I would like to ask what I need to prepare for a visa to the United States. If there is any situation, I can handle it at one time.

An American visa is an endorsement on a passport or other travel document held by an American or foreign citizen, indicating that the holder is allowed to apply for entry into the United States. It can also be said that it is an endorsement certificate issued to them. American visas can be divided into two categories: immigrant visas and non-immigrant visas; Each big category can be divided into many small categories.

Holding a US visa may not be successful in entering the United States, and the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will finally decide to grant entry rights at this port.

Chinese name American visa mbth American visa holders of immigrant visas and non-immigrant visas apply to enter the United States. The issuing country is the United States.

catalogue

1 acquisition conditions

emigrant

Non-immigrant

2 bidding process

fill in a form

Prepare materials

Submit photos

Visa reservation

Embassy interview

Three ordinary visas

EB5 visa

L 1 visa

tourist visa

4 visa form

5 Effective date

6 application address

7 legal policy

8 Special circumstances

9 reasons for refusal

10 Notes

1 1 important events

Get conditional editing

emigrant

American visa

American visa

Refers to people who intend to give up their original residence and nationality, enter the United States for permanent residence and apply to become American citizens. An immigrant visa is a visa for the purpose of immigrating to the United States. Generally, an application must be made to the US Immigration Service. After strict examination, the Immigration Bureau will issue "approval documents" to those who meet the requirements. Then, the applicant will apply for an immigrant visa to the American consulate abroad with this document.

Immigrant visas can be divided into family visas, professional visas and special immigrant visas.

1. Family migration

Relatives immigrants are divided into two categories.

1). Relatives who are not limited by the number of global immigrants, that is, immediate family members: spouses of American citizens; Minor children of American citizens (2 1 under); Parents of American citizens. This is classified as immediate family members, at any time.

2). Relatives restricted by the number of global immigrants are divided into four grades according to priority:

Adult children of American citizens (over 2 1 year) and their children.

2. Spouses and minor children of permanent residents; Adult unmarried children of permanent residents and their children.

Married children (regardless of age) of American citizens and their children.

④2 1 or brothers and sisters of American citizens.

2. Professional immigrants

Also known as work immigration, it is a way to immigrate to the United States by working in the United States on the basis of having certain professional advantages. Professional immigration is undoubtedly an important way for those who do not meet the conditions of relative immigration but have certain professional knowledge and want to immigrate to the United States. According to the provisions of the immigration law, the total number of people who immigrate to the United States by occupation every year is 6.5438+0.4 million, which is divided into five priority categories according to the conditions of different occupations and individuals:

1). Priority labor force

Foreigners who have made outstanding achievements in science, art, education, commerce, sports and other fields and have a certain reputation at home or abroad; 2. Outstanding professors or researchers with more than three years of teaching or research experience in special academic fields and internationally recognized; 3. The senior management of an international trading company must have more than one year's working experience in the company in the first three years of applying for this status, and come to the United States to continue working in the same company or affiliated enterprises.

2) Professionals with advanced degrees and special skills.

Advanced degree (master's degree or above) or "equivalent education" (at least five years working experience in this field); 2. Have special abilities in science, art and business, and have a substantial impact on American economy, culture, education or welfare.

3). Skilled workers, professionals and other workers

Refers to people who have a bachelor's degree and have been engaged in this profession (such as accountants, architects and engineers). ); 2. Skilled workers refer to those who have more than two years of vocational training or experience; 3. Other workers, including unskilled workers.

4). Special immigrants

5). Investment immigration

The new immigration law 1990 creates this new immigration mode for foreigners who want to invest in the United States and obtain permanent residency. In order to apply for this kind of immigration, foreign investors must invest 500,000 US dollars in a newly-built American enterprise and directly or indirectly create 10 new employment opportunities. This investment immigrant visa takes effect from 1 99111October1

Investment refers to the provision of capital, including cash, equipment, inventory or other substantive property. Time deposits, government bonds and other securities that are easy to turn into cash, as well as payment for goods, can all be regarded as property. Applicants must set up commercial enterprises, invest in real estate, buy land or houses, and wait for appreciation, which does not meet the requirements.

