DS-260 Changes in 2026: Why New Questions About Travel, Passports, and Partners Matter

By Alena Shautsova, New York Immigration Lawyer
October 9, 2026

You have waited for your immigrant visa case to move forward. Your petition may already be approved. You finally sit down to complete the DS-260, expecting to enter your personal information and take another step toward your green card.

Then you see questions you were not expecting.

Which passports have you held during the past 15 years? Which countries have you visited during that time? Who paid for those trips? Have you had a civil or domestic partner? What are your siblings’ nationalities?

For someone who has moved between countries, replaced lost passports, or lived with a partner without a formal wedding, these questions can be difficult to answer accurately. They also deserve more attention than a quick guess.

According to reports shared with the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Department of State Liaison Committee, the online DS-260 now includes several new or expanded questions. The reported changes reach into applicants’ travel, nationality, and family histories. Some have also been accompanied by technical problems.

For immigrant visa applicants, the practical message is straightforward: allow more time to prepare your DS-260, review the actual questions displayed in your application, and resolve legal uncertainties before submitting your answers.

What is the DS-260, and why does it matter?

The DS-260 is the online immigrant visa application used in consular processing, including Diversity Visa cases. Applicants access it through the Department of State’s Consular Electronic Application Center, commonly called CEAC. The Department’s DS-260 frequently asked questions explain access, completion, and submission procedures. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

An approved petition and a completed immigrant visa application serve different purposes. The petition establishes a claimed basis for immigration; the visa application allows the government to examine the applicant’s eligibility to receive the visa.

Treating the DS-260 as routine data entry can therefore be a costly mistake. A question about a relationship may require an analysis of foreign marriage law. A question about nationality may require examining documents issued decades ago. A travel-history answer may need to be reconciled with an earlier visa application.

The goal is a truthful, complete application that you can explain confidently at your interview.

Prior passports and nationalities require a closer look

The reported passport changes include a question about other passports held within the previous 15 years. Applicants should prepare to identify older passports, including documents that expired, were replaced, or are no longer physically available.

Passport history and nationality history are related, but they are not identical. Someone may have held several passports from one country. Another person may have more than one nationality while possessing a passport from only one of those countries.

According to the Committee’s update, DOS instructs applicants to disclose current and previous nationalities, including nationalities formally or legally relinquished. The reported instruction for a former country that no longer exists is to select the nationality corresponding to the country name currently used for that location.

That instruction can create uncertainty for people born in countries whose borders or political identities changed. Applicants should avoid assuming that birthplace, ethnicity, present residence, and legal nationality all mean the same thing.

Before completing this section, gather available passports, citizenship certificates, naturalization records, and documents showing any formal renunciation or loss of nationality. If a historical nationality does not fit the available menu, preserve the relevant documents and obtain guidance on how to explain the situation accurately.

A missing passport should lead to an effort to reconstruct its information. It should not lead to pretending the document never existed.

The DS-260 travel history now reportedly reaches back 15 years

The reported travel-history expansion increases the lookback period from five years to 15 years for travel to countries or regions other than the United States.

That is a substantial difference.

Think about how much can happen in 15 years: vacations, business trips, university exchanges, family emergencies, temporary relocation, and repeated visits to neighboring countries. Someone who traveled frequently may not remember every destination without checking records.

Start with a private travel worksheet. List destinations, approximate time periods, the purpose of each trip, and the records supporting your recollection. Then answer the actual fields presented in CEAC. A preparation worksheet can contain more detail than the form ultimately requests.

Helpful records may include:

• Current and expired passports.
• Airline confirmations and old email itineraries.
• Employer travel records.
• Hotel reservations and travel insurance documents.
• Calendar entries and dated photographs.
• Available border-movement records.

Be careful with the word “approximate.” Reconstructing a timeline in good faith is different from inventing a precise date to fill an empty box. If a required detail cannot be established, discuss how to address that uncertainty rather than silently presenting a guess as verified fact.

Read any instructions about transit stops or particular regions carefully. Do not assume that another applicant’s interpretation applies to your itinerary.

