Your DS-260 confirmation number is on the confirmation page that CEAC generates the moment you submit the form. It’s a 10-character alphanumeric code, something like “AA00A6S7LJ,” and if you didn’t save the page the first time, you can log back into the Consular Electronic Application Center and reprint it at any point after submission.1U.S. Department of State. Step 6: Complete Online Visa Application (DS-260) So the answer to where to find your DS-260 confirmation number is almost always the same place: back inside CEAC, on the confirmation page for your submitted application.
What the Confirmation Number Looks Like
The confirmation page shows your name, your country or region of origin, the date you completed the form, your case number, and the confirmation number itself.2Performance.gov. Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application Confirmation There’s also a unique barcode tied to your application, which is why the system asks you to use the “Print Confirmation” button rather than a screenshot or a browser print.
The number itself is 10 characters, letters and digits mixed. It only exists after you’ve completed and submitted the DS-260. If you haven’t submitted yet, there is nothing to find. A saved-in-progress application doesn’t have one.
How to Reprint It From CEAC
Go to ceac.state.gov, sign in on the immigrant visa page, and open your application. The State Department confirms you can print the confirmation page “any time after you complete your DS-260 application.”1U.S. Department of State. Step 6: Complete Online Visa Application (DS-260)
To log in you need two pieces of information:
- Your NVC case number.
- Your invoice ID number.
NVC sends both to you by letter or email after it receives your approved petition from USCIS.3Travel.State.Gov. CEAC FAQs One warning: don’t use your browser’s back or refresh buttons inside CEAC. The session will drop and you’ll have to sign in again.
Diversity Visa applicants take a slightly different route in. Instead of an NVC case number, they use the diversity visa case number from the selection notification at dvprogram.state.gov to access and submit the DS-260.4U.S. Department of State. DS-260 Immigrant Visa Electronic Application – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Once the form is submitted, the confirmation number works the same way.
Not the Same as Your Case Number or Invoice ID
A lot of applicants think they’ve lost their DS-260 confirmation number when they’ve actually been looking at the wrong code. Three different identifiers travel together in this process, and only one is the confirmation number.
- The NVC case number is a longer code that usually starts with a three-letter embassy abbreviation followed by digits (a Manila case begins with “MNL”). NVC assigns it when it opens your case file, and you use it to sign into CEAC.
- The invoice ID is a separate identifier NVC sends alongside the case number. It’s used for fee payments and CEAC sign-in, not for identifying your DS-260.
- The DS-260 confirmation number is the 10-character alphanumeric code the system generates only after submission. It confirms the application was received.2Performance.gov. Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application Confirmation
If the code you’re holding doesn’t match the 10-character alphanumeric format, it isn’t your DS-260 confirmation number.
When You’ll Have to Produce It
Two appointments require the printed confirmation page in hand.
At your medical examination, the panel physician needs the DS-260 confirmation page for each family member listed in the visa interview appointment letter.5USTravelDocs. Information Concerning the Medical Examination Without it, the office may turn you away, and rescheduling can push back the interview.
At the visa interview, the State Department lists the DS-260 confirmation page among the documents you must bring.6Travel.State.Gov. Applicant Interview Arriving without it can result in a refusal under INA Section 221(g) for incomplete documentation, which means providing the missing document within one year or starting over with a new application and another fee.7Department of State. Visa Denials
If You Still Can’t Retrieve It
Start with the simple path: sign back into CEAC and reprint the confirmation page. If you’ve also lost your case number or invoice ID, look through your email for the original NVC correspondence, which contains both.3Travel.State.Gov. CEAC FAQs
If that fails, contact NVC through its Public Inquiry Form. Include your case number, the petitioner’s name, and the principal applicant’s name and date of birth so staff can verify your identity and locate the case. U.S. embassies and consulates also run their own immigrant visa inquiry forms that ask for your name, case number, and visa category, and list DS-260 access among the available topics.8U.S. Embassy in the Philippines. Immigrant Visa Inquiry Form Under INA Section 222(f), visa records are confidential, so consular staff will only release case details to the applicant, the petitioner, or an attorney of record who has filed Form G-28.