Investment immigrants, spouses and children can obtain conditional residence status first. Two years later, if the Immigration Bureau determines that the investor has indeed fulfilled the relevant regulations, the investor, his spouse and children can become permanent residents of the United States. Investors can hire 10 employees on the last day during the two-year investment period. After investors and their relatives get a green card, they can't hire employees if they don't need to work. Investors must maintain the operation and employment status of the new enterprise within two years and maintain the survival of the enterprise to ensure that they can still fulfill their investment immigration obligations after two years, otherwise they will still be unable to permanently reside in the United States.

New commercial enterprises include the following three types: 1. Create a brand-new business; 2. Buy out the difficult enterprises, rectify or reorganize, and retain the original employees; 3. Buy and sell existing businesses and expand them.

3. Marriage migration

Cr 1 the spouse of an American citizen who has been married for two years, and 2 1 the unmarried children under the age of 0 are CR2.

IR 1 The spouse of an American citizen who has been married for two years, and the unmarried children under 2 1 are IR2.

American citizens living in the United States can only submit CR/IR applications at immigration service centers in their areas of residence.

CR 1/IR 1/ is an immigrant visa. You can receive a two-year conditional green card (within two years from the date of marriage to the date of entry) or a ten-year green card (more than two years from the date of marriage to the date of entry) from the immigration office at home in the United States.

American citizens can apply for a CR2/IR2 visa for your children (stepchildren of American citizens) separately at the same time, but you cannot apply for a visa under the following circumstances. After becoming an American citizen, you can only apply for a visa for your child yourself;

A. When you marry an American citizen, your child is over 18 years old.

B the child is over 2 1 year old at the time of application.

K3 is the priority category of CR 1/IR 1, and the unmarried children under 2 1 are K4.

After receiving the application of CR 1/IR 1, you can choose whether to apply for K3 at the same time.

K3 is the United States Immigration Service. Considering the long application time of CR 1/IR 1, in order to reunite the husband and wife as soon as possible, we can apply for K3 to go to the United States in advance at the same time.

K3 must first apply for CR 1/IR 1, but K3 and CR 1/IR 1 are two independent cases with their own handling procedures. If the speed of CR 1 is similar to that of K3, then CR 1 will merge with K3, and CR 1 will directly sign for permanent residence in the United States. Otherwise, you can sign K3 at the US Consulate General in Guangzhou, reunite with your spouse in the United States first, and then choose to change your identity in the United States to obtain permanent residency.

Non-immigrant

Mainly for "short-term" or "tourist visit" visas, you are only allowed to make a temporary short-term stay in the United States, although the "short-term" stay may last for several years. The categories of non-immigrant visas are mainly classified according to the main purpose of the applicant's visit to the United States. With a few exceptions, people who come to the United States with non-immigrant visas can only engage in matters related to their visa types in the United States.

American visas are divided into 18 and 48 categories. Categories are sorted by English letters, from A to R, and categories are sorted by numbers under the category letters, namely A- 1, A-2, etc. , the other two categories are special visa-free, marked WB &；; WT and GB> 18 categories are:

Category A-Diplomatic personnel

A- 1。 Foreign ambassadors, senior officials, diplomatic or consular officials and their families

A-2。 Other foreign government officials or employees and their family members.

A-3' s waiter, servant or personal assistant. A- 1 and A-2 visa holders and their families.

Category b-short-term tourists

B- 1。 Short business visit

B-2。 Short - term travel

Specific classification:

Business/conference (B 1)

Business/conference (B 1)

Tourism/Medical (B2)

Travel/Medical (B2)

Business/individual (B 1/B2)

Business/personal visit (B 1/B2)

Class c-transport personnel

C- 1。 Alien transit

C2。 Entry/transit of qualified foreigners to and from United Nations Headquarters and foreign countries.

C3 explosive. Transit of foreign government officials, family members, waiters, servants and personal assistants

Class d-crew

D- flight attendant

Class e-special investors

E- 1。 Businessmen, spouses and minor children

E-2。 Investors, spouses and minor children

F-student

F- 1。 A full-time student enrolled in a law school.

F-2。 Spouses and minor children of students

American F 1 Visa Materials and Precautions

I-20, admission notice, study plan, original G/T report card, Chinese and English report card, diploma, degree certificate, resume, PS, printed introduction of the projects I studied in the United States, etc. If you have identified an American tutor, you need to print out the resume of the future tutor. At the same time, the letter of support from the tutor and the "magnetic" letter from the teacher can increase the persuasiveness. As far as possible, provide a detailed list of papers published in international or domestic scientific and technological academic journals, and it is better if there are direct journals.

