How to apply for a U.S. tourist visa?

The steps for applying for a U.S. visa include: filling in the application form, purchasing visa fees, preparing visa materials, making an appointment online, and interviewing according to the appointment time.

Fill in the form

DS-160 online visa application

1. On the first page of the form, please select "Chinese" in the language window in the upper right corner . In this way, when you hover the mouse over each question in the English form, the form will automatically display the corresponding Chinese translation.

2. When you click the "Start Application" button to enter the next page, please select "Beijing, China" as your application place.

3. Please note: This form requires you to fill in your name in your native language. You can use Chinese characters to fill in your name. In addition, all content must be completed completely in English.

4. When filling out the form, please keep saving it to a USB flash drive or computer. After completing the form, please save it to a USB flash drive or CD for easy portability.

5. If you have ever gone by another name, select "Yes" when answering the question "Have you ever gone by another name?" and enter your first and last name. If your name consists of two Chinese characters, there must be a space between the two characters.

6. When selecting a travel purpose, F2, M2, J2, L2 and H4 applicants should select F1, M1, J1, L1 and H1 respectively according to the main applicant’s visa type. 7. If you have been to the United States before, please fill in your previous visa number in the designated area (red 8-digit number at the bottom right of the previous visa).

Preparation materials

1. Valid personal passport (more than six months before the expected return date), the last page of the passport must be signed;

2.2*2 2 inches (approximately 51 mm * 51 mm) square color bareheaded photos, signed in pencil on the back (recent photos taken within three months, with a white background);

3. If the visa applicant If you have ever left the country, you need to provide photos taken in the country you are visiting (the person must be in the photo, and there are local landmark buildings);

4. ID card, work permit, marriage certificate and the whole family Copies of all pages of the household register (if the couple is not in the same household register, a copy of all pages of the other spouse's household register is required);

5. A copy of the business license or business license (or organization code certificate) Copy, stamped with official seal;

6. Brief introduction of the unit (time of establishment, nature, scale, products, benefits, etc.), 4 business cards;

7. Employment certificate issued by the company Certificate (printed in Chinese and English, or blank letterhead with official company letterhead and official seal, printed by our company); if the applicant is a child under 18 years old, please provide school leave approval certificate;

< p>8. Registration form (registration form, family form, education and employment details form);

9. Bank statement certificate for the past six months

Submit photos

US passport applicants need to submit 2 identical photos, and US visa applicants only need to submit one. Photos must meet the following basic requirements, otherwise the application will not be accepted.

1. The photo must be taken within 6 months

2. The photo size is 2x2 inches (approximately 5x5 cm)

3. The applicant’s head Vertical dimensions must be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (approximately 2.5-3.5 cm)

4. Photos must be on a white background.

5. You must face the camera and expose your ears.

The photo of each passport or visa applicant must be an unframed frontal photo. "Front-facing" photos refer to applicants facing the camera when taking photos. Applicants cannot look down or squint, and their face must account for 50% of the entire photo. Although it is difficult to strictly define "face" due to differences in hairstyles or headscarves (see discussion below), in general it refers to the applicant's head, including face and hair, top and bottom from crown to chin, left and right To the hairline on both sides. It would be better if the ears are exposed. The key requirement is that the applicant can be clearly identified by photograph.

The size of the photo is 2x2 inches (a square with a side of approximately 50 mm), with the avatar in the center. The head (from top of head to chin) is between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (i.e. 25 mm to 35 mm), and the distance from the eyes to the bottom of the photo is 1 1/8 inches to 1 3/8 inches ( i.e. 28mm to 35mm). Must be a color or black and white photo with a white background. Photos should be without borders. The photo should be stapled or affixed to the DS-82 (PDF-303KB) or DS-11 (PDF-380KB) (U.S. Passport Application) form, or the corresponding DS-156 (Nonimmigrant Visa Application) (PDF-159KB) on the form. If the photo is bound, the nails must be as far away from the applicant's face as possible. Photos with cluttered backgrounds, patterns or patterns, or dark colors will not be accepted.

Visa Appointment

Starting from July 16, 2012, in addition to providing the visa fee receipt number, passport number, ID number, and contact information when making an appointment with the U.S. Embassy, ??you also need to provide Provide the form number of the visa application form DS-160.

