Where your immigrant visa or adjustment of status was granted depends on how you became a permanent resident: if you were issued an immigrant visa abroad, the grant location is the specific U.S. embassy or consulate that issued it; if you adjusted status inside the United States, the grant location is the USCIS field office that approved your Form I-485. Both are recorded on documents you should already have, and knowing which one applies to you is what USCIS forms are asking for.
Why USCIS Asks Where It Was Granted
Several forms want this information in writing. Form I-90, used to replace or renew a Green Card, dedicates Part 3 to your original grant. Item 1 asks for the embassy, consulate, or USCIS office where you filed. Item 2 asks for the location where the immigrant visa was actually issued or where adjustment of status was granted. If you entered on an immigrant visa, Item 3 also asks for your U.S. port of entry, which is a separate field from the grant location.1USCIS. Form I-90, Instructions for Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card
Naturalization applications require you to document your full immigration history, including how and where you became a permanent resident.2eCFR. 8 CFR Part 316 – General Requirements for Naturalization Records from the original grant location can also become important years later if there are gaps or discrepancies in your travel or residence history that need to be resolved at an interview.
If You Were Granted a Visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate
If you were living outside the United States when your immigrant petition was approved, your case moved from USCIS to the National Visa Center and then to the U.S. embassy or consulate where you interviewed.3Travel.State.Gov. Step 1: Submit a Petition The consular officer who approved your visa did so at a specific post, and that post is your grant location.
The easiest way to identify it is the immigrant visa foil itself, the large sticker placed in your passport. It carries a three-letter post code that identifies the issuing embassy or consulate. The Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Manual publishes the full list. CDJ is Ciudad Juarez. MNL is Manila. NWD is New Delhi. GUZ is Guangzhou.4Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM). 9 FAM 102.5 Post Codes, Nationality Codes, and Port-of-Entry Codes If the code on your foil isn’t familiar, checking it against the list will confirm the city.
Your Port of Entry Is Not Your Grant Location
An immigrant visa in your passport does not by itself make you a permanent resident. You become one when a Customs and Border Protection officer admits you at a U.S. port of entry and stamps your passport. Your machine-readable immigrant visa then serves as temporary evidence of permanent resident status for one year from the admission date.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary I-551 Stamps and MRIVs
For form-filling purposes the grant location is still the embassy or consulate that issued the visa, not the airport or land crossing where you were admitted. The port of entry has its own field on Form I-90; do not put the two in the same place.
If You Adjusted Status Inside the United States
If you were already in the United States on a nonimmigrant visa, on parole, or in another qualifying status when you became a permanent resident, you likely got there through adjustment of status under 8 USC 1255 rather than through a consulate abroad.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1255 – Adjustment of Status of Nonimmigrant to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence Your application was Form I-485. A USCIS service center handled intake, but the interview and final decision typically happened at a local USCIS field office.7eCFR. 8 CFR Part 245 – Adjustment of Status to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence
Your grant location is that field office, not the service center. To identify it, look at your approval notice, Form I-797, Notice of Action, which identifies the USCIS office that decided your case.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 – Types and Functions You can also review recent actions in a myUSCIS online account, though the historical detail available varies by case.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checking Your Case Status Online
If Your Records Are Lost or You Never Had Them
If your passport, visa foil, or approval notice is gone, you can request records through the Freedom of Information Act. Which agency you ask depends on how you were granted status, and the two paths do not return the same thing.
USCIS FOIA for Adjustment Records
For adjustment of status records, file the FOIA request with USCIS online at first.uscis.gov. As of January 2026, online submission is generally the only accepted method.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request Records through the Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act You can ask for your entire A-File, which contains the record of the adjustment decision, or ask for specific documents, which is processed faster. Requests are prioritized if you have a scheduled hearing before an immigration judge.
Department of State FOIA for Visa Records
Visa records held by the State Department are treated as confidential by statute and disclosure is limited to immigration enforcement and other government purposes.11Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM). 9 FAM 603.2 (U) Releasing Visa Information In practice, a State Department FOIA request will generally return only documents you yourself submitted during your visa application, not the consular officer’s notes or the internal adjudication file. State considers visa records statutorily exempt from standard FOIA disclosure.12Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Department of State FOIA Requests for Personal Records Your own submitted civil documents and correspondence may still be enough to confirm which consulate handled your case, but do not expect a full file.
If the Grant Location on Your Green Card Is Wrong
If USCIS printed the wrong location, a misspelled name, or an incorrect date on your card, you can correct it by filing Form I-90 and selecting the reason code for incorrect data because of DHS error: Reason 2.d for unconditional residents, Reason 3.d for conditional residents. When the error was the government’s, there is no filing fee.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration Documents and How to Correct, Update, or Replace Them
You have to send back the original card that has the error. A copy will not do. Include proof of the correct information, such as a birth certificate, passport, marriage certificate, or court order showing what the card should say.1USCIS. Form I-90, Instructions for Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card If the error came from information you submitted, you use the same form but pay the standard filing fee.