A US visa in a passport is not as common as a Schengen visa. Accordingly, there are much more fears and questions concerning it.
The most popular type of visa is the B1/B2 visa, ie. visa for business and tourist trips. My solo travel blog will help you understand the main issues, decide on a trip, as well as learn on your own plan your travels 🙂
I share my experience and advice on how to get a US visa.
Step one
Elaboration of the route and selection of flights and hotels. It is the selection, but in no case booking and purchase. The strong recommendation of the US visa services (by the way, as well as the UK) is not to buy any tickets and not to pay for hotels until you are given a visa. Everyone here is well aware that tickets can be returned and hotel reservations can be canceled, so they do not require any confirmation of hotel reservations and itinerary receipts from you. But the questions in the questionnaire on this topic will be. Therefore, you need to pick up everything, but not buy anything.
step two
Take a photo and scan it. Current requirements can be found at this address http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ru_ru/ru-niv-photoinfo.asp
Step Three
Filling out an electronic questionnaire on the site https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/. To get started, you need to select a secret question and put in front of you all the available documents, including diplomas of education and a work book.
As you may have guessed, the questionnaire consists of a great variety of questions relating to all areas of your life. In fact, everything is not so difficult, just long and dreary. I just want to dwell on the issue of the host country in the United States. The question is worded in such a way that you must identify a person living in the United States who can confirm that you are you, or an organization that invites you. I indicated the organization, but experienced people told me that the answer to this question could simply be the data of the hotel where you are going to stay.
After you have answered all the questions, chosen the place of the interview, confirmed by pressing the appropriate button that you are of sound mind and sober memory, and all the information you provided is reliable, you can click the Submit button. You will then receive a confirmation by email. Here it is important to check all the specified information about the applicant, as well as the place of the interview. Pay attention to Confirmation No. – It will need to be indicated when registering for an interview. Read on for more tips on how to apply for a US visa!
Step Four
You pay a fee of 160 USD (if we are talking about a B1/B2 visa). You will receive a payment receipt by email. You will need this receipt number to book your interview – no payment, no interview.
Step five
Sign up for an interview at http://www.ustraveldocs.com. Register and select the “New appeal / Appointment for an interview” section. Then you answer all the questions of the system (type of visa, place of receipt, category of visa, Confirmation No. of your profile, etc.), select the date and time of the interview, enter the number of the payment receipt, sign up. You will then receive an email confirming your appointment for an interview.
Step Six
Passing the interview. On the appointed day and hour, in advance (15-20 minutes) you need to go to the place that you have chosen for the interview. You need to take as many documents about yourself as possible with you – not about the planned trip, but about yourself. These can be certificates of ownership (apartments, cars), advertising materials of the company where you work. It is difficult to say exactly what moments the employees of the consular services pay attention to. They ask someone a lot of questions, and then they refuse a visa, for someone – just a couple of questions and they give a visa. Your goal is to prove that everything is fine in your homeland, and you have nothing to immigrate to the USA for. Consular officers conducting interviews are specially trained, so you should not try to deceive them. I was interviewed for literally 5 minutes. Probably, the fact that over the past 3 years I have visited a couple of dozen countries still played a role. Although this is just my guess.
After the interview, the verdict is announced to you. If approved, you will be fingerprinted and given a reminder on how you can pick up your passport (although you choose the appropriate option at the interview registration stage).
In general, I will not hide The procedure for obtaining a visa to the United States is dreary and exciting, but it is not so scaryas we are accustomed to think of it.
And another very good point. Visas are opened for 2 years, and recently – even for 3 years. And, according to the current rules, when re-submitting, you no longer need to go for an interview – just submit documents. But I myself have not reached this point, so I will not write anything about this. Until I do.
I hope this post has brought you closer to understanding how to get a US visa on your own.
If you do not want to understand all these subtleties, then you can order a comprehensive trip planning from me 🙂
