USA: getting a visa on your own is a feasible task

America

Russians wishing to travel to the US in 2019 need an entry document. You can get a visa at the representative offices of the state located in the cities of the Russian Federation.

Depending on the purpose of the trip and a number of other factors, the category of visa required for a visit to the state is determined. There are several types of US visas.

Tourist and business visas

A visitor visa is intended for short business visits (B1) and travel for tourism purposes (B2). Also, a B2 visa is issued when applying for medical care.

Typically, a B1 visa is intended for attending conferences, business meetings, consulting events with business partners, and so on. These are the so-called business visas. For personal purposes, a B2 tourist visa is issued. Usually it is tourism, meetings with friends, relatives, participation in social, charitable (non-commercial) events. Often these two categories of visa can be combined and a common B1/B2 visa is issued.

Work Visa

To perform short-term work in the country, you will need to obtain a work visa. Most often, a petition is required from the employer, which is confirmed by the Department of Citizenship even before the visa application is submitted. Depending on the type of activity that the employee plans to do in the country, a certain category of US visa is required.

H-1A is a work visa that is issued to highly qualified specialists who are sent to the country to perform a certain type of work. A person applying for a visa of this category is required to have a higher education. The immigration service checks the correspondence of education to the type of work performed.
H-1B is issued to citizens of foreign countries for seasonal work at agricultural enterprises.
An L1 type document is issued to employees who are transferred within the same company. This visa will be required for citizens holding leadership positions. To obtain a work visa, you must submit an application 3 months before the start of employment.

student visa

A study visa is issued to those wishing to study in the territory of the state. Before applying, you must obtain official enrollment in an educational institution.

F1 is a popular study visa obtained for studying at universities or colleges in the country, private schools, participating in various educational programs (for example, teaching English).
An M1 visa is issued for vocational education.
To participate in exchange programs, you must obtain a J-1 visa document. Both students and teachers or teachers, researchers can take part in such programs.

Fiance and Groom Visa

A fiancé visa (K3/K4) will be required for women planning to marry a US citizen. Foreign men who marry American women will need a fiance visa (K1/K2). Such immigrant visas are issued for permanent residence in the state. These visa documents allow foreign citizens to enter the state and get married within 3 months from the date of arrival. To apply for this category of visa, a US citizen must apply to the Immigration Service. After its approval, the documents will go to the Russian representative office.

Applying for a visa yourself

Step-by-step procedure for obtaining a visa without contacting a travel agency:

We enter data in the application for a visa to the United States. You can do this at: ceac.state.gov/genniv/default.aspx. You will need to pass a simple registration, and its confirmation by e-mail. To do this, in the upper right corner of the page, select "Russian" from the proposed languages. We follow the prompts located on the page, enter all the required information. Print and save the completed application.
You must pay a consular fee, the amount of which will depend on the type of visa.
Sign up for an interview. You can do this at: cgifederal.secure.force.com/?language=English&country=Russia. Next, you will need to indicate passport data, the number of the receipt that confirms the payment of the fee, and the number of the electronic application. After all the necessary information is provided, you will be assigned a date and time for the interview: an email with an invitation will be sent to you.
We pass the interview at the specified time, while you need to take with you a printed application, an invitation letter, a receipt for payment of the fee, a photo made and a passport. The office will also scan ten fingers.
At the final stage, upon receipt of approval, your international passport with a stamped visa will be delivered to the address indicated during the appointment for an interview by the Pony Express delivery service. At the same time, payment for the delivery of a passport is not charged, it is already included in the consular fee. The delivery address can be changed in your account ustraveldocs.com/ru_ru/index.html. You can also track the current status of your passport here.
You can get a passport with a US visa on your own (or with the help of a representative) at the nearest Pony Express office. This option must be specified at the stage of creating an application for an interview.

From the documents for a visa to the United States, the following will be required:

Passport for presentation outside the Russian Federation. The validity of this document should not be less than six months from the time of return from the country.
Electronic Application DS-160.
Photo 5x5 cm.
A notification message inviting you for an interview.
A payment document confirming the payment of the consular fee.
Documents that will confirm the information you said. These include information about the travel route, letters from work, documents that prove financial solvency (own property, tax payments, bank statements, own business, etc.). The information must be current at the time of the interview.

