps to schedule a medical appointment
Step 1: Obtain a personal vaccination (immunization) card from your Regional Directorate of Public Health for you and all family members who are applying for a visa.
Step 2: Go to the approved physicians’ website at https://tiranapanelclinic.com and read the information on how to prepare the required documents for your medical appointment.
Step 3: Three weeks before your interview date, each visa applicant regardless of age must fill out and submit the medical application form found online at https://tiranapanelclinic.com under “Apply Now.”
Step 4: Scan your vaccination card and attach it to your medical application form. Save the file with the applicant’s name (for example: agim_toska.pdf). This is the last item required on the medical application form.
Step 5: After you submit your medical application form, within three (3) business days you will receive notice of your medical appointment via email. Check your spam folder for the email, too. If you did not provide all required information, you will receive an email with missing items.
Each person applying for a visa, regardless of age, must bring the following items to the medical exam:
The examination fees* charged to each applicant must be:
The payment for the medical examination may not be refunded, regardless of the result of your visa application. The medical staff is not responsible for any delays pertaining to the processing of your visa case by the U.S. Consular Section.
The medical examination will include a medical history review, physical examination, chest X-ray, gonorrhea test, and blood tests (for applicants 15 years of age or older). The United States also requires tuberculosis (TB) testing for all applicants two years of age and older if there are family symptoms of TB or HIV. Please be prepared to discuss your medical history, medications you are taking, and current treatments you are undergoing. More information on general medical requirements for U.S. immigrants is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.
Please note that both you and your family members will need to spend the entire day undergoing various medical examinations first at the panel physician’s office, then the Glob Health Clinic, and after that back at the panel physician’s office. Once the results are available, you will need to sign the medical forms in front of the Panel Physician.
In order to assess the health status of the applicant, further examinations may be required in some cases. If this applies to your case, you must follow the panel physician's instructions regarding any additional tests. The applicant is responsible for any additional costs for any such examinations, except for Tuberculosis and Gonorrhea treatment. In order to avoid extra examinations, you should include all medical reports for any medical issues or illnesses you may have, including any previous blood tests. Pregnant women should have a gynecological ultrasound as well as a complete medical report from their gynecologist where the pregnancy gestation age must be included as well.
Important Notice: In accordance with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) instructions, you may be required to undergo additional testing for Tuberculosis (TB), which may take an additional time of 9-10 weeks for the results to become available. The Panel Physician’s Office will notify the U.S. Consular Section regarding any applicants referred for further TB culture testing, so that they don’t experience any delays on the date of their visa interview. If the applicant’s results are TB positive, he or she will need to undergo a compulsory TB treatment by the panel physician’s staff.
Note: The validity of your visa will be limited to the validity of your medical report. Medical reports classified as "Class B (TB)" are valid for 3 months from the date on which the doctor signed the report. All other medical reports classified as "No apparent disease or defect" are valid for 6 months from the date on which the doctor signed the report. If your case is subject to further administrative processing, or if the processing of your file is delayed due to missing documents, the medical report may expire before your visa is issued. In that case, you will be required to renew the examination and submit an updated medical report to the Consular Section before you receive your visa. In such cases, you will be required to pay a new medical examination fee.
Vaccinations
U.S. immigration law requires immigrant visa applicants to obtain certain vaccinations prior to the issuance of a visa.
Current immigrant visa vaccination requirements are available on CDC.Gov. You can also read Frequently Asked Questions about our medical examination requirements on travel.state.gov.
On your medical appointment, you (and your family members applying for a visa) must provide to the panel physician your original personal vaccination card containing records of all vaccinations received throughout their entire life. Only the vaccination cards that were issued by the appropriate health centers containing the applicant’s name, father’s name, surname, birthday, exact vaccination and revaccinations date records are considered valid and acceptable vaccination cards. A personal vaccination card must also have the stamp of the health center, a clearly legible name of the physician together with his or her signature.
Your personal vaccination card is the only document that certifies your vaccination. No other documents will be accepted. If you do not submit your original vaccination card during your medical examination, you will be considered unvaccinated. Any vaccine records for which the receipt dates are not written in or are written in only partially will not be taken into consideration.
