B2 Visitor Visa Complete Guide

Recently I was working on getting Visitor Visa, B2, for my parents and even though there are many blogs, forums and other websites available which are really helpful, I did realize that at every place, you will be left out wanting more information and details of the documents required to successfully get the Visa.

I did my homework in following all the steps and collecting all the necessary documents, but to tell you the truth, I literally got tired in order to find the details by going from one  place to another and I am sure many of you guys also feel the same. All of us do wish about having a place  which can be considered as the "Complete Guide" for obtaining the visa.

Now since I am done with the entire process and everything, thought it will be a good idea to list down the various steps i underwent as it might help some of the folks who want to invite their parents/relatives to visit the United States of America.

Before I started the actual process I created a checklist of what all documents I will be needing: both sponsor  & visitor related documents. I know probably I over did the preparation, but I am always a believer of the saying "Better be over prepared than under prepared" as it wont hurt if you have too many documents, but it might hurt you badly if you miss just that one "particular" document. And I am sure nobody wants to go to the embassy the 2nd time as it is one heck of a thing, to travel, wait in the queue and then once your number comes, all you hear is "I am sorry, you don't have 'this' document, please come again once you have it". Alas, the embassy people are not courteous enough to tell you about "that" document, but instead they will just say "We can't grant you visa this time. Status: 'Rejected' ".

Lets cut the crap and come to the point on what "all" documents one needs to collect/prepare to have an edge over the success. I am listing down my checklist one by one.

I organized all my documents into 4 main categories:

I. Sponsor Documents:

As the name suggests, this category of documents are relevant to the sponsorship of the visa, which is you.  

•  Invitation Letter 

Prepare your invitation letter as authentic & simple as possible.  

• Letter to Consulate

Your letter to the Consulate should be brief and to the point. Its always a good practice to provide a list of Enclosures you are attaching for the ease of the Officer. 

• Affidavit of support

The first step in starting the process is to fill out the I-134 form, also known as the Affidavit of support form I-134. 1 form needs to be filled per traveler. IMMIHelp has a very good Step by Step Guide for filling this form.

• Proof of Status

Copy of your visa(H1, L1 etc) approval form, I-797.

• Passport Copy

Complete copy of your Passport. Will advice to include even the blank pages. 

• Proof of Residency

Copy of your I-94 form. 

• Birth Certificate

Copy of your Birth Certificate. 

Proof of Employment

If you are working on any Non-Immigrant visa, you need to provide a Proof of Employment. Most of the companies are already aware of it, so all you need to do is, call/email your HR department and they should be able to provide you one on the Official letter pad.

Pay stubs

Get copies of last 6 pay stubs. This is to show that you did had a full time job. For most of us working on Visa in USA, ADP iPay is the place to get these.

Bank A/c verification letter

In order to further prove that you can support the trip of your Parents/Relativies/Friends, you need to obtain a letter from the bank which should have the following fields in it:

1. Date Account was opened.
2. Average Yearly Balance.(Some people also say its enough to get average half-yearly balance)
3. Current Balance
4. Account Number(Banks are intelligent enough to provide only the last 4 digits, they mask the remaining ones)
5. Types of Account(One should include all the types of account you hold as it will help in increasing the overall Balance) 

• Bank Statement

Last 6 months bank statement is enough. the main purpose of this document is to prove that you were employed during that period and your balance curve was going north. 

• W2 Form

Copies of your last 2-3 W2 forms. Again, if you don't have it handy, you can always get it from ADP iPay.

• Tax Return Documents

Copies of your last 2-3 Tax Return forms. State Tax forms are not required, only Federal.

II. Visitor Documents:

If both the parents are applying for the visa, I will suggest to break it down further into 3 categories. Depending on whether  both the parents are working or not, you will be required to collect the documents accordingly. Below is the scenario where only Father works whereas Mother is a Homemaker.

• Cover Letter

Its a good idea to have a cover letter prepared as it will give the consular a little bit of idea about the person who he/she is interviewing for the visa. This is specially more helpful if the parents have interview not in English as most of the people at the consulate will be american.

• Visa Application form

This form is also called the DS-160 form which needs to be filled electronically. One form needs to be filled per person. The complete Step-By-Step Process to fill the DS-160 form is documented in IMMIHelp. It will be advisable to collect all the various information in an excel sheet or something similar before you start filling the form. I used the following Data Sheet to collect all the info.

• Visa Fee Receipt

One of the most important document. This receipt will be given by the bank once you have submitted the fees for the visa.

• Visa Interview Letter

This is another one of the most important documents which the parents must carry. The steps for obtaining the Visa Interview letter are:

1. Creation of Profile on the http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-niv-visapay.asp
2. Visa fee submission at bank or online (NEFT)
3. Obtaining the interview slots from the http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-niv-visapay.asp Website for OFC & Consular interview.
4. Printing the Appointment Confirmation letter. They will also send a copy to the registered email ID which you have used earlier.

The complete step by step details for scheduling the interview are listed on IMMIHelp.