These are the main conditions for obtaining a visa to the United States, there may be some nuances and various additional documents depending on a particular category of visa document.

The processing time ranges from seven days to one month. The time will depend on the workload of the embassy, the need for an administrative check and other conditions.

Students need to show the consular officer a certificate of study, diplomas or certificates, as well as financial documents.

If you have a criminal record, you may be eligible for a visa. You will need to provide certificates, information about criminal arrests and convictions, the term of punishment. This data must be provided even if the convictions have been expunged.

Filling out the questionnaire

Before filling out the questionnaire (DS-160) on the Ustraveldocs.com website, prepare the following data:

An electronic photo that meets the requirements.
The number and series of the international passport and the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation.
Information about the place of work or study (name of the organization, its location, phone number, position, a brief description of work duties), as well as information about the previous place of work or study.
Information about service in the armed forces: what time, where, rank, etc.
Data of the husband (wife) and parents: their surnames, as well as names and patronymics, dates of birth.
Information about which countries you have been to in the last 5 years.
Also in the questionnaire you will need to indicate which places you are going to visit.

One hour and fifteen minutes is allotted for entering all the information. First you need to upload your photo. Next, you enter your last name, first name, patronymic, date of birth, address of residence and passport number, you will need to specify the type of visa. Then you will need to enter information about your parents, spouse, place of work or study, military service.

After filling out the questionnaire, check the correctness of all the entered data. Confirmation of the questionnaire with a photo, a unique number and a barcode must be printed.

Photo Requirements

If the photo does not meet the required conditions, obtaining a visa can be significantly delayed. Photo requirements:

The photo must be taken no later than six months before the application is submitted.
The head must be depicted in full, and occupy at least 50-70% of the total size of the photo.
On paper, the size of the photo should be 5x5 cm. The resolution of the electronic photo should not be less than 600x600 and not exceed 1200x1200 pixels.
The face must be facing the camera, the eyes are open, there is no smile, casual clothing, no headgear, headphones or similar equipment is not allowed.
The background of the image must be white or close in tone to this color.
The image is in color only.
If the applicant wears glasses all the time, then it is possible to take a photo in them. However, the appearance of glare in the photo due to glasses is not allowed.

Consular fee

The payment of the consular fee is the responsibility of the applicant even before the interview. The fee is non-refundable if the visa is denied. Consular fee - payment for the so-called machine-readable visa - MRV. The amount of the fee will depend on the type of US visa. Payment is made at the exchange rate in VTB24 bank branches in cash or in the form of a non-cash payment using a credit card. You can also pay for a visa to the United States through post offices.

The receipt issued after payment is valid for one year. During this time, the applicant may apply for a nonimmigrant visa at any time.

The amount of the consular fee depending on the category of visa:

The cost of a visa to the United States, therefore, will be only the amount of the consular fee. No additional payments need to be made.

Visa for persons under 14 years of age

In order to issue a visa document for a child, in addition to the standard set of documents (questionnaire, photo, consular fee, passport), permission from the parent (s) certified by a notary will be required if the child travels alone. You will also need documents that confirm the purpose of the trip. Children are exempt from fingerprint scanning. The presence of the child at the interview is not required.

Interview

You can book your US visa interview online. This must be done before the expiration of the paid consular fee.

Registration for an interview is also carried out in your personal account on the website Ustraveldocs.com. You will need to enter the application number and the payment (or transaction) number for paying the consular fee. After the system checks the entered information, you will be given a calendar-schedule where you can choose your preferred time for the interview.

You can take an interview in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok or Yekaterinburg.

At the interview, you need to demonstrate and confirm some information:

Inform the purpose of the trip, what kind of event you are planning, a tourist trip of an entertaining nature, a visit to relatives.
Indicate the total amount of time that you plan to spend in the United States, provide a general travel plan.
Confirm the availability of funds in the amount necessary for the trip and payment of related expenses.
You have a permanent place of residence, as well as various kinds of connections that can ensure your return after the trip.

Interview rules of conduct

The interview itself is the most important step in obtaining a visa document. Therefore, if you follow certain rules, you can get a positive decision on obtaining a visa without additional documents, providing only a questionnaire and a passport.