Please note: The panel physician staff will guide you on any missing vaccines you must take. During the flu season, each visa applicant is required to administer the flu shot.
If you received any other vaccines, not listed in the list of vaccinations available in Albania, you will be required to provide any such vaccination records to the panel physician’s office as well. Note: applicants who have travelled to any of these countries within the last 12 months: Pakistan, Syria, Equatorial Guinea, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Somalia, or Nigeria, must bring proof of vaccination for Poliomyelitis, and they should inform the panel physician’s office of that.
The doctor will not give the x-rays to you unless you are a follow-to-join family member of a petitioner who claimed asylum in the United States, a DV applicant, or a K1 applicant. Those in the aforementioned categories (Asylum, DV and K) must carry the x-rays with them when they travel to the United States for the first time. Your visa will be limited to the expiration date of your medical report.
Use the list below to determine the items that EACH applicant no matter their age, must submit to the embassy two (2) weeks prior to the visa interview unless otherwise noted. Send your documents via mail (NOT DHL) to the Consular Section, U.S. Embassy in Tirana. If your interview is in less than 10 days, bring all documents to your interview. Any documents that are not in English must be accompanied by a certified English translation:
Applicants who fall into any category listed in italics below should bring these additional documents:
For family based visa applications:
If you are married: Your original marriage certificate (the six language format) issued by the Albanian authorities or from the e-Albania Portal.
If you were previously married: Your original divorce or spouse’s death certificate.
If you are adopted: Adoption papers or custody documents, and a photocopy.
If you are the petitioner’s stepchild: The original marriage certificate of the petitioner and your biological parent, and a photocopy along with divorce records for any previous marriages of either parent.
For employment-based visa applications: A letter from your U.S. employer dated less than one month ago.
If you are older than 16 years of age: The original police certificate from your country of current residence and any countries of previous residence. The Albanian criminal court certificate (Dёshmi Penaliteti) is sent directly from the Ministry of Justice to the U.S. Embassy Tirana. We will not accept this certificate directly from the visa applicant. You must apply for this certificate at an Albanian Post Office. Follow the instructions on travel.state.gov, and make sure that you write “U.S. Embassy” on the application form when asked to name the “Institution requesting the certificate.” You must apply for a certificate in your current and any former names, including maiden names. Applicants are often refused for not requesting a certificate in all names/surnames they have used.
When you send your documents to the embassy before your visa interview, you must include a copy of the payment receipt that you received from the Albanian Post Office when applying for the certificate. We cannot accept certificates that are more than two (2) years old.
If you previously submitted a police certificate to NVC from another country, it is more than two (2) years old, and you still live in that country, you must obtain and bring a more recent police certificate to the interview as the one you previously submitted will have expired. You may find information on travel.state.gov on how to obtain police certificates for other countries.
When you send your documents to the embassy before your visa interview, you must include a copy of the payment receipt that you received from the Albanian Post Office when applying for the certificate. We cannot accept certificates that are more than two (2) years old.
If you previously submitted a police certificate to NVC from another country, it is more than two (2) years old, and you still live in that country, you must obtain and bring a more recent police certificate to the interview as the one you previously submitted will have expired. You may find information on travel.state.gov on how to obtain police certificates for other countries.
If you have ever been convicted of a crime: Full court decisions from district courts, even if you were pardoned or granted amnesty, or the criminal conviction has been expunged. These documents must be translated into English and notarized.
If you have served in any country’s military: Military records. All male applicants aged 18 and over (except born after September 1990), regardless of whether they have served or not in the military service, including all female applicants with prior military service must apply at the Albanian Post office for the military record.
Requirements for Documents Issued by Greek Authorities:
Greek birth certificates and court records: You must obtain an apostille stamp and have it translated into English by the Translation Services of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Please visit the Ministry’s website for more information.