The follow-up question about who paid for travel

The reported changes also include a follow-up asking who paid when an applicant answers affirmatively about foreign travel during the relevant period.

This may require more thought than it first appears. One trip may have been paid for personally, another by an employer, and another by a parent or partner. Some trips involve shared expenses.

Prepare a clear explanation of the actual arrangement. For example, an employer may have purchased the airfare while the applicant paid for personal sightseeing. A relative may have provided accommodation without paying the transportation costs.

Do not confuse the person who booked a ticket with the person who ultimately funded it.

The appearance of this question does not, by itself, establish that employer-funded travel or a family-paid vacation is improper. It does mean applicants should be ready to describe the funding accurately and consistently with their other records.

Domestic partners and former relationships can raise legal questions

One of the most sensitive reported changes is the expanded reference to a current or former “Spouse or Civil/Domestic Partner.”

Many people use relationship terms informally. A couple may call each other husband and wife without having married. Others may believe they are unmarried because they never had a civil ceremony, even though the law governing their relationship requires a closer examination.

An affirmative answer about a domestic partner does not automatically establish a marriage for immigration purposes. State Department guidance distinguishes ordinary cohabitation from relationships legally recognized as equivalent to marriage. Under 9 FAM 102.8, qualifying common-law relationships, civil unions, and domestic partnerships require examination of their legal recognition and equivalence to marriage in the relevant jurisdiction. fam.state.gov

The wording on a form does not eliminate that legal analysis.

Applicants should disclose responsive information truthfully while obtaining advice about the legal characterization of the relationship. Useful documents may include partnership registrations, marriage records, separation or dissolution documents, and information about the law where the relationship arose.

If the terminology is unfamiliar, do not rely solely on a literal translation. The question is what happened, what legal status the relationship created, and how that status affects the immigration case.

Why relationship status matters for F1 and F2B applicants

Family preference categories can depend on whether the beneficiary is married.

F1 covers qualifying unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. F3 covers married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. A legally valid marriage can therefore change the applicable category and visa availability. These categories are described in the government’s family-based immigrant visa overview. USAGov

The consequences can be more serious when the petitioning parent remains a lawful permanent resident. USCIS explains that a permanent resident’s petition for an unmarried son or daughter will be denied or automatically revoked if the beneficiary marries before immigrating or adjusting status. There is no corresponding category for a married son or daughter of a permanent resident under that parent’s petition. USCIS

That does not mean the person is barred from every possible family-based immigration route. It means this particular petition and classification may no longer provide a viable basis for immigration.

Consider a hypothetical applicant who has lived with a partner for years while waiting under F2B. Before selecting answers, counsel should examine the relationship’s legal status and timing, along with the petitioning parent’s immigration history.

The objective is not to find a convenient label. It is to determine the correct answer and understand its consequences before submission.

Nationality questions now extend to additional family members

According to the Committee’s report, the revised form asks about the nationality of current and former spouses or civil/domestic partners, as well as children.

Applicants should verify this information instead of assuming that a relative’s residence identifies their nationality. A child living abroad may be a U.S. citizen. A former spouse may have naturalized after the relationship ended. Someone may hold multiple nationalities.

For relatives with whom you have limited contact, begin gathering reliable information early. Record what you know, what documents support it, and what remains uncertain.

The Committee also reported that “United States” was initially missing from certain nationality menus. Its update indicated that the issue should have been resolved as of September 22, 2026.

If you encounter a missing option, do not select an inaccurate nationality simply to move to the next screen. Document the problem and request assistance through the appropriate case channel.

The new siblings section requires advance preparation

The reported “Family Information: Siblings” section requests the number of siblings and each sibling’s full name, date of birth, and nationality.

For some applicants, this information is readily available. For others, families have been separated by migration, estrangement, conflict, or incomplete records.

Prepare a family-information sheet before opening the application. Check spelling, name changes, birth dates, and nationality against reliable information where available.

If you have half-siblings, adopted siblings, step-siblings, or deceased siblings, review the instructions actually displayed. Do not assume that a definition used elsewhere in immigration law necessarily answers every question about this particular field.