Give clear and intelligible answers to all questions of the embassy employee.
Clearly indicate the purpose of the visit to the country and the period of time spent on its territory.
Do not seek to take the initiative, answer only those questions that you are asked.
If there are difficulties with the English language, it is necessary to declare this in advance. However, students who plan to study in the USA must speak this language.
Provide your passport, application form and old passport, if it contains visas to the UK, USA, Schengen countries. Submit all other additional documents only after you are asked to do so.

Applying for a visa through a travel agency

To obtain a visa with the help of a travel agency or a visa center, it is enough to contact these organizations and provide the necessary documents. In addition to the consular fee, an additional payment for agency services will be required. Usually, to obtain a visa, documents can be submitted both in person during a visit to the office, and by e-mail. It will be possible to buy a visa to the USA with the help of agencies, depending on the type of visa, 4000-12000 rubles.

Re-obtaining a visa

To extend a visa, citizens also pay a consular fee, fill out a questionnaire. Citizens may be exempted from the need to undergo an interview if:

A citizen applies for a second visa within 47 months.
The application for a visa document takes place in the country of permanent residence of the applicant.
The applicant had previously undergone a fingerprint scanning procedure.
There is a re-obtaining of a visa from the same category as the expired one.

Validity of the visa document

US missions in Russia issue multiple-entry visas for a period of one to three years. It is possible to enter the country at any time during the entire validity of the visa.

Refusal of a visa

According to official statistics, the percentage of B1/B2 visa refusals in 2017 was about 10%.

The most common reasons for rejection include:

Most often, young applicants who are unmarried and without children, employed in low-paid positions, are denied. This category includes students and students of the last courses or classes.
Difficulties during the interview: the applicant did not inspire confidence, showed nervousness, uncertainty, some disagreements were revealed in the questionnaire and answers to questions.
Previously, long trips to the United States were made. Very often, the applicant in the questionnaire indicates one time of stay in the country, but in fact spends a much longer period in the United States. If this situation is repeated during a subsequent visit to the country, then a refusal of a visa is likely.
Relatives have previously immigrated to the United States. Such applicants may be refused, because the presence of relatives in the country may become a reason for illegal immigration.
A small number of trips were made to Europe. To obtain a visa to the country, it is desirable to have a good visa history, and if the applicant has extensive experience in traveling to European countries, then this indicates his viability.
There may be problems in obtaining student visas. It is generally quite difficult to get study visas to the country, especially if the period of study is long. They can refuse a visa if the prospective student clearly demonstrates a lack of knowledge of English at the interview or if his age exceeds 30 years.
The applicant was suspected of forging documents. For example, a consular officer questioned the authenticity of financial documents, bank statements, letters of recommendation from work, and so on.

Video of the US Consulate General on obtaining a visa

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Victor Said:

Prepared long-term visas for round-the-world travel, including the United States. Applied for visa twice.
For the first time, they looked through all the submitted documents, including visas of previously visited countries for different times, asked different questions, but was refused. The wording of the refusal during the interview was something like this: Your goals for visiting the United States do not seem convincing and realistic to us ...
I was very surprised by the demand of the young consul to provide all the visas of the European countries indicated in the visit, each separately, since a multi-Schengen visa for him means visiting only one country that issued this visa ...
to put it simply, I seemed to the consul as a potential illegal immigrant, covering up his goals of illegal migration with some unrealistic stupid fairy tales.
A big round-the-world tour was being prepared, on all continents and in a motorcycle format.
The second time was applied in a year and a half, having already gone to many countries and, in addition to the papers, provided two foreign passports completely filled with used visas ... / this is called a good “visa history” / confirming the reliability and seriousness of the tourist.
I was pleasantly surprised by the consul's apology for the earlier distrust of the seriousness and reality of the goals I indicated ... The documents did not ask much questions, they flipped through casually ...
The visa was issued for 5 years.

Zoya Said:

Hello! I watched a video about obtaining a visa at the US Consulate in St. Petersburg. There it was shown that the Consulate officer asked for a folder of documents to study. I was just recently, but they didn’t ask me for anything except a valid passport (neither previously issued nor prepared documents) and they refused a visa. I have property, a well-paid job with continuous experience ... Why could this be and is it not discrimination from side of the Consulate?

