How to Fill Out and Submit Form DS-157: Afghan SIV Petition

Form DS-157, the Afghan SIV petition, is the document Afghan nationals email to the State Department to request Chief of Mission (COM) approval for a Special Immigrant Visa based on qualifying work with or for the U.S. government. Since July 20, 2022, submitting a signed DS-157 with your supporting documents has been the first formal step in the process, replacing the earlier route through USCIS on Form I-360.¹ The form is a fillable PDF, and it never travels alone: you send it in a package by email to a dedicated State Department address.

Who Can File Form DS-157

The petition is for Afghan nationals who worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), or a successor mission in Afghanistan. The qualifying employment must have lasted at least one year and taken place between October 7, 2001, and December 31, 2023. You must also have provided faithful and valuable service, backed by a positive letter of recommendation, and have experienced or be experiencing an ongoing serious threat because of that work.²

Surviving spouses and unmarried children under 21 of a deceased principal applicant can also file, using the section of the form reserved for that situation, so long as the principal applicant would have qualified.³

The program’s authority is Section 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009, as amended. Congress has set a deadline for applying for COM approval, most recently December 31, 2025. That deadline has been extended several times before, so if you are filing later, check the State Department’s Afghan SIV page for the current cutoff.

What You Need to Gather First

DS-157 is one piece of a four-document COM application package. All four must be sent together:⁴

The completed and signed DS-157 petition.
A Human Resources (HR) employment letter from the employer confirming your dates of service, job title, and work location.
A positive letter of recommendation (LOR) from your direct supervisor or a senior official describing your faithful and valuable service.
Evidence of Afghan nationality — a passport, birth certificate, or tazkera.

If you still have your employer-issued ID badge, scan it and add it to the package. It is not required, but it helps verification.

If You Cannot Get an HR Letter or Recommendation

Many applicants cannot reach former employers or supervisors. A missing HR letter or LOR does not automatically disqualify you. Write a Statement of Unavailability explaining specifically why the document cannot be obtained, and submit whatever other supporting evidence you have.⁴ Vague statements weaken the package; details help.

Translations

Any document not in English needs a certified English translation. The translator signs a statement certifying that the translation is accurate and that they are competent to translate from the original language into English, and includes their name, signature, and date.⁴ There is no required agency, but a professional certified translator is the safer route.

Filling Out the DS-157

Download the current DS-157 from the State Department’s forms portal at eforms.state.gov.⁵ The fillable PDF’s current version expires September 30, 2027. Complete it electronically, or print and fill it out legibly in English. Do not leave any field blank. Write “N/A” or “none” where a question does not apply. Blank fields cause delays.

Section 1: Applicant Information (Fields 1–15)

List every spelling of your last name (field 1) and first name (field 2) as they appear on your different documents. Field 3 asks for your name in your native alphabet, Dari or Pashto. Field 5 is your clan or tribe name; write “none” if you do not have one.³

Field 4 is only for surviving spouses or children filing under Section 602(b)(2)(C) of Public Law 111-8. If it doesn’t apply, mark “No.” If it does, provide the deceased applicant’s full name, native-alphabet name, date of birth, place of birth, and tazkera number.

Enter your passport number in field 9 and your tazkera number in field 10. If you do not currently hold a passport, write “none,” but you will need one later for visa issuance. Fields 14 and 15 ask for your parents’ full names as they appear on their identity documents.

Section 2: Family Information (Fields 16–17)

Field 16 asks for your current spouse’s name, date of birth, date of marriage, and place of birth. If unmarried, write “N/A.” Field 17 lists all unmarried children under 21 by name and date of birth. These family members may later qualify as derivatives on your visa, so accuracy here matters.

Section 3: Travel and Employment History (Fields 18–22)

Field 18 lists every country you have entered in the last ten years, with the year of each visit. Never left Afghanistan? Write “none.” Field 19 asks which countries have issued you a passport. Field 20 asks whether you have ever lost a passport or had one stolen.³

Field 21 is the heart of the form: your last five employers, including your current one. For each, provide the work location, start and end dates, job title, supervisor’s name and email address, employer name, and reason for separation. Surviving spouses and children list the deceased applicant’s last five employers instead. Match dates and spellings to the HR employment letter exactly; this is what the reviewer will cross-check.

Field 22 asks whether you or the deceased spouse or parent has previously applied for COM approval. If yes, include the earlier case number.

Section 4: Certification (Fields 23–24)

Field 23 is for any additional information that did not fit elsewhere. Field 24 is your signature and date. An unsigned DS-157 will not function as an approved petition. If you submit it without a signature, you would need to go through the older I-360 process with USCIS after COM approval.¹

How to Submit the Package

Convert every document to PDF and email the full package to AfghanSIVApplication@state.gov.⁴ No filing fee applies to the DS-157 petition or to the COM application at this stage.

Providing false information is a federal crime. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, knowingly making a materially false statement on a government form can lead to fines and up to five years in prison, or up to eight years if the matter involves terrorism.⁶ Inconsistencies between the form and your supporting documents can also trigger delays or a denial.

What Happens After You Submit

The State Department reviews the DS-157 alongside your employment letter, recommendation, and nationality evidence. If COM approves your application and accepts the signed DS-157 as an approved petition, you become classified as a special immigrant under INA 203(b)(4). Most applicants at that point do not need to file a separate I-360 with USCIS.¹

From there, the path depends on where you are. Applicants inside the United States file Form I-485 with USCIS to apply for a green card.⁷ Applicants outside the United States move to consular processing, where the National Visa Center sends instructions and asks for additional documents.

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can receive the same classification as derivatives, and derivative visas do not count against the SIV numerical limits.¹ List them on the DS-157 in fields 16 and 17, and be ready to produce relationship evidence — marriage certificates (Nekah Khat), birth certificates, or tazkeras — during the visa stage.

When DS-157 Is Not Your Path

Some cases still go through USCIS on Form I-360 rather than relying on DS-157. That applies if you received COM approval before July 20, 2022, if you submitted a COM application with an unsigned DS-157, or if you submitted one without a DS-157 at all. In those cases, after COM approval, you file the I-360 with USCIS.¹ The USCIS Afghan SIV classification flyer walks through each scenario if you are unsure which one fits your case.⁷

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 9 – Certain Afghan Nationals
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for an Afghan Who Was Employed by or on Behalf of the U.S. Government
3
U.S. Department of State. DS-157 – Petition for Special Immigrant Classification for Afghan SIV Applicants
4
U.S. Department of State. The Steps of the Afghan SIV-Process
5
U.S. Department of State. Forms Portal
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Applying for a Special Immigrant Visa Classification as an Afghan National Working for the U.S. Government