1, previous study and work experience

In this regard, the visa officer will ask the name of the school, major, company where he worked, and some relevant details. For this kind of question, the applicant only needs to answer truthfully, and take the initiative to show relevant documents to prove his remarks in time, such as graduation certificate, report card, resignation letter, previous business card and so on. Reasons for choosing the United States, target schools and majors;

Applicants should be alert to this part of the problem. Although some applicants have plans to work in the United States for several years or emigrate after graduation, this is what we should focus on avoiding.

2. Why did you choose America, the target school and your major?

We can emphasize the advantages of the United States from the aspects of academic atmosphere, available resources and education level. , especially the professional characteristics of our own school. When you are a visa officer, you will ask how many schools the applicant has applied for, and what are they? Generally, he will list 6 and 7 in the same grade. If there are too many schools or scores are too high, it may give visa officers a reason to apply for studying in the United States, thus doubting our motivation to study abroad.

3. Understanding of the major.

In view of such problems, we suggest that applicants have a preliminary understanding of the geographical location of the school. And understand the curriculum design, graduation process, major or tutor's recent research topics. If you design some sensitive majors, introduce the "non-sensitivity" of your upcoming project in detail as far as possible, and actively produce relevant supporting materials, such as letters of recommendation written by American tutors, resumes of tutors, and papers in their related fields.

4. The employment prospect of your major.

Regardless of whether it is an unpopular major or a popular major, applicants should try their best to show their employment confidence to visa officers. What needs to be emphasized in particular is the development space and potential employment direction of this major in China. You can list the names of large companies, government departments or schools that need this professional talent.

G-personnel of international organizations

G- 1。 Chief representatives, members and their families of foreign government member countries recognized by international organizations.

G2。 Representatives of other recognized members of foreign governments

G3。 Chief representatives, members and their families of non-member countries of international organizations not recognized by foreign governments.

G-4。 Officials or staff members of international organizations and their families

G-5 waiters, servants or personal assistants and family members. G- 1, G-2, G-3, G-4 visa holders.

Class h-personnel with special skills

H- 1A。 Professional nurse

H- 1B。 Short-term professional workers in designated occupations

2A。 Short-term or seasonal short-term agricultural workers

2B。 Skilled and unskilled workers engaged in short-term service or labor

H-3。 intern

H-4' s spouse and minor children. H- 1, H-2 and H-3.

First-class reporter

I. Representatives of foreign media, spouses and minor children

Class j-visiting scholar

American J2 visa

American J2 visa

J- 1。 Exchange visiting scholars of approved projects

J-2. J- 1 spouses and children of exchange visiting scholars

Category K-American spouses and children

K- 1。 The fiance (wife) of an American citizen immigrated to the United States.

K-2。 K- 1 children of fiancee

Class l-personnel of multinational companies

L- 1A。 Executives and managers of American branches

L- 1B。 Professional knowledge staff

L-2。 Spouses and children of L- 1

M-students with special skills and their families

M- 1。 Short-term vocational training visa for students to come to the United States during holidays. This kind of training may not be a language school, but generally a university.

N-representatives of NATO member States and their families, as well as families of special immigrants.

N-8。 Parents of foreign children designated as special immigrants

N-9。 Children whose parents are designated as special immigrants.

Nato-1. Permanent Chief Representatives of North Atlantic Treaty Organization Member States and Their Families

NATO -2. Other representatives and families of NATO member States

NATO -3. Family members of cooperative officials and representatives of North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries

Four NATO countries. Other North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials and family members

Five NATO countries. Experts employed on behalf of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization mission who do not meet NATO -4 conditions and their entourage.

Six NATO countries. Under the control of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the staff and their entourage who entered by force.

Attendants, servants or personal assistants of NATO -7 and their families. NATO-1, NATO -2, NATO -3, NATO -4, NATO -5 and NATO -6.

Category O-Outstanding Persons and Assistants

O- 1。 Foreigners or athletes with outstanding abilities in science, art, education and business.

Oxygen. Some foreigners follow O- 1 visa holders.

O-3。 O- 1 visa holder's family members

P-international celebrities and their families

P- 1。 International athletes or international performing arts groups

P-2。 Art or performing arts groups participating in exchange programs.