Greek Police certificates - applicants aged 16 or older: If the applicant is currently residing in Greece for more than six months, or if the applicant has previously lived in Greece for more than one year, then he or she is are required to apply for a Penal record of Judicial use (“Antigrafo Pinikou Mitroou Dikastikis Hrisis”) from the Hellenic Ministry of Justice, Bureau of Penal Records for Foreigners (Ipiresia Pinikou Mitroou Allodapon), Mesogion 96, 101 79 Athens, Greece, tel. 210776-7300, 210776-7185, 210776-7186, & 210776-7043. ] You may apply in person, or through an authorized representative by completing an Authorization form (“Exousiodotisi”) notarized by the Greek Embassy in Tirana.
On the Penal Record application, ensure you tick the box requesting a record for Judicial Use while in the last two boxes, “Reason for Issue” and “Description”, please write Request for a Visa and Request for a Visa from the U.S. Embassy, Athens, respectively. You do not return to the Bureau to collect your Penal Record. The Bureau will send your record to the U.S. Consulate in Athens.
Sending documents to the U.S. Embassy
You must send all required original documents via mail to the Consular Section two (2) weeks prior to your interview (see Step 3) except for your passport. This web page explains how to submit your documents for delivery to the U.S. Embassy and includes a list of courier facilities. If your interview is in less than 10 days, you can bring all documents with you – you do not have to send them via courier in advance. If the U.S. Embassy requests additional information or documentation from you during your interview, you must submit those documents by courier by logging into your account and selecting “Consular Section instructed me to send additional documents.” You will then attach to your documents the Courier-In Authorization certificate.
For electronic cases, you should scan and upload in your NVC account, every document that is required but has not been uploaded before (or updated documents), by logging into your account in: http://ceac.state.gov/iv and then click on “Documents”. Send the originals to the Consular Section.
Rescheduling or cancelling your interview
If you are unable to attend your appointment, please email TiranaUSConsulate@state.gov as soon as possible. Include your full name, case number, date of birth, reason for delay, and suggested timeframe when you are available for an appointment. There may be a significant wait before the next available appointment, so please attempt to attend the date already assigned. For some family-based and employment preference visa categories, a visa became available within the month you have been scheduled by NVC. DV applicants should be aware that visas are numerically limited and must be issued by September 30 of the program year. There is no guarantee that a visa will still be available on the date of your rescheduled DV interview. Please carefully consult the Visa Bulletin before you request to reschedule your interview.
Please note: You need to register your original NVC/KCC appointment online (see Step 1) before you can reschedule it. Rescheduling is only possible on a date after your assigned appointment.
Security Screening Procedures
All visitors to the U.S. Embassy must follow certain security procedures. Any visitor who declines to be screened by U.S. Embassy security personnel will be unable to enter the embassy. To avoid delaying your entry and that of those in line behind you, please bring only what is required for your interview.
Accompanying persons
Attorneys are not permitted to accompany clients into the waiting room or to their interview. Only the following persons may accompany a visa applicant to their interview:
Immigrant visa fees
If you have not paid all required fees to either the National Visa Center or via the appointment website, please be prepared to pay these fees on the day of your interview. All fees may be paid in U.S. dollars or Lekë. We accept cash only. Please note that if you are found ineligible to receive a visa, the application fee cannot be refunded. A complete list of fees can be found travel.state.gov.
Do not make travel plans outside of Albania
If your visa is approved, we will keep your passport at the embassy while we prepare your immigration packet and print a visa for your passport. We will return your passport to you later via courier services only (see Step 1). If you have to travel within Albania while your passport is with us, please make sure you have another valid form of picture ID.
A consular officer can make a decision on a visa application only after reviewing the formal application and interviewing the applicant. There is no guarantee that you will receive a visa. Do not sell your house, car or property, resign from your job or make non-refundable flight or other travel arrangements until you have received your immigrant visa.
If more information is needed
Sometimes a consular officer is unable to make a decision on a visa application because he/she needs to review additional documents, or the case requires further administrative processing. When additional documents are requested, the consular officer will give you a refusal letter that asks you to submit additional documents. The letter will include instructions on how to send those documents to the embassy.
Administrative processing takes additional time after the interview. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days. However, the timing varies based on the circumstances of each case. Before inquiring about the status of administrative processing, please wait at least 60 days after your interview.
