You become a when CBP admits you; secondary is further inspection—not automatically another visa interview—and your physical card may take up to 90 days from entry or, if you pay later, from payment [1][3][7].
“I just got my immigrant visa approved through consular processing and am waiting for my passport. What is the process like when entering the US for the first time as an LPR? Is secondary processing like another interview or just stamping paperwork, and how long does it usually take to receive the physical green card after arrival?”
Summary
A referral by itself does not mean your case has failed: DHS says referrals can occur for document issues, an officer’s concern, an alert, or randomly. Once admitted, your endorsed passport provides temporary proof while you wait for the plastic card [3][8].
What you hand to CBP depends on whether your immigrant-visa case is paper-based or electronic.
Carry the unopened packet with your passport and give it to CBP at your first U.S. port of entry [4].
If your case was processed electronically, CBP receives the documents digitally and you normally receive no envelope; the visa may show “IV DOCS IN CCD” [4].
Some electronically processed cases still receive an envelope; if one is provided, keep it sealed and present it to CBP [4].
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Watch out for
Next steps
These steps take you from receiving your passport through admission and physical green-card delivery.
When your passport arrives
Plan entry using the printed expiration date
Enter and apply for admission no later than the expiration date printed on the visa. Although an immigrant visa is usually valid for up to six months, the medical examination may make it expire earlier; the printed date controls. If family members have derivative visas, the main applicant must enter before or with them [1].
Requirements
Preferably before departure
Pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online
Pay the current $235 fee at https://my.uscis.gov/accounts/uscis-immigrant-fee/start/overview after receiving the immigrant visa and preferably before traveling. The fee is $0 for the exempt categories listed in the current G-1055 schedule. USCIS allows payment after arrival, but then card processing and the up-to-90-day period begin with payment rather than entry [5][6][7].
Requirements
At your first U.S. port of entry
Present yourself and your visa to CBP
Give CBP your passport and, if issued, the unopened packet. CBP examines your documents and may ask questions to decide whether you are admissible; visa approval alone does not guarantee admission [1][2][4].
Requirements
Only if CBP directs you
Complete secondary inspection if referred
In , CBP performs whatever further assessment caused the referral. It may be document or system processing, but the officer may conduct a more detailed interview or full inspection. It is therefore not automatically a second visa interview, but it is not guaranteed to be only a stamp either [3].
Before leaving CBP inspection
Confirm your admission stamp and mailing address
If the mailing address from your visa case has changed, give the new address to the CBP officer. After admission, CBP endorses your ; the endorsed visa serves as a showing permanent resident status for one year [6][8].
Requirements
After admission
Count the 90-day delivery period correctly
If you paid before entry, allow up to 90 days from entry. If you paid afterward, allow up to 90 days from payment. If you have not paid, USCIS cannot process the card. After the applicable 90 days, submit the USCIS online help form at https://my.uscis.gov/account/v1/needhelp [6][7].
Requirements
Legal sources
The answer is based on current Department of State travel instructions, CBP inspection guidance, and USCIS fee, document, and card-delivery rules.
DOS, Immigrant Visa Process Step 12
The printed visa expiry is the entry deadline, CBP controls admission, and LPR status begins only after admission.
Entering the United States
You must arrive in and apply for admission to the United States no later than the visa expiration date printed on your visa. A visa does not guarantee entry into the United States. The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have authority to grant or deny admission. When you are admitted, you will enter as a Lawful Permanent Resident, also called a green card holder, and will be permitted to work and live in the United States.
CBP Immigration Inspection Program
CBP examines documents and may question an arriving immigrant to determine admissibility.
U.S. citizens are automatically admitted upon verification of citizenship; aliens are questioned and their documents are examined to determine admissibility based on the requirements of the U.S. immigration law. Under the authority granted by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, a CBP officer may question, under oath, any person coming into the United States to determine his or her admissibility.
