Last Updated on April 17, 2017
The DS-260 is the main ‘Alien Registration’ form that requires lots of details and information about the intending immigrant. It’s long BUT it can be saved as you go along. It took me 2 hours 30 to complete it…and I had most of the information on hand ready! Unlike all the other forms in the process, it’s submitted online, so it’s difficult to find copies of the form online to prepare yourself (the others are mainly downloadable PDF files that can be filed in the computer and printed or filled in with pen). Here’s a guide to what the DS-260 form includes.
It may be long, but I found it easier to fill in than the other forms. Each page has step by step instructions in the margin and it doesn’t let you continue if there is a problem with the current page…such as a filling in error. Altogether there are 8 different sections.
PERSONAL
Personal 1 – Name, Previous Names, Date of Birth
Personal 2 – Passport Details, Additional Nationalities (yes or no answer)
ADDRESS AND PHONE
Present & Previous – Current address of the intending immigrant, Previous addresses since the age of 16, Current phone number, Current email address
Mailing & Permanent – Current mailing address, Where you intend to live when you arrive in the States (name and address of who currently lives there), Is that where you want the green card to be delivered (yes or no answer)
FAMILY
Parents – Father (name, surname, date of birth, place of birth, current address), Mother (Name, surname, date of birth, place of birth, current address)
Spouse – Name, Surname, Date of birth, Place of birth, Current address, current occupation, Date and place of marriage, Are they immigrating with you?
Previous Spouse – Yes or no answer…I answered no, so I’m not sure of the details if the answer was yes
Children – Yes or no answer…Again, I said no
PREVIOUS US TRAVEL
Have you been issued an Alien Registration Number – Yes or no answer
Details of the last 5 trips into the USA – Date of arrival (DAY, Month and Year), Length of stay
*TIP*: I always keep travel journals so for me, this was simple. Most of my last 5 trips were to see my other half so I had already included this as part of my i-130 evidence
Previous USA Visa – I had been issued a J-1 in the past…easy to answer, all the details required were in my old passport (Visa number was stamped in RED)
Have you been refused a USA visa – Yes or no answer
WORK/EDUCATION/TRAINING
Present – Primary occupation, What occupation do you intend to work in the US (both drop down menus)
Previous – Business name, address, phone number, job title, supervisor’s surname, supervisor’s given name, employed from (DAY, Month and Year), employed to (DAY, Month and Year)…for the past 10 YEARS
*TIP*: I think this was what partly took me so long to fill in the form. For me, the past 10 years goes back to when I was 16 and had part time jobs while at college etc. I had to google most of the companies and I could barely remember my supervisor’s surnames (half of them no longer work there either). It was always a pain that they needed a day, month and year (drop down menu), luckily for previous job applications I had been required to give something similar so had the months and years to hand…but not the dates of when I started or finished, I had to guess as close to what I thought it would have been. If ever I have kids, I’ll force them to keep a record of this!
Additional – Have you been in the military (Yes or no answer)
PETITIONER INFORMATION
Who the petitioner is – chose from a drop down menu
Petitoner details – Surname, Given names, Address, Phone number, Email address
SECURITY AND BACKGROUND
Lots of yes or no answers including: Medical & Health, Criminal, Security, Immigration law violations, Other
*TIP*: Most answers are obviously no (well I hope they are in light of everything that’s been going on recently…), the only one for me that required additional information from me was that I haven’t yet had the required injections so I explained I will be having them closer to when I have the medical but I WILL have them before my embassy interview…hopefully they’ll accept this
SOCIAL SECURITY INFORMATION
Have you applied for an SSN – Yes or no answer
Do you want to be issued an SSN and Card – Yes or no answer…I said yes
Do you authorise discloser of information for the SSN – Yes or no answer…I said yes
*Sign and submit*
The confirmation sheet then has to be printed and taken to the embassy appointment. As you can see it’s all very simple information. When reading up on the process before I started it, I thought the NVC part sounded like it was going to be the hardest of the 3 sections, so far it’s been a lot easier than the i-130 stage. Everything is explained in black and white and the website guides you step by step so it’s very helpful!
Any questions, please feel free to ask below! I will try my best to answer, HOWEVER, I’m not an immigration expert, I can only advise from my personal experience. Form was submitted in 2016
Hello there,
I found the information you provided very useful when completing the ds260. I would like your help on the following:
1) in “Family information: Parents” section of ds260, should I write the given name of my father that appears on his passport? or the given name (which is an abbreviation of the given name on passport) that he currently uses and is mentioned in almost all documents like his utility bills, my high school diploma and in his work he is registered with that abbreviated given name.
I mean the given name of my father on passport (which is the same as his given name on birth certificate) is not used/mentioned anywhere else other than his passport.
2) for my mother ” surname of birth” is the maiden surname of my mother, not the married suname written on her passport, right?
Thank you!
Hi Nicholas!
Thanks for the comment! 1) Obviously I didn’t come across this during my application, but I think I’d have gone with the name that’s on the birth certificate, as this is what he would be officially registered as.
2) surname of birth for your mother would be her maiden name yes 🙂
Good luck with your application!
thank you very much Kylie!
No problem at all! 🙂
Hello,
I’ve done the DS-260 and my wife agrees with all the answer I put in the form. So when I arrived on the sign and submit page there is a question saying “Did anyone assist you in filling out this application?” So in behalf of my wife is it ok to answer yes and put my name as the one who help her? Searched it on google and people says put no bcause its for the lawyers…etc. and also found this on a site saying “Be careful about answering this accurately as the consulate has the ability to identify the source of any submitted application.” So answering no will be lying and may hurt my application for my wife.
Hope you can help me on this. Thank you in advance…
Hi! I put no, I actually filled out the whole form when technically it should have been ‘from’ my husband. As you said, I think answering yes is if you use a lawyer…or that’s how I took it to be!
Hi kylieuk,
Many thanks for your reply.
Have a good day.
Hi Kylie,
Thank you for all your postings about this. I was referred to your website by a friend and have check this page many times as I wait for my NOA 2. Gosh, it seems to be taking longer now. Could you provide a little more info about the Security and Background section, if you remember it?
Many thanks
Hi!
Sure, if I remember correctly it was literally a big long list of yes/no answers, I would hope that the majority would be answered as no…it was things like have you been involved in terrorist activities, have to got a contagious disease, have you been in prison…all very easy, the type of questions you’d say no to if applying for an ESTA or like when you fly “are you carrying explosives” etc!
hi, just want to ask regarding the detailed supervisor name and surnames. you have mentioned that your supervisors no longer work of either the jobs that you have worked before. may i ask who were the people you have written? the supervisors that you have worked with and had no longer worked there, or the new supervisors on that company? i was having the same problem as my supervisor whom i worked with resigned already and there is a new supervisor assigned now that doesn’t know me.
also, i already resigned with the company. is it okay that instead of the supervisor, i will write my unit manager whom i have worked with and is still the existing unit manager? hope you can help me on this. thanks!
Hi! I still just put their names because like you said, the new managers didn’t even know who I was (nor did I know them) so I wasn’t going to write them down, I just mentioned that they no longer worked there and it didn’t seem to be a problem! I had left my last job before filling in the DS260 too, I would have thought that anyone ‘above’ you in a manager position would be fine! At the end of the day if just has to be someone that could confirm who you are if it is require…from what I believe I don’t think any of mine were contacted! Hope that helps!!