Elena Said:

Hello! Tell me, please, they say a bank statement is required, but I have part of the main funds for the trip in cash, and I want to take the second part on credit. What to do with an extract? My account is only a salary account and the funds are spent there on a monthly basis, respectively? Or can I take an account statement for the last six months, for example, upon receipt of funds?

Tolya Said:

Traveled to the states under the Work and Travel program. When I was going, they said that a visa is given preferably to those who are issued through agencies with an additional fee. I want to say that our pay is good, even though you still have to go to the meeting with the consul yourself. In fact, the agency offers only the package of documents collected by you to check and send.
I went myself, I assembled it myself, everyone approved)
Do not be afraid and make out yourself, do not overpay.

Alyoshenka_Lelya Said:

Getting a US visa is very difficult! As always, you need to fill out a bunch of documents, but this is not the most important thing. The most terrible thing in all this business is a trip to the American embassy and a conversation with the consuls in general. Last year I was going to go to America on a j1 visa. I collected all the necessary documents, took a contract with the employer, but the consul did not let me through. At first he asked questions in English, I answered him ... in the end he did not know what to ask and simply said in Russian, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but you were refused. Mustache!

Alina Said:

I now have a valid US visa valid for three years. I received it a year and a half ago completely on my own. Most of all, of course, I was afraid of the interview. I remember how I came to the embassy, walked for a long time between different windows, where they checked different papers and took my fingerprints. Then they put me in the waiting room for an interview and I kept trying to guess which booth I would be invited to. The interview itself was held in a very friendly atmosphere, the embassy officer asked what language I prefer to speak, I chose Russian. I was asked several questions, mostly about the purpose of the trip, and they immediately told me the result - I passed the interview.

Said):

Three of us arrived from the small town of Cheboksary to Moscow. At 10 o'clock they were waiting near the embassy for our coordinator. Then all together stood in line, which had no end and edge. Waited over 1 hour for sure. By the way, I had to throw out all the little things, supposedly the detectors do not allow anything metal and iron to be carried. As they entered the room (but still in line), the formidable aunt asked to hand over all the phones. as one queue ended, we got into another) Then another aunt said in English to put her fingers on the panel. And only then, we stood in line for the interview itself. By the way, it was somehow strange, but the machine gun that was there did not give back. Just imagine, I gave him 50 rubles, bought a chocolate bar for 30 rubles, and he took another 20 rubles for himself. So be careful with this matter. Someone even gave 100r))

Maxim Said:

I will also tell my story in obtaining a student visa, for the future generation, so to speak) What I want to note right away is that do not try to find an employer directly, there is a high probability that you will be thrown, and this is a very dreary task. It is better to trust the professionals, that is, to look for an offer through your program (although you will have to pay 20 thousand extra for such a pleasure). As mentioned above, collecting and filling out paperwork is not as important as the interview itself with the ambassador. Here, in addition to knowing English, you need to prepare. Try not to be nervous (although your heart was beating like crazy) and in any way make it clear that you don’t even have thoughts of staying in the USA. If they suspect something, they will most likely refuse. It’s even better to lie, saying that you have an apartment in your city or your grandmother is sick or something similar. And yes, you shouldn’t say something like “Ummm, how will it be” and so on under your breath, since the consuls know Russian.

Nadia Said:

I applied for a visa to the USA on my own, studied the Internet, read everything on the website of the US Embassy, prepared a package of documents according to the list indicated on the website and signed up for an interview. The most difficult thing was to fill out an online questionnaire, although it turned out to be short) When I came for an interview, I just took a queue, but it turned out that I had to take a queue at the time of recording. The queue is huge! I stood for 30 minutes, passed the interview, and received a visa!))) The interview went very quickly, questions were asked only according to the questionnaire ...

Marina Said:

I will tell you about how I got a visa to the USA. I will not write about the documents, all this information is on the Internet, I will tell you only about the interview. The first thing you should remember is to speak only the truth, do not think about the answers for a long time. The questions are different. I was interviewed in Russian. They asked what countries I was in, the last country was Thailand, I asked long and hard about what I saw, where I lived with whom I was. He quickly switched from one question to another. I asked for a long time about the university, I studied in another city. The interrogation exhausted me, but they gave me a visa!

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