DHS/CBP/PIA-067
Secondary inspection is a further CBP assessment that may resolve documents or include a deeper interview or inspection.
pages 2 and 6
Some reasons a traveler will be referred for secondary inspection include: if the CBP officer at primary believes that further inspection is needed; if the officer at primary is alerted to an issue that may require further inspection; to address issues with the documentation or information supplied; or at random. At the secondary inspection location, CBP officers will conduct further assessments to resolve the reason for the referral. A CBP officer at secondary may perform a more in-depth interview or a full inspection relating to issues such as admissibility, customs (baggage), or agricultural, based on the circumstances.
DOS, Immigrant Visas: Know Before You Go
This State Department page explains the paper and electronic packet branches, address correction, and post-arrival SSN process.
When you receive your passport, you will also receive a sealed envelope* that contains the documents you submitted during your visa interview. DO NOT OPEN THIS SEALED ENVELOPE. It must remain sealed and should only be opened by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer when you arrive at your first U.S. port of entry. If your immigrant visa case was processed electronically, you will not receive a sealed envelope. Instead, all your documents are sent directly to CBP in digital format. If you requested a social security card with your visa application (Form DS-260), the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will inform the Social Security Administration (SSA). The SSA will automatically assign you a SSN and issue you a Social Security card after you arrive. You should receive your Social Security card within three weeks of your arrival. You must visit a Social Security office to apply for an SSN if you did not request a SSN card as part of your visa application.
USCIS Form G-1055
The current USCIS fee schedule sets the immigrant fee at $235 and identifies the $0 categories.
page 2
Form G-1055 Edition 09/09/26 USCIS Immigrant Fee (uscis.gov/forms/filing-fees/ uscis-immigrant-fee) If you are immigrating to the United States as a lawful permanent resident. $235 Children who enter the United States under the orphan or Hague adoption programs. $0 Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants $0 Returning lawful permanent residents (SB-1s) $0 K nonimmigrants $0
USCIS Immigrant Fee
USCIS permits post-arrival payment, explains where the card is mailed, and provides the remedy after 90 days.
We strongly encourage you to pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee after you pick up your immigrant visa from the Department of State and before you depart for the United States. You may also pay the fee after you arrive in the United States. We will mail your Green Card to the address you gave to DOS during your immigrant visa interview (or gave to CBP when you arrived in the United States, if your address changed). If you do not receive your Green Card within 90 days of paying the USCIS Immigrant Fee or entering the United States (if you paid the fee before you arrived) please submit our online help form to request assistance.
USCIS, When to Expect Your Green Card
The 90-day starting point depends on whether the immigrant fee was paid before or after entry.
|You entered the U.S. using your immigrant visa, |You paid the immigrant visa fee BEFORE you entered, |It may take up to 90 days from the date you entered to receive your permanent resident card. | |You entered the U.S. using your immigrant visa, |You paid the immigrant visa fee AFTER you entered, |It may take up to 90 days from the date you made your payment to receive your permanent resident card. | |You entered the U.S. using your immigrant visa, |You Have not yet paid the immigrant visa fee, |You must pay the immigrant visa fee online before your permanent resident card can be processed.
USCIS, Commonly Used Immigration Documents
An immigrant visa endorsed by CBP serves as temporary proof of permanent residence while the plastic card is pending.
Temporary I-551, Machine Readable Immigrant Visa
The MRIV is affixed directly on a page of the individual’s foreign passport and usually contains the following text: “UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR.” When U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) admits the bearer into the U.S., CBP applies an admission stamp to the passport. The admission stamp includes the date that CBP admitted the MRIV bearer into the U.S. and an endorsement by a CBP officer. A MRIV in a foreign passport, with an admission stamp endorsed by a CBP officer, is evidence that the person is a lawful permanent resident or conditional permanent resident.
These are official Department of State, DHS/CBP, and USCIS rules as published or updated on the cited dates; rules and fees can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice; SettleKit is not a law firm.
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