This is another measure taken by the U.S. Embassy to limit the number of U.S. visa appointments and limit the time to make visa appointments in advance after requiring the visa fee receipt number to be provided when making an appointment. This means that visa applicants need to make an appointment before Complete the DS-160 visa application form before the deadline, and no changes can be made to the details of the form such as the school you are admitted to. Because if the form information changes, the form number will change accordingly, and the original appointment will become invalid. This will cause certain difficulties for visa applicants to agree on the ideal visa time in advance.

Due to the first-come-first-served system in the United States, experts recommend that students prepare application materials as early as possible under the guidance of authoritative study abroad experts, submit applications at the best time from September to October, and receive their admission notice as soon as possible. , get the I20, confirm the intended school, and quickly provide accurate and confirmed visa form information that will not be changed to avoid unnecessary trouble.

In order to ensure a smooth trip, please try to make a visa appointment in advance (it is recommended to apply 4 to 6 weeks in advance). To make an appointment, you only need to provide copies of your passport and ID card, and whether you have applied for that type of visa before. US visa, when and where was it issued? The invitation letter and other materials must be accurately and completely delivered to the embassy or consulate no later than 1 week before the interview.

The embassy stipulates that you need to pay the visa fee and buy an appointment card before you can make an appointment, so if you confirm the offer, you need to pay a fee of 1,200 yuan.

Special reminder: Please do not issue a ticket if the visa result has not been confirmed, otherwise all consequences will be borne by the applicant.

Embassy Interview

When entering the U.S. Embassy, ??you will have to enter the relevant fingerprints and wait in line for the interview.

The interview time is generally very short, and the questions are only 4.5 questions. The specific questions will be based on the form you filled out.

Visa interview questions generally include:

1. Why are you going to the United States?

2. Where do you plan to go? How long will it take to go? When will you return home?

3. Where do you work? What is the position? How many years have you been working? How much is the monthly salary?

4. Are you married? Where do you live? What do your parents do? Still working?

5. Have you been abroad before? Where have you been?

6. Do you have any acquaintances in the United States? If so, I would ask him when he went there? How did you meet? Do you have her visa?

The main concerns of the visa officer during the visa interview are

1) Will you come back to the United States

2) Do you have other intentions

So when you meet the visa officer, you must show your confidence, don’t speak softly, and make people feel that you are confident. You must not let him feel that your going abroad will pose a security problem to the United States. When applying for a visa, you can think about whether you look confident. If you were a visa officer, would you consider this person reliable? Confidence is the most important thing! It shouldn’t be difficult to speak Chinese confidently, right?

If successful, you will be given a note asking you to go through the mailing procedures and collect your passport.

If the visa is refused, a refusal letter will be sent to you.

In addition to the clearly required documents, the last type of supporting documents is where many applicants are confused. Therefore, we often see some applicants bringing a stack of various documents to the interview. In fact, it is completely unnecessary. According to U.S. law, all foreigners applying to travel to the United States are by default deemed to have immigration intentions, and the purpose of providing materials is to overturn this presumption, so all your preparations should be centered around this purpose.

In general, only by presenting documents that are economically, socially, familial or otherwise binding on the applicant can the applicant convince the visa officer that he or she intends to return to China after a short stay in the United States. Due to different personal circumstances, the evidence that applicants should produce will also vary. The following documents can help the visa officer evaluate whether you intend to return to China: household register, ID card, employment certificate, pay stub that objectively reflects your monthly income, bankbook with normal and regular deposit and withdrawal records, etc. The latter two can also prove your financial ability to complete the trip to the United States. Many people will choose to provide a certificate of deposit. This is actually a misunderstanding. For the visa officer, the certificate of deposit can only prove your financing ability, not your consumption ability. In comparison, the latter is more convincing.

Finally, applicants are particularly reminded that a tourist visa to the United States is only a basic threshold. Your final entry depends on whether you can pass the inspection set up by the U.S. authorities at U.S. Customs. People often tell you that applying for a visa is easy, but when you arrive at the airport in the United States, you will encounter detailed and lengthy inspections. Therefore, when applying for a visa, it is recommended to select some important contents and carry them with you, which will help you get through customs quickly even if you encounter excessive inspections.