Non Immigrant Visa

Millions of individuals every single year travel to the United States for a variety of reasons including for work, school, or simply for a vacation. Although these are all wonderful reasons to travel to the United States, it is very important before doing so, that you ensure your eligibility by having all of the necessary documentation. Individuals who wish to travel to the United States for tourism purposes need to apply for Non-Immigrant Visa DS-160. To travel to United States as a visitor you need demonstrate your intent is for temporary purposes and able to take care of your expenses for the trip. If you are unable to support yourself during your trip than as the visitor you must provide affidavit support and relevant documents from the relative or friend in the U.S.

Citizens of some countries may not need visitor or business visa, as they may qualify for visa waiver program. These individuals qualifyas long as the terms of non-immigrant visa have not been violated in the past such overstaying their welcome stay. These countries include:

Visitor Visa Documents for United States

The mandatory documents include:

• Your current valid passport and old passports –for most individuals the passport has to be valid for 6 months while some countries are exempt from this rule and their passport has to be valid up to their period of stay in the United States. One blank page must be available.
• One Passport size picture- cannot be older than 6 months and must be in colour
• Your online confirmation page of DS-160 with CEAC bar code
• Visa fee receipt
• Original appointment interview letter

Other Documents

• Purpose of travel
• How long you remain to stay in the United States
• Prove that you will go back to your home country once your visa expires
• Able to support yourself during your time of stay
• Copy of your travel itinerary
• Bank statements
• Property you own
• Employment or professional documents
• Family documents
• Travel history
• Travel documents

For the immigration officer to issue a visitor visa for United States, you have to make clear indication that you are only coming for temporary purposes and will exit once your visa expires. For example, if you are student and like to travel to USA for tourism purposes the immigration officer will know that as student you may not be able to provide most of the documents. So during the interview the officer will focus on the credibility and not the documents presented. They understand that young individuals may not be able to provide ties to their home country. In such cases the immigration officer may rely on the applicants grades or status, long term plans, parents status, prospects in home country, previous travel history etc.

Can I travel to United States if I don’t have sufficient funds?

If you are travelling to USA and you do have sufficient funds to support yourself during your time of stay, you must present credible evidence that you will be will be supported by family or friend in USA. The sponsoring person needs to send all original documents to the applicant and not to the consulate office. The applicant will then submit all documents together with their application. Some of these documents include:

• Form I-134 Affidavit of support form (in this form you will be indicating you are able to support the persons you are inviting to USA as a visitor). You must use separate form for each person, even though some consulates like to have one I-134 but it is better to be safe and just submit separate forms. It does not need to get notarized
• Employment letter from your employer that will state date you were employed, your salary, full-time or part-time position, temporary or permanent position
• Pay stubs- 3 to 4 should be sufficient
• Letter from the bank that will show when you open your account, how much you have deposited in the past year, present balance, last year balance
• Bank statements from last 6 months- there is no specific amount how much you should have but having $5000 at least is recommended. How much you have to show also depends on how long you plan to visit for.
• Letter to the consulate that will explain that you will take care of your friend or family personal expenses. This should be addressed to the consular that your friend or relative will be visiting at
• Invitation letter that will explain on how you will accommodate them in your house and tourist place
• Income tax documents – copy of last three years of your income tax, if you did not file your taxes explain why you have not, if you are self-employed include self-employed schedules with income tax returns or financial records or business accounts
• Identity , legal and relationship documents

Can I be Denied Entry to USA for past Criminal Record?

There are many reasons you can be denied entry to USA these include:

• Have health inadmissibility (communicable disease)
• Possession of or trafficking in a controlled substance
• Participating in terrorism or terrorist organization (waivers are not issued for this category)
• Money laundering
• Overstayed welcome stay in the past
• Not meeting financial requirements
• Misrepresentation
• Prostitution
• Fraud
• Manslaughter

Contact Akrami & Associates

If you are looking to travel to USA as visitor and need assistance with obtaining your non-immigrant visa then contact us today for more information. Akrami & Associates has assisted many foreign travellers and we can definitely assist you too.

With Akrami & Associates there is always a way!!