An International Student’s Guide to Assist Parents Applying for a Visitor Visa
Generally , in America, the winter semester ends in December and the one month holiday starts. For many international students, they prefer to have a vacation because winter internships are difficult to find. As a one year program graduate student, I prefer to arrange a vacation for my parents in America, since it is unwise to make that schedule in summer when we need to take every minute to find a job. If you are also planning to spend the winter holiday with your parents in America, it is time for you to start for visitor visa application.
A visitor visa or tourist visa is also known as B1-B2 or B2 visa in the USA. The maximum length of stay in the USA on a visitor visa can be six months or less. An extension to the maximum of six months may be possible which is subject to approval. To request an extension, you will need to submit a visitor visa extension application to USCIS with fee.
Preparation List:
- A valid passport that does not expire prior to six months of your intended stay.
- Printout of your confirmation page from the form DS-160.
- Fee receipt.
- One photograph for visa application.
- Visa interview appointment letter.
- Other supporting documents to show your ties with your home country. Including:
1) Evidence of sufficient funds for the visit to US (bank statement and properties etc.)
2) Verification letter of employment.
3) Running any business or organization.
4) Tax ID, PAN ID, and last year’s tax-related documents.
5) Family bindings
Steps for Applying American Visitor Visa
- A digital photograph of each applicant.
Requirements:
- Digital photograph must be square.
- Minimum dimensions must be 600px by 600px. But cannot larger than 1200px by 1200px.
- Must be in color (24 bits per px).
- Must in the JPEG format.
- File size of the image must be less than or equal to 240 kilobytes.
- Complete online visitor visa application form DS160
- Pay the visitor visa application fee . And must take an appointment within a year for the visa interview.
- Take appointment for visa interview.
- Visitor Visa Fingerprinting at Visa Application Center .Depending on the policy in different countries, the fingerprinting can be collected with the visa interview or individually take an appointment before the interview at the consulate .
- Go for visa interview at designated US consulate.
