If you want to apply for a non-immigrant visa, you will need to fill out the so called Form DS-160. Under the umbrella of the temporary or non-immigrant visas, we find the fiancé visa (type K visas), the study visa (F-1) and, of course, the commonly called tourist visa (B-1/B-2).
Who needs to fill out the DS-160?
All visitors must complete the DS-160, including dependents of the primary applicant (spouse or children) when there is a primary applicant. If one of the visitors is under 16 years of age or physically incapable of completing and signing the form, the parent, legal guardian or any legitimately interested party (in the absence of the above) may complete and sign the form on behalf of the minor or physically incapable person, informing this circumstance in the appropriate field at the end of the form ("Preparer of Application").
The DS-160 must be completed and submitted electronically through the U.S. Department of State website (https://ceac.state.gov). Consular officers use the information contained in these forms along with the data collected during the consular interview to determine whether or not the applicant is eligible for a visa.
Firstly, it should be noted that the form must be filled out in English. No other language or the use of characters not included in the English language alphabet are permitted (with the exception of the characters used to inform the applicant's name when requested to inform it in your native language).
In any case, it is possible to obtain, at least, a translation of the questions into a differente language, simply by selecting the language of your choice in a menu in the upper right corner of the electronic DS-160 filling page.
When accessing the website https://ceac.state.gov, the applicant must indicate the location of the consulate where they wish to apply for the visa ("SELECT ONE" button below), fill in a "captcha" code provided and select the option "start an application". The other option, "retrieve an application" must be used to continue filling out an application that has already been started.
When clicking on the "start a new application" option, an application identification code will be generated ("application ID"): you must write down this code. Then, you must choose one of the suggested security questions and put in an answer (write down the answer). This information - along with the first 5 letters of your first surname and your year of birth - will allow you to access the form again to continue filling it out if you are unable to do so in one go (which is normally the case, considering the size of the form) or because you got disconnected.
In the section of the form called "Personal Information 1", you must fill in your name exactly as it appears on your passport, where "surnames" mean your family names and "given names" are the first names chosen by your parents.
"Telecodes" are four-digit numeric codes that represent characters in some names from alphabets other than the Roman derived ones... in other words, you will probably check the "no" option for the question regarding them.
When you finish filling out the first part of the form, you will be faced with two red- button options at the bottom of the form: "Save" and "Next".
An important distinction must be made here: if you click on "Next" your progress will be saved and you can pick up where you left off on another occasion if you wish, however, within a maximum period of 30 (thirty) days. If you need to access the form again after more than 30 days, you must choose the "Save" option and a copy of the form will be saved on your computer's hard disc.
In the part of the form called "Personal Information 2", where your National Identification Number is asked, you must fill in the most important number which distinguishes you as an individual in your country (photo above).
If you do not have a "US Social Security Number" or a US Taxpayer ID Number, which is often the case, Check the option "Does Not Apply" for the two fields mentioned.
In the section called "Travel Information", you will be required to choose the type of visa you are applying for in the "Purpose of Trip to the U.S" and "Specify" fields.
In the "Purpose of Trip to the U.S" field, you must select the option "Temp. Business Pleasure Visitor (B)", if you are applying for a tourist visa. If you are applying for the study visa (F), you must select the "Academic or Language Student (F)" option.
In the "Specify" field, just below, for the tourist visa, select option B1/B2, as show in the figure below (there is generally no advantage in applying for the B1 or B2 separately).
For the study visa, in the "Specify" field, select "Student F1", as shown in the figure below if you are the main visa applicant.
The next field worth noting is the one that asks whether the applicant has specific travel plans ("Have you made specific travel plans?"). If you select the option that says "no", you will only need to inform the likely date of arrival in the country and the likely period of stay.
If you select the option that says "yes", you will be forced to fill out the precise arrival and return dates, provide the names of the departure and arrival cities and even inform the flight number, if you know it. The applicant also needs to list the places they intend to visit in the USA.
So as to make a more accurate prediction of your travel date, be sure to take into account the waiting time for the consular interview. "How?", you might be asking as we only schedule the interview on the consulate website after filling out the DS-160.
It turns out that the US Department of State, through its Bureau of Consular Affairs, offers a very accurate forecast of the interview waiting time for the different types of visas ("Visa Appointment Wait Times") in the different consulates.
