Don't type personal details, such as a client's name.
Agency Quickstart
Sign up your agency, add a payment method, and submit your first DS-160 in under fifteen minutes — your first form is on us.
Welcome to DS160.io for agencies. This guide walks you through signing up, claiming your free first form, and processing your first client submission. Setting up an immigration firm, with attorney review before signing? See Immigration Firm Quickstart.
Before you start
- Who signs up: the person who signs up becomes the workspace’s Owner, and the Owner holds the card on file.
- What you need: an email address for the Owner account, and a credit card. You are not charged at signup.
- A first client: their name and email address, so they can fill in their form themselves.
1. Start signup
Click Get started on the Agencies page, or visit /signup/business directly. Fill in:
- Agency name — shown to your clients as the brand behind their intake form
- Workspace name — the workspace label you’ll see inside the dashboard (defaults to your agency name)
- Expected DS-160s per month — helps us tailor onboarding and the right billing plan
- Email and password for the workspace owner account
2. Verify your email
Your agency workspace is created the moment you submit the signup form, but you still need to confirm your email before you can use it. We send a 6-digit activation code to the address you signed up with — enter it on the activation screen that loads immediately after signup.
If you don’t see the email, check spam first, then your workspace email filters. The code is good for a single use.
3. Add a credit card — first form free
Right after activation you land on the billing-setup screen. Add a credit card to claim your first DS-160 form free. The first form your workspace creates after that is free; billing is per form created, from the second one on.
If you exit before adding a card you can resume on your next login — until a card is on file your workspace is in pending state and certain features are gated. See Payment Method and Your Free First Form.
4. Create a form and send the client their link
On the Forms screen, click New DS-160 form. Start from a blank form, enter the client’s name and email, and leave Email the client a link when the form is created ticked: the client gets a secure link to fill in the form themselves, in their own language. See Creating a Form for the other ways to start a form.
Moving cases across from Docketwise? Start each open case from its Docketwise PDF instead of retyping it: see Importing a DS-160 from Docketwise.
The link opens in your workspace’s default language, which you can set, along with how long links last, under Workspace Settings → Client intake (see client link defaults). The client can still switch languages from inside the form.
5. Review and file
When the client has finished, every Owner and Admin gets a Ready for review email. Open the form, check the answers and correct anything (see Reviewing a Client’s Answers), then click View Submissions, pick the embassy or consulate and click New Submission. We fill in the official DS-160 for you, with no captchas for you to enter. If the site refuses ours, we email you to type one; see E-Filing the DS-160. If an attorney should check each application before it is signed, see Reviewing a DS-160 on CEAC Before Signing.
Expected result
Your workspace is active with a card on file, the client has filled in their form through their link, and your first submission files their DS-160 on the official site: it shows Completed, and the person who started it gets a Signed and submitted email with the confirmation number. If a submission stops before it finishes, see Fixing a Submission That Did Not Finish.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| “Activation code does not match.” | Enter the 6-digit code from the email we sent to the address you signed up with. |
| Signing in opens Add a payment method | The workspace stays in pending state until a card is on file. Save a card to activate it. |
| “Unable to save card”, or another message under the card | Card details go straight to Stripe, and the message is Stripe’s. Check the card details, or use another card. |
| “Enter a valid email address.” on the New DS-160 form page | Check the client’s email for a typing mistake, then create the form. |
| The client sees “This link no longer works” | The link expired or was revoked. Check it under Manage links, then click Send again (or Send a new link) on the form’s Client card. |
Next steps
- Set up your branding under Workspace Settings → Branding. Your logo and name also appear at the top of the emails your clients get.
- Connect a custom domain so clients see your brand, not ours.
- Choose how your forms answer the DS-160’s security question — a random answer per form, or one your firm shares.
- Add your team members so they can review submissions alongside you.