US VISA

US VISA (As per ustraveldocs )

Visa Types

Overview

Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. Citizens of qualified countries may be able to visit the U.S. without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program. All travelers coming to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program must obtain authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) system prior to initiating travel to the United States.

If you do not qualify for the Visa Waiver Program (Note: Indian Nationals do not qualify for the Visa Waiver Program) or are traveling to study, work, participate in an exchange program, or any other purpose that does not fall under a B visa purpose of travel, you will need a nonimmigrant visa.

A visa does not guarantee entry to the United States. A visa simply indicates that a U.S. consular officer has determined that you are eligible to apply for entry to the United States for a specific purpose.

Nonimmigrant Visas

A nonimmigrant visa is used by tourists, business people, students, or specialty workers who wish to stay for a particular period of time in the United States to accomplish specific purposes. According to U.S. visa laws and regulations, most nonimmigrant visa applicants must demonstrate to the consular officer that they have strong ties to their country of residence and must show that they intend to depart the United States after their temporary stay.

Common Nonimmigrant Visas

• Business/Tourist Visa
• Work Visa
• Student Visa
• Exchange Visitor Visa
• Transit/Ship Crew Visa
• Religious Worker Visa
• Domestic Employee Visa
• Journalist and Media Visa
• A List of NIV Types

Apply for a Visa

Overview

Please confirm whether or not you need to apply for a visa. You may not need to apply for a new U.S. visa if you already hold a valid U.S. visa of the classification appropriate to your purpose of travel, or hold a passport eligible for travel under the Visa Waiver Program, or if you hold a Canadian passport.

If you do need to apply for a nonimmigrant visa, please follow the steps below.

Note: Children applying before their 14th Birthday or applicants applying on/after their 80th Birthday or if you previously received a U.S. visa that expired within the last 48 months or 12 months and you are returning to the United States for the same purpose of travel, you may be able to obtain a visa without coming to the consulate for an interview.

How to Apply

Step 1

For Nonimmigrant Visa applicants:

Determine your visa type by reading Common Nonimmigrant Visas. Each visa type explains the qualifications and application items. Choose the visa type that applies to your situation.

Be sure to also review the Visa Waiver Program.If your country participates in the Visa Waiver Program, you do not need to apply for a visa if you are travelling for business or pleasure and will only be staying in the Unites States for 90 days or less.

Step 2

The next step is to complete the Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application (DS-160) form.Be sure to read the Guidelines for Completing the DS-160 Form carefully. Note: If denied visa previously please complete a newNonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application (DS-160) form.

Step 3

Once you have determined the correct visa type and completed the DS-160, you must pay the visa fee. The visa fee pagelists the visa types and correlating visa fee in US dollars and native currency.

Step 4

You are almost ready to schedule your visa appointment ! Now you will need to loginto your profile with the same credentials you used to pay your visa fee. Once you are in the system, you will see your dashboard.

Click on Schedule Appointment on the left-hand side menu. This will start the process for scheduling your appointment.

• You must schedule two appointments, one for the Visa Application Center (VAC) and one for the visa interview at the Embassy or Consulate.
• First, schedule your visa interview appointment at the Embassy or Consulate.
• Second, schedule your appointment at an Visa Application Centre. This appointment will allow you to go to one of the five Visa Application Centre locations to have your fingerprints and photo taken. This appointment must be at least 1 day before your visa interview appointment at the Embassy or Consulate.

You will need three pieces of information in order to schedule your appointment:

• Your passport number
• The visa application fee receipt number.
• The ten (10) digit barcode number from your DS-160 confirmation page

As you go through the process you will be able to select your visa type, enter personal data, add dependents, select your document delivery location, confirm visa payment, and schedule your appointment.

Step 5

For your Visa Application Centre appointment, you will need to bring:

• A passport valid for travel to the United States with validity dates at least six months beyond your intended period of stay in the United States (unless country-specific agreements provide exemptions). If more than one person is included in your passport, each person desiring a visa must submit an application.
• Your DS-160 confirmation page.
• Your appointment confirmation page.
• One photograph as per U.S. visa specifications if the applicant is under 14 years of age .
• Step 6
  following your visit to the Visa Application Centre to have your photo and fingerprints taken, you will then visit the U.S. Embassy or Consulate on the date and time of your visa interview. You will need to bring:

• A printed copy of your appointment confirmation letter,
• Your DS-160 confirmation page stamped at the VAC
• Your current and all old passports,
• Supporting Documents as per your visa type

Applications without all of these items will not be accepted.

Note: Children under 14 years of age are not required to attend the appointment at the Visa Application Centre or visa interview at the Embassy/Consulate. Accompany/Guardians/Parents can carry the above documents.

Visa Fees

Visa applicants, including children, are required to pay a non-refundable, non-transferable visa application fee, sometimes referred to as the MRV fee, before applying for a nonimmigrant visa. The visa application fee must be paid whether a visa is issued or not. The type of visa for which you apply determines the fee amount. 