• Passport Copy

Passport Size Photo

US passport size photo. The complete details about the technical specs of the passport are listed nicely on the IMMIHelp website. Even though only 1 photo is required, its advisable to carry atleast 2 just in case.

III. Supporting Documents:

The purpose of these supporting documents is to make your case even stronger. If the parents are still working, these documents are as good as nothing but may come in handy in case the parents have already retired. As I said above, its better to be over prepared then under prepared. 

Personal Affidavit

This document gains more importance if the parents are self sponsoring their trip, but getting one created as part of the documentation wont hurt at all. The personal Affidavit needs to be Notarized and most probably they will be printed on a bond paper. I sent 1 form each for my parents which were simply copied on the Bond papers before the notary. 

• NOC Certificate

If the parents are working, its advisable to collect a No-Objection-Certificate from the Organization as it will simply make the case more stronger.

• Leave Sanction Letter

A letter from the Organization stating that they are fine with the parents travelling to US between so and so date. This is only applicable to the parents who are still working.

• Paystubs

Recent pay stubs of the parents, if at all possible. Even a statement from the bank passbook showing the amount entered in last couple of months as part of the salary will do.

• Employment Letter

A letter from the organization stating the term of the service, the start date of the service and any other relevant information which can establish that the person in question indeed works at that organization.

• Tax Returns

Last 2-3 years tax return documents.

• Bank A/c Statements

Last 5-6 months of Bank A/c statements. If more than 1 a/c is held in more than 1 bank, it will be a good idea to produce one from each bank. This document is more relevant if the parents are self sponsoring the trips but again, it wont hurt to have it handy just in case.

• Other official documents

If the parents hold any other form of official financial documents viz NSC certificate, life insurance etc, better include them as part of the documentation as they might come handy if the consular asks for proving finanacial stability of the parents.

• PAN Card Copy

Photo copy of the PAN card to establish identity.

• Property Photo

Carry atleast 3-4 photos of any property(house) if you have. It should be used as a supporting documents if questions are asked.

Property Documents

A photocopy of the various property documents. It should be used as a supporting documents if questions are asked. 

Family Photo

Family photo is used for establishing the fact that parents do have other relatives aka family members and have all the reasons to return back.

Parents Marriage Certificate

If parents have one, well and good, if not, still no reason to hit the panic button. Marriage photo, invitation card will also do. If you have enough time, ask your parents to get the marriage certificate from the court which usually takes around 3 weeks.

• Kids Marriage Certificate(If any)

This is another supporting document which can be used for establishing the fact that the parents will return once the trip is over.

• Kids Birth Certificate

If you have a sibling who is currently in India, carry a photocopy of the birth certificate as this docujemnt will be helpful in establishing the fact that parents will return from US after the completion of the trip.

IV. Sample/Travel Documents:

In my opinion, its always a good practise to provide the parents as much information you can provide if they are travelling outside the country for the first time.

• Travel Guide

During my research to find out the best Travel Guide, I voted for Path2USA. Their travel guide covers a lot of aspects which will surely come in handy. They also have the option to deliver the guide in regional languages. English version of the same can be found by clicking here.

• Sample Departure form

Fill the form the same way your parents needs to fill it out.

• Sample I-94 form

Fill the form the same way your parents needs to fill it out. 

• Sample Customs form

Fill the form the same way your parents needs to fill it out.

• Letter to Immigration Officer 

This might come handy if your parents are not good in Handling English. This will act as a cover letter as the parents will be by themselves and if the Immigration officer is having difficulties in understanding the purpose, he/she might as well deny Port of Entry(chances are rare, but again, why to take even a single chance).

The Actual Interview Process:

The B2 visa interview process is a 2 step process:

• Bio-metric Test

This is a new process which was introduced a few months ago. As part of this process, the visitors needs to undergo a bio-metric analysis. It needs to happen 1 day in advance. For my parents, I booked the slot together and they were done with the entire process within 30 mins.

• Interview at consulate

The interview was relatively a straight forward affair. The interview was scheduled at 9 am. My parents reached much earlier and that helped as they were out of the consulate by 10 am itself. They were given tokens and the person giving the token also performed a quick verification of the documents. He informed my parents to carry only the "Visitor Documents" bundle(please refer to the Visitor Documents section).

After waiting for around 20 mins, their token number was called and the total interview duration was less than 10 mins, 5 questions asked, finger prints taken and was ultimately given the good news "Start preparing for your travel". The consulate lady taking the interview was an american and since I had requested the interview to be in Hindi, they arranged for a translator. During the interview process, no documents were checked. All in all, a pretty simple and straight forward affair.

These were the questions which were asked to my parents:

1. Why do you want to visit USA.
2. What work you do(to Dad)
3. What work you do(to Mom)
4. What is your son (or) daughter working as?
5. Where is your (city) son (or) daughter is residing?

Sample Interview Questions

It always better to have an idea of what all questions can be asked during the interview and prepare accordingly. 

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