What happens after visa approval
Passport, Visa, and Sealed Immigrant Packet for non-electronic cases – We will place your immigrant visa on a page in your passport. Please review your visa to make sure there are no spelling errors. We will also give you a sealed envelope containing documents that you must give to U.S. immigration authorities when you arrive in the United States for the first time. Do not open this envelope. You must carry it with you. Do not put it in your checked luggage. If you receive X-rays during your medical examination, carry those with you and give them to the U.S. immigration authorities.
USCIS Immigrant Fee – All individuals who are issued immigrant visas overseas must pay an Immigrant Fee to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) prior to traveling to the United States. This fee is for processing your residency status and printing your Permanent Resident Card. The only people exempt from paying this fee are: children entering the United States under the Hague Process, returning residents, and people traveling on a K visa.
When You Should Travel – You must enter the United States before the expiration date on your visa, which is usually six (6) months from your medical examination. Your visa cannot be extended, and all fees are nonrefundable. The principal applicant must enter before or at the same time as other family members with visas. Derivative family members traveling at a later time from principal applicant must show a copy of principal applicant’s U.S. visa with the admit stamp to the Tirana airport authorities to facilitate their travel. Unless they are eligible for benefits under the Child Status Protection Act, children who are issued a visa before turning 21 years of age must enter the United States before their 21st birthday to avoid losing their immigrant status.
Getting a Green Card – Your Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card, also known as a green card, will be automatically mailed to the address in the United States that you write in your visa application form. This is a very important document that proves you have permission to reside in the United States. If you plan to travel outside the U.S. before your green card arrives: Please consult USCIS’s and CBP’s websites for rules about what documents you need to re-enter the country. We also recommend you check with the airline to ensure you are in compliance with their rules. Once your card is issued, you should not stay outside of the United States for more than one year. If you do, you will lose your status as a Lawful Permanent Resident.
Children’s Issues – In the United States, children are required to have certain vaccinations before they can enroll in school. We recommend that you bring your child’s complete vaccination records with you to the United States. If your child is adopted, you have full custody as a result of a divorce, or you share custody with another parent, you should bring a copy of all applicable adoption or custodial papers from the authoritative court in your home country. You will need these papers (translated into English) for issues such as school enrollment, medical care, and eventual citizenship.
Information for New Immigrants – Please visit the USCIS web page for helpful information on moving to the United States. You can read their publication “Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants” online.
If you are interviewing for a Diversity Visa (DV), all of the above instructions do apply to you, except for the affidavit of support form, which is different for DVs. Please schedule and attend a medical examination prior to your visa interview; enroll in the required courier service; and gather the required documents.
Below are additional instructions that apply only to DV applicants.
Bring to your interview
In addition to the documents listed on the Pre-Interview Checklist in this package, DV applicants should also submit the following items to the embassy two (2) weeks before your visa interview:
If you are providing your high school diploma (only required for the principal applicant or DV selectee), you must submit:
An affidavit of support from a U.S. sponsor (this can be a relative or friend who is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident):
If applicable, a recently issued job letter for you from a company in the United States that includes information on length of employment and salary.
Review your DV Lottery entry
Prior to your visa interview, we recommend that you review the data on your initial E-DV entry. On your initial E-DV application, you must have correctly entered your marital status. If you are legally married you must have listed your spouse, even if you are currently separated from him/her (unless your spouse is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident).
Additionally, you must have listed ALL of your living children who are unmarried and under 21 years old in the DV-Entry. This includes your natural children, your spouse’s children, or children you have formally adopted in accordance with the laws of your country.
Make sure that you have uploaded the appropriate photo for each respective family member in your entry in the Diversity Visa lottery.
Failure to have listed an existing spouse or children at the time of your entry in the Diversity Visa lottery or submitting the wrong photo in your entry in the Diversity Visa lottery, will result in the denial of your visa and visas for your family. Any fees paid to the U.S. government in support of your visa application(s) are nonrefundable. If you failed to include a child who had already been born, or a spouse to whom you were married when you entered the lottery, you should not proceed with the visa application. You can review the eligibility requirements on travel.state.gov.
Last Updated: 1/24/2023
Rruga e Elbasanit 103
Tirana