Exchange Rate

Current Consular Exchange Rate:

70.00 INR = 1 USD

Visa Types and Application Fee Amounts - Sorted by Visa Type

Visa Type	Description	Fee Amount (in USD)	Fee Amount (in INR)
B	Business/Tourist	$160	11200.00
C-1	Transit	$160	11200.00
D	Ship/Airline Crew	$160	11200.00
E	Treaty Trader/Investor, Australian Professional Specialty	$205	14350.00
F	Student (academic)	$160	11200.00
H	Temporary/Seasonal Workers and Employment, Trainees	$190	13300.00
I	Journalist and Media	$160	11200.00
J	Exchange Visitor	$160	11200.00
K	Fiancé(e) or Spouse of U.S. Citizen	$265	18550.00
L	Intracompany Transferees	$190	13300.00
M	Student (vocational)	$160	11200.00
O	Persons with Extraordinary Ability	$190	13300.00
P	Athletes. Artists & Entertainers	$190	13300.00
Q	International Cultural Exchange	$190	13300.00
R	Religious Worker	$190	13300.00
TN/TD	NAFTA Professionals	$160	11200.00

Visa Types and Conditions with No Fee Required

• Applicants for A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO, and diplomatic visas (as defined in 22 CFR 41.26)
• Applicants holding J visas and who are participating in certain official U.S. Government-sponsored educational and cultural exchanges
• Replacement of a machine-readable visa within one year of visa issuance, when the original visa was not properly affixed or the visa needs to be reissued through no fault of the applicant
• Applicants exempted by international agreement, including members and staff of an observer mission to United Nations Headquarters recognized by the UN General Assembly, and their immediate families
• Applicants traveling to provide certain charitable services
• U.S. Government employees traveling on official business
• A parent, sibling, spouse or child of a U.S. Government employee killed in the line of duty who is traveling to attend the employee's funeral and/or burial; or a parent, sibling, spouse, son or daughter of a U.S. Government employee critically injured in the line of duty for visitation during urgent treatment and convalescence

Other Fees

In some cases, additional visa fees are paid directly to the National Visa Center, to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or to the Department of Homeland Security,

• Nonimmigrant Visa Issuance ("Reciprocity") Fees
  Applicants from certain countries may be required to pay a visa issuance fee after their application is approved. These fees are based on "reciprocity" (what another country charges a U.S. citizen for a similar-type of visa). The United States strives to eliminate visa issuance fees whenever possible, however, when a foreign government imposes these fees on U.S. citizens for certain types of visas, the United States will impose a "reciprocal" fee on citizens of that country for similar types of visas.
• SEVIS Fees
  The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is an Internet-based system that tracks F, M and J visa participants (and their family members) from the time they receive their initial documentation (either an I-20 or a DS-2019) until they graduate/leave school or conclude/leave program.

F, M and J visa principal applicants: Check with your U.S. school to make sure your information has been entered into SEVIS. You will need to pay a separate SEVIS fee in addition to the visa application fee. For nonimmigrant students with Form I-20, the SEVIS fee is US$200. For most exchange visitors with Form DS-2019, the SEVIS fee is US$180. Proof of payment is required before your student or exchange visitor visa will be issued. Please bring your I-901 SEVIS fee receipt to your interview at the Embassy. Payment cannot be made at the Embassy or Consulate.

SEVIS Fee Exception

Applicants participating in a U.S. Government sponsored program (programs whose codes begin with G-1, G-2, G-3, G-7) are not required to pay the SEVIS fee.

• Blanket L Fees (Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee and Border Security Act Fee)
  The principal applicant of a blanket L petition must pay a Fraud Prevention and Detection fee and a public law fee for H&L category, either of US$500, as well as a Border Security Act fee of US$2,250 in certain circumstances. The U.S. petitioner pays the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee and Border Security fee for individual L and H-1B and H-2B petitions when the petition is filed with USCIS. These fees are to be paid at the Embassy/Consulates with a demand draft/cashier’s check.

DS-160 Information

Overview

Each applicant - including children - must have their own Form DS-160 visa application. The Form DS-160 must be completed and submitted online prior to your interview at the Embassy or Consulate. The barcode number on the Form DS-160 confirmation page is required in order to book your interview. The Form DS-160 must be submitted online and the printed confirmation page must be brought to the interview. The Embassy or Consulate will not accept handwritten or typed applications and you will not be permitted to attend your interview without a Form DS-160 confirmation page.

Note: When you sign your DS-160 electronically, you are certifying that all the information contained in it is true and correct. Misrepresenting any facts could render you ineligible to enter the United States. Please double-check that all your answers are accurate and that every question is answered completely.

Guidelines for Completing the Form DS-160

Complete and submit your Form DS-160 after reviewing the nonimmigrant visa application process. You must submit your DS-160 application online prior to making an appointment for an interview at the Embassy or Consulate.

• The interview Embassy/Consulate you select at the beginning of the Form DS-160 must be the same Embassy/Consulate where you schedule your interview appointment.
• All questions must be answered in English using English-language characters only, except when you are asked to provide your full name in your native alphabet.
• If you stop working on this application for more than 20 minutes, your session will expire. You will have to start over, unless you have recorded your Application ID Number or have saved your application to a file on your computer. Write down the Application ID displayed on the top right-hand corner of the page. If you need to close the browser before submitting your application, you will need this Application ID to continue your application.
• The completed DS-160 application form will generate an alpha-numeric barcode confirmation page. Print this page. The printed confirmation page is required for the appointment at the Visa Application Center and for the interview at the Embassy/Consulate.
• Once you have printed the barcode confirmation page, hit the "Back" button on your web browser and then email yourself a backup copy of the DS-160. The emailed file will be in PDF format.
• Photos and Fingerprints

When applying for a nonimmigrant visa, complete and submit the Form DS-160 online. Schedule an appointment for the Embassy/Consulate and the Visa Application Center. You will be fingerprinted and your photo will be captured when you arrive for your interview at the Visa Application Center.

Note: Children below 14 years of age are not required to be present at the Embassy/Consulate or Visa Application Center for the interview in person. Hence, Parents /Guardians should carry a hardcopy photograph of the child below 14 years of age at the Visa Application Center along with other supporting documents.

Visa Waiver Program

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business (visitor visa purposes) for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. Not all countries participate in the VWP, and not all travelers from VWP countries are eligible to use the program. VWP travelers are required to apply for authorization though the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), are screened at their port of entry into the United States, and are enrolled in the Department of Homeland Security’s US-VISIT program.

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