Where the instructions leave a genuine ambiguity, identify it for your attorney. Guessing about whom to include can create avoidable inconsistencies.

What to do when CEAC does not save your answers

The Committee reported problems saving prior-passport and expanded travel information. According to the supplied update, those issues were referred to the National Visa Center and Consular Systems and Technology, which acknowledged the request on September 28, 2026.

An acknowledgment is not confirmation that a technical defect has been fixed.

DOS generally instructs applicants to save their work regularly and warns that an idle session can time out after approximately 20 minutes. Unsaved information may be lost. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

With reported saving problems, an additional verification step is sensible: save the section, navigate away, return, and check whether the information remains.

Keep a secure record of the answers you intended to enter. If information disappears, capture screenshots showing the issue and note the date, time, affected section, and any error message. Protect sensitive information when transmitting those records.

 

Why the public notice process is drawing concern

The Committee’s update raises a separate question: whether the expanded information requests underwent the required review process.

DOS published a 60-day notice concerning DS-260 revisions on July 9, 2025, at 90 FR 30543. It later published a 30-day notice on November 19, 2025, at 90 FR 52129.

Federal information-collection procedures generally involve public notice and Office of Management and Budget review, subject to applicable exceptions. The governing regulations address opportunities to comment on proposed collections and their burdens. govinfo.gov

However, neither notice identified the additions discussed here. That raises a legitimate concern about whether these changes were properly disclosed and approved.

However, a concern about procedural compliance is not a judicial determination that the current form is unlawful. A definitive assessment would require examination of the complete approval record, including the submitted form, supporting materials, subsequent changes, and any applicable exception.

Applicants should not treat the controversy as permission to omit answers or disregard case instructions. Any legal challenge requires a strategy tailored to the case.

What if you already submitted your DS-260?

Do not assume that every previously submitted application must be reopened simply because new questions have appeared.

The right next step depends on whether your answers were accurate when submitted, whether material circumstances have changed, what your case instructions require, and which office currently controls the application.

DOS explains that after submission, applicants need assistance from NVC, the Kentucky Consular Center for Diversity Visa cases, or the relevant embassy or consulate to regain access to the application. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you discover an omission or inaccurate answer, bring it to your attorney’s attention promptly. Preserve the submitted version and prepare a clear explanation of what needs correction and why.

Avoid making scattered corrections without considering how they relate to the rest of the record. A well-organized correction is easier to understand than several inconsistent explanations.

A mistake is not automatically fraud, but accuracy remains essential

Applicants sometimes become frightened that forgetting an old trip automatically means a permanent immigration problem.

A mistake and a willful, material misrepresentation are not interchangeable. USCIS guidance explains that an inadmissibility finding requires evidence supporting the relevant legal elements, including willfulness and materiality for willful misrepresentation. USCIS

Nevertheless, do not knowingly give a false answer because the truthful one appears complicated. Explain uncertainty, investigate missing information, and address discrepancies with qualified counsel.

It is also sensible to compare the DS-260 with earlier applications and supporting records. If an earlier document contains an error, identify the reason and prepare to address it honestly. Repeating an old mistake does not make the record more accurate.

Prepare your immigrant visa application before problems develop

The expanded DS-260 questions make early preparation especially valuable. Before submission, gather your passport history, reconstruct relevant travel, verify family information, and review relationships that may have legal significance.

Give particular attention to any answer that could affect your visa classification. A missing travel date and an uncertain marital status require different kinds of work, even if both appear as simple fields on a screen.

At the Law Office of Alena Shautsova, we help clients evaluate immigration questions in the context of their full case. If you need assistance reviewing your DS-260, addressing inconsistencies, or preparing for a consular interview, schedule a consultation before submitting information you do not fully understand.

Law Office of Alena Shautsova
New York Immigration Lawyer
159 Broadway, Amityville, NY 11701
Call: 917-885-2261
Visit: shautsova.com

This article provides general information. The appropriate approach depends on your documents, immigration history, visa category, and applicable law.