You can easily access this information through the following link: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html
In the field indicated above, you must fill in the city of the consulate you wish to look up and you will obtain the estimated waiting time for the interviews related to the tourist visa (Visitor Visa), student / exchange visitor visas, and other temporary visas (All Other Nonimmigrant Visas), in that order.
Moving along, now, the applicant must inform who will pay for the trip ("Person / Entity paying for your trip"). If you are paying for your trip yourself, you must select the "SELF" option. On the other hand, if someone is sponsoring your trip, you must specify the person's name, telephone number, address and the type of relationship this person has with you (brother, friend, father, etc.).
In the next section of the form that talks about "Travel Companions information", you must inform whether you are traveling alone or with someone else. If you are traveling with someone, you must specify the person's name, surname and the type of relationship you have with this person.
If you wish to schedule a single consular interview for your entire family, it is especially important to list everyone at this time.
Below, you must inform whether you are traveling with other people as part of a group or organization ("Are you traveling as part of a group or organization?"). If you are just traveling with family and friends you should check "no". The groups or organizations to which this field refers are those relating to excursions, groups of athletes, etc.
The section of the DS-160 called "Previous U.S. Travel Information" is where the applicant must inform all trips they have ever made to the USA, specifying the corresponding entry dates and periods of stay. The applicant must also inform whether they have already had a "U.S Driver's License".
Still in this section, you need to say if you ever had an American visa, if you have lost or had one stolen, if your visa has ever been canceled or revoked. Likewise, you must inform if you have ever been denied a visa or been denied entry into the U.S. or if you have ever withdrawn your application for entry at a port of entry. The reason must be informed for each of these instances.
To better understand how it is possible to be denied entry to the USA despite having a valid visa, read this post:https://www.vistoamericano.blog/post/posso-ter-minha-entrada-barrada-nos-eua-mesmo-depois-de-já-ter-conseguido-o-visto-no-consulado
The last situation above talks about the hypothesis in which the traveler, upon arriving at a port of entry in the U.S., and realizing that he is about to be deported, asks the immigration officer to withdraw his entry request. If the official accepts the withdrawal, the traveler will not suffer the consequences of a deportation: it is as if he were returning "of his own free will".
In the last question of the "Previous U.S. Travel Information" section, the applicant must inform whether anyone has ever applied for a permanent visa ("immigrant petition") on their behalf with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.
In the next section entitled "Address and Phone Information", the applicant must provide their full address, and specify whether their mailing address is the same as the residential address.
You must also provide all your telephone numbers, email addresses and provide the usernames of all the accounts you may have on social media.
The next section - "Passport Information" - is where the applicant must provide all the information related to their passport. After you enter your passport number, you will come across a field that can cause some confusion. The field asks you to enter a special type of number associated with your passport called "Passport Book Number". The form page itself defines this number as an "inventory control number". If the passports in your country do not have this special control number, check the option "Does not apply".
The next section is called "U.S. Point of Contact Information". This is information refers to a person in the United States who knows you and can verify your identity, if necessary.
If you don't know anyone, you can check the option that says "Do Not Know" and fill in the field below, called "Organization Name", with the name, address, telephone and email of any store, business or organization you plan to visit during your trip.
We recommend filling in this field with information about the hotel you plan to stay at even if you haven't made reservations yet. In this case, where you are asked what type of relationship this organization has with you ("Relationship to You"), select the "OTHER" option.
Next, in the Section called "Family Information: Relatives", the applicant must provide complete information regarding their biological or adoptive parents, including whether or not they are living in the USA.
Below, you must inform whether you have "immediate" relatives, not including your parents, in the United States. The form itself delimits the concept of "immediate relatives", defining them as fiancé(e), husband / wife, son/daughter or brother/ sister. If this is your case, you must provide complete data relating to them.
Next, if you have marked in the "Personal Information 1" section that you are married, divorced, live in a domestic partnership (Domestic Partnership / Civil Union), are separated from your partner or are a widower, you must provide complete information on your spouse, ex-husband or ex-wife, partner, ex-partner or deceased spouse.
Next, we come to a section of the form called "Present Work/Education/Training Information", where you are required to inform your current occupation - it doesn't matter if you are working or studying - briefly describing your activities, as well as providing the address and telephone number for the company/educational institution. If working is your main occupation, you must also inform your salary in your local currency. If studying is your main occupation, you must mark "Does Not Apply" in the salary field.
