How to get a visa to the USA. 10 detailed steps
You can easily apply for a visa to the United States by studying in detail the entire registration procedure.
For many, a trip to the United States is a cherished dream. Tourists dream of getting to this country in order to look at the famous hills of Hollywood with at least one eye, walk along the red carpet and run to visit Obama in the White House. However, many of them are afraid of the difficulties associated with obtaining a visa, but everything is not as difficult as it seems.
Step one. Determine your chances of getting a visa
Before collecting documents for a visa, you should think about whether you have a reason for obtaining it. If you have a “clean passport”, no job, you are dependent, and in the USA you have a friend who invites you to visit, then the probability of getting a visa will be low.
If you have a job, movable and / or immovable property, family, children, stable income that could cover the costs of staying in the United States, then the probability of obtaining a visa is quite high.
Step two. International passport.
To travel to the United States, you must have a passport that will expire at least six months after your intended period of stay in the United States.
It is important to note that if you change your passport after obtaining a visa, you can enter the United States with a new passport and present the visa in your old passport.
The period of validity of a foreign passport must end no earlier than six months.
If you change your passport after obtaining a visa, then you can enter the United States with a new passport, with the presentation of a visa in the old one.
Step three. Determining the type of visa
Before collecting documents, you must clearly know the purpose of the trip and determine the type of visa that you are going to use.
There are immigrant visas (for those who want to permanently reside in the United States) and nonimmigrant (for temporary stay in the United States). The most popular visas are nonimmigrant.
Nonimmigrant visas are: tourist visas, business travel visas, work visas, student visas, exchange visas, transit visas, religious worker visas, domestic worker visas, and journalist and media worker visas.
Step four. Payment of consular fees
After you know exactly what type of visa you will be applying for, you need to pay the consular fee. The amount of the fee depends on the visa category.
It should be noted that the consular fee is not refundable. It is important to correctly fill out the receipt at the bank. Despite the fact that the amount of the contribution is indicated in US dollars, the fee will have to be paid in UAH.
After paying the fee, you will be given a receipt that will be valid for one year from the date the fee was paid. With this receipt, you will need to schedule your interview. It is not possible to change the name on the receipt or make any changes.
Step five. The photo
A U.S. visa requires a digital photograph taken within the past six months that meets the following requirements:
• the height of the head image should be 50-70% of the total height of the photograph;
• the photograph must be square;
• minimum resolution - 600 x 600 pixels, maximum resolution - 1200 x 1200 pixels
More information can be found on the US Department of State website: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/general/photos.html.
Step six. Filling out a visa application form
Perhaps filling out the DS-160 questionnaire is one of the most laborious procedures in the entire process of preparing documents. All questions must be answered in English, except for the column where you must enter your first and last name in your native language. But there is nothing difficult in filling out the questionnaire, therefore, if you do not speak English, use translation programs.
It should be noted that everyone who applies for a US visa must complete the DS-160 form, including the form for children.
The questionnaire must be completed on the official website of the US Department of State: https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/ and sent via the Internet.
Be sure to save and print the last confirmation page of your DS-160 with the barcode printed on it. Without this page, you will not be accepted for an interview at the embassy.
Step seven. Appointment for an interview
After paying the service fee and filling out the application form, you must create a profile in the system by going to the link: https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/?language=Russian&country=Ukraine. Once you fill in all the required fields and generate a password, you will have access to the system.
In the system, in the left tab there is an option "Appointment for an interview". Here you must provide the following information:
• your passport number;
• number of the receipt for the paid consular fee;
• barcode number of confirmation of the DS-160 questionnaire.
Here you can also fill in information about yourself, select a visa category, add other family members, select a method of delivery of documents, confirm payment of the consular fee, and schedule an interview.
Step eight. Collection of documents
Under US law, individuals who apply for a nonimmigrant visa must prove that they have close ties to their country of residence and intend to leave the United States after temporary stay in that country.
The documents confirming ties with the country of residence are: a certificate from work, an educational institution, a certificate of the presence of real estate, a marriage certificate, the birth of children, etc.
Step nine. Interview passing
Come to the embassy at your appointed date and time. The day before your interview day, check that you have all your paperwork.
How to behave in an interview:
• answer clearly and concisely;
• provide only those documents that you are asked to present;
• do not worry.
Step ten. Obtaining a visa
If the consul has decided to issue a visa, then later you will be sent a passport according to the delivery method specified in the system. If you are denied a visa, then you will receive your passport immediately after the interview.