“My wife just received her immigrant visa and we are flying to the US tomorrow. I am her US citizen sponsor and have already paid the green card fee. What should we expect at immigration upon landing, are there any additional fees, and can I go through the immigration line with her or do I need to use the citizens line?”
The important event is CBP admission: once admitted, your wife becomes a permanent resident and may live and work in the United States. Her endorsed passport and immigrant visa then serve as temporary proof for one year while the physical Green Card is produced. [2][6]
At passport control, the safe route is a staffed inspection assigned by CBP—not independently choosing the citizens or MPC line for your wife.
Your wife must apply in person to an immigration officer at the and present the required documents. Start at the queue entrance together with both passports and any immigrant visa packet; follow the staff member’s lane instruction. [1][3]
Do not independently put your wife in a citizens/LPR or lane. She does not become a until CBP admits her, and first-time immigrant-visa holders are absent from the MPC eligibility list; use such a lane only if CBP staff specifically direct you both there. [2][7]
Approach the queue entrance together, explain that this is her first immigrant-visa entry, and be prepared to split only if airport staff direct you to do so.
These steps take you from tomorrow’s flight through admission and delivery of her new documents.
Before boarding tomorrow
Pack her admission documents
Confirm that tomorrow is no later than the expiration date printed on her visa. If she received a sealed immigrant visa packet, bring it to the exactly as issued; USCIS’s arrival sequence says to arrive with that packet. [2][3]
Requirements
At the queue entrance
Approach passport control together
Tell the line attendant that your wife is making her first entry with an immigrant visa and that you are her U.S.-citizen spouse. Use the staffed lane assigned to you; do not submit an entry for her, because first-time immigrant-visa holders are not included in CBP’s eligibility list. [1][7]
Requirements
At the inspection booth
Complete her CBP admission
Your wife applies in person and presents the required documents. CBP—not the visa alone—makes the admission decision; when admitted, she enters as a and is permitted to work and live in the United States. No second USCIS immigrant fee is due because the current $235 fee has already been paid, while air-passenger inspection charges are collected by ticket issuers. [1][2][4][5]
Requirements
Before leaving inspection
Give CBP the correct mailing address
If the address given during the visa process is no longer correct, give the new address to the CBP officer during admission. USCIS will use the State Department address or the replacement address given to CBP to mail the Green Card. [3]
Requirements
After admission
Use her temporary proof and monitor delivery
The endorsed immigrant visa in her passport is a showing permanent-resident status for one year from admission. If the Green Card has not arrived within 90 days after entry, submit the USCIS online help request through https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-fees/uscis-immigrant-fee; if she requested an SSN on the DS-260, SSA says it should arrive automatically within three weeks. [3][6][8]
Requirements
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u/SeasonIndependent673r/immigrationDec 18, 2025
This answer is based on current Department of State, USCIS, CBP, SSA, and eCFR materials.
8 CFR 235.1
An immigrant seeking admission must appear personally before an immigration officer and establish eligibility to enter.
§ 235.1(a), (b)(1)
Application to lawfully enter the United States shall be made in person to an immigration officer at a U.S. port-of-entry when the port is open for inspection, or as otherwise designated in this section. Each alien seeking admission at a United States port-of-entry must present whatever documents are required and must establish to the satisfaction of the inspecting officer that the alien is not subject to removal under the immigration laws, Executive Orders, or Presidential Proclamations, and is entitled, under all of the applicable provisions of the immigration laws and this chapter, to enter the United States.
Department of State — After the Interview
The visa must be used by its expiration date, CBP makes the admission decision, and permanent-resident status begins upon admission.
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.
USCIS Immigrant Fee instructions
USCIS explains the arrival packet, Green Card mailing address, and the 90-day point for requesting help with a missing card.
Arrive with immigrant visa packet at a port of entry. You are admitted into the United States as a lawful permanent resident. If you plan on living at a different U.S. address immediately after you enter the United States, please give that address to the CBP officer to ensure you receive your Green Card. 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 Form G-1055
The current USCIS fee schedule lists the immigrant fee as $235; the asker has already paid it.
USCIS Immigrant Fee row
If you are immigrating to the United States as a lawful permanent resident. $235
CBP Air/Sea Passenger User Fees
Routine air-passenger inspection charges are collected through ticket issuers rather than as a separate immigrant fee at the inspection desk.
It is the responsibility of carriers, travel agents, tour wholesalers or other parties issuing tickets or travel documents to collect the fee from all passengers who are subject to the fee and remit such fees to CBP.
USCIS I-9 Central — Temporary Form I-551 MRIV
After endorsement, the passport and immigrant visa serve as temporary proof of permanent-resident status for one year.
USCIS uses either an I-551 (ADIT) stamp or a temporary I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa (MRIV) to indicate temporary evidence of lawful permanent residence. The temporary Form I-551 MRIV is evidence of permanent resident status for one year from the date of admission.
CBP Mobile Passport Control
CBP’s MPC eligibility list does not include people making their first entry with an immigrant visa.
Availability
Available to U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents, Canadian B1/B2 citizen visitors and returning Visa Waiver Program travelers with approved ESTA
SSA — Social Security Numbers for U.S. Permanent Residents
If she requested an SSN through her visa application, SSA says the card should be issued automatically after arrival.
If you requested an SSN card as part of your visa application, U.S. Department of State (DoS), Form DS 230, “Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration” or the electronic Form DS 260, “Immigrant Visa Electronic Application”, DoS and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will share with us the information needed to issue you an SSN card. Therefore, you do not need to fill out a special application or go to a Social Security office to get an SSN. We will assign you an SSN and issue you a Social Security card after you arrive in the United States. You should receive your Social Security card within 3 weeks after you arrive.
These are the official rules published on the cited dates; rules and airport operating procedures can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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