What is a nonimmigrant visa?

A nonimmigrant visa is placed in your passport and grants you permission to travel to the United States temporarily. Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to travel to the United States must apply for and obtain a U.S. visa that fits the purpose of his or her trip. For example, a foreign citizen who wants to vacation at Disney World will need a B-1/B-2 visitor visa to travel to the United States.

Many foreign citizens already residing in the United States may also need a visa to return to the United States after international travel. For example, an F-1 student who recently changed status to an H-1B worker while in the United States may work and remain in the United States for the duration printed on their approval notice, but if the H-1B worker Now you want to return to your home country to visit your family, you will need to apply for an H-1B visa to return to the United States and resume work under H-1B status.

There are exceptions to the visa requirements for Canadians and other foreign citizens who are eligible for visa waiver programs. You should speak to your immigration attorney if you have questions about whether you need a visa to travel.

What are the steps to apply for a visa?

There are two steps in the visa process:

STEP 1 – Complete a DS-160 visa application online.

The DS-160 is an online form used to apply for temporary US visas, including B-1/B-2, H-1B, and K (fiancee) visas, to name a few. Each nonimmigrant visa applicant, including his or her spouse and children, must complete a separate DS160 online nonimmigrant visa application. Applicants can access Form DS-160 through this website: https://ceac.state. gov/genniv/

Some important reminders:

• You must be prepared to provide personal and biographical information (for example, passport, address, travel, work and education information), and you may also be asked to upload a passport-sized photo as part of this process.
• The Department of State has a helpful Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section with information about the types of documents needed for the form, which can be found here.
• You can access the application questions in different languages ​​by selecting a language at the top right of the website where it says “select tooltip language.” If you select a language other than English, clicking on any sentence will automatically translate it for you. Please note that the application must be completed in English.
• When you initiate Form DS-160, the website will provide you with an application ID. You should print or save it so you can access it easily.
• The government website can be difficult to navigate and is often down, so you'll want to click the “save” button very often, so your answers aren't lost if you log out.
• The DS-160 application is automatically deleted if it is not accessed for 30 days, so you will want to set a calendar reminder to access your DS-160 application every few weeks if you cannot complete it immediately.
• Once you have completed Form DS-160, you should save your DS-160 Confirmation as you will need it for your visa interview appointment.

STEP 2 – Schedule and attend your visa appointment. Once you have submitted your DS-160 application, you will need to schedule a nonimmigrant visa appointment with a U.S. embassy or consulate. There are three different systems for booking nonimmigrant visa appointments:

• usatraveldocs.com
• https://ais.usvisa-info.com
• https://www.usvisascheduling.com/

The country where you are applying for a visa will determine which system you use to schedule your appointment. Many consular offices in Central America, South America and Africa use the website https://ais.usvisa-info.com, while offices in India, Australia, Japan and South Korea use https://www. usvisascheduling.com website. To determine which system to use to schedule your appointment, you must visit the U.S. embassy or consulate's website, which usually links to the appropriate scheduling system.

To schedule your appointment through one of these websites, you will need to create an account, log in, select the appropriate visa category, and then pay the nonimmigrant visa application fee. Visa fees vary depending on the visa category applied for. Once you have paid the fee, you should be able to select your visa appointment date and time. Each consular office will have different wait times for visa appointments, which can range from a few days to over a year. If your trip is urgent and there are no appointments available online, you may be able to request an expedited appointment. While many consular offices require visa applicants to attend an interview in person, there are some postings where applicants can skip the interview altogether.

The last step in most visa travel is to attend the visa interview. Be sure to carefully review the instructions and list of required documents provided by the consular office for your interview. The embassy or consulate website usually has a list to help prepare applicants. Once your visa is issued, you are allowed to travel to the United States and be admitted to the state listed on the visa.

This brochure is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should not act or rely on any information in this booklet without seeking the advice of a competent, licensed immigration attorney.

For more information about how this might apply to your case, contact your immigration attorney or find an immigration attorney at https://www.ailalawyer.org/