In the following section, called "Previous Work/Education/Training Information", the applicant must inform whether they worked previous to their current job. If you select "yes", you must provide your professional history for the last 5 years - excluding information relating to your current job, which has already been required in the previous section - including the name and surname of the supervisor in each job.
Note that this is not about listing the jobs you have had over the last 5 years, but rather providing information on your last 5 years of employment / work. In other words, if there is a gap between your current and previous jobs, you might have to go as far back as you need (10 years, for example) to collect that information. If you have never worked, you must select the "no" option.
Right below, you will inform whether you have attended any secondary level educational institution or higher. As to the field called "Course of Study", in the case of primary or secondary education, you must fill in "Academic" or "Vocational" (the latter for specialized technical education"). In the case of higher education or postgraduate courses, you must specify your area of study.
"Additional Work/Education/Training Information" section. In this section, the applicant must answer whether they belong to a clan or tribe, specify the languages they speak, and whether they have traveled to other countries in the last 05 years. If you select "yes" for this last question, you must inform whether you have resided in any other country for 6 months or more since reaching the age of 16. Then, you must answer whether you have ever contributed or worked for any professional, social or charitable organization.
The next field in this section asks whether the applicant has any specialized training or skills related to weapons, explosives, nuclear, biological or chemical devices.
In the next field, you must answer whether you have ever served in the military.
Finally, the last field asks whether the applicant has ever served or been a member of a paramilitary unit, vigilante unit, rebel group, guerrilla group or insurgent organization. If you're not Rambo, answer "no."
If you are applying for a tourist visa (B-1/B-2), the next is the last section of the form you need to fill out. The section is titled "Security and Background" and is made up of 5 parts. The questions that compose it aim to identify, among other things, whether the applicant has already violated immigration laws, whether he has diseases that threaten public health, whether he is addicted to drugs, whether he intends to become a prostitute or commit acts of espionage or sabotage. Furthermore, the applicant will be asked if he has ever engaged in terrorist activities or has committed crimes such as genocide, trafficking people, organs, recruiting child soldiers, etc.
If you are applying for the B-1/B-2 visa, skip straight to the DS-160 review section called "Application Review". Click here: Application Review.
F, M and J visa applicants should proceed to the next section called "Additional Point of Contact Information".
In this section, you must provide the name, address, telephone number and e-mail of 02 (two) people in your country of residence who can confirm the information contained in your form. None of your family members can be listed here. The people you choose cannot have a P.O box or hire any company service of the same kind.
The next section is called "SEVIS Information". Initially, the applicant must fill in the "SEVID ID" (Your personal identification number in the SEVIS system).
Your "SEVIS ID" is provided by the educational institution when it approves your I-20 application and registers you in the SEVIS system. Obtaining the I-20 is the first step in applying for an F1 study visa at the American consulate. Without the I-20, you cannot complete the DS-160.
Make sure you enter your SEVIS personal identification number, and not the school/university's SEVIS code (which is also reported on the I-20).
In the subsequent fields, the applicant must inform the name of the school/university, the course of study, and the full address of the educational institution.
In the case of high school, you must fill in the "Course of Study" field with "Academic" or "Vocational" (the latter for specialized technical education). For other educational activities, you must specify your area of study.
Application Review
At this point, there is nothing left to fill out. The applicant should only review the information contained in the form in the section entitled "Application Review".
There is the possibility of editing the information that needs to be corrected by clicking on a button called "edit" next to the desired field.
At this stage, you also have the option to print the DS-160 form, section by section, by clicking the "print" button. We recommend that you actually take the opportunity to print PDF copies of the form because, once you sign and submit the DS-160, the applicant will only have access to the confirmation page.
It is worth mentioning that PDF form pages cannot be taken to the interview.
For the interview, the applicant must take the confirmation page ("Confirmation") / (Example photo below).
After reviewing all the information on the form, the applicant will be directed to the last step of the DS-160: "Sign and Submit". In the first field, "Preparer of Application", the applicant must answer whether anyone helped him fill out the form. If you are filling out the form as the guardian of a minor under 16, you must select "yes" and enter your details in the new field that will open.
The last field is called "E-Signature". It is the field in which the applicant asserts, under penalty of perjury according to the laws of the United States, that everything reported is correct and true.
In the "Enter your Passport / Travel Document Number" field, the applicant must enter their passport number.
In the "Enter the Code as shown" field, the applicant must enter the code that appears in the box next to it.
Finally, click on the button called "Sign and Submit Application" to sign and submit the form.
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