P-3。 Art or performing arts groups participating in special cultural exchange projects

P-4 spouse or child. P- 1, P-2 and P-3

Q- cultural exchange project personnel

Q- 1。 Participants in international cultural exchange programs

Category R-Religious people

R- 1。 religious people

R2。 Spouse or children of R- 1

S class

S-5。 Individuals who provide emergency information about illegal organizations or enterprises.

S-6。 Individuals who provide information related to terrorist organizations

Class t

Practitioners of the North American Free Trade Act

TD。 The spouses or children of NAFTA employees pay their fees.

Bidding process editor

The visa processing steps include: filling in the application form, purchasing visa fees, preparing visa materials, making an online appointment, and interviewing according to the scheduled time.

fill in a form

DS- 160 online visa application

1. On the first page of the form, please select "Chinese" in the language window in the upper right corner. In this way, when you hover over each question in the English table, the table will automatically display the corresponding Chinese translation.

2. When you click the "Start Application" button to go to the next page, please select "Beijing, China" as your application location.

Please note: there is an item in this form that requires you to fill in your name in your mother tongue. You can fill in your name in Chinese characters. In addition, all contents must be filled in English.

4. When filling in the form, please save it to a USB flash drive or computer. After completing the form, please store it on a USB flash drive or CD-ROM for easy carrying.

5. If you have ever used another name, answer "Have you ever used another name?" Please select "Yes" to this question, and then enter your last name and first name. If your name consists of two Chinese characters, there must be a space between them.

6. Applicants for 6.F2, M2, J2, L2 and H4 should choose F 1, M 1, J 1, L 1 and H 1 respectively according to the visa type of the main applicant. 7. If you have been to the United States before, please fill in your previous visa number in the designated place (8 red digits in the lower right corner of the previous visa).

Prepare materials

1. A valid personal passport (more than half a year earlier than the expected date of return to China) with my signature on the last page;

2.2*2 inch (about 5 1mm * 5 1mm) square color bareheaded photo, and signed with a pencil on the back (photos taken in the last three months, with white background);

3. If the visa applicant has ever had an exit record, he must provide photos taken in the country he went to (the photos must have himself and local landmarks);

4. Copies of all pages of the family ID card, work permit, marriage certificate and household registration book (if the husband and wife are not in the same household registration book, copies of all pages of the other household registration book are required);

5. The business license or a copy of the business license (or organization code certificate) shall be stamped with the official seal;

6. Company profile (establishment time, nature, scale, products, benefits, etc.). ), and 4 business cards;

7. On-the-job certificate issued by the company (printed in Chinese and English, or blank stationery with official company stationery and official seal, printed by our company); If the applicant is a child under 18, please provide the school leaving certificate;

8. Registration form (registration form, family list, education and employment list);

9. The bank statement of the bank in the past six months proves this.

Submit photos

American passport applicants need to submit two identical photos, and American visa applicants only need to submit one. Photos must meet the following basic requirements, otherwise the application will not be accepted.

1. Photos must be taken within 6 months.

2. The photo size is 2x2 inches (about 5x5 cm).

3. The vertical dimension of the applicant's head must be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inch (about 2.5-3.5cm).

4. The photo must have a white background.

You must face the camera and show your ears.

The photo of each passport or visa applicant must be bareheaded. A "frontal" photo means that the applicant has to face the camera when taking a photo. Applicants should not bow their heads or squint, and their faces should account for 50% of the whole photo. Although it is difficult to strictly define "face" because of different hairstyles or headscarves (see the discussion below), generally speaking, it refers to the applicant's head, including face and hair, from top to bottom to chin, from left to right to both sides of hairline. You might as well show your ears. The key requirement is that the applicant can be clearly identified by photos.

The size of the photo is 2x2 inches (a square with a side length of about 50 mm), and the head is in the center. The head (from the top of the head to the chin) is between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inch (that is, 25mm to 35mm), and the distance from the eyes to the bottom of the photo is between 1 to18 inch and 1 3/8 inch (that is, 28mm to 35mm) Color or black-and-white photos with white background are required. Photos should be borderless. Photos should be bound or pasted on DS-82 (PDF-303KB) or DS-1(PDF-380 KB) (US passport application), or the corresponding DS- 156 (non-immigrant visa application) (PDF- 159KB). If the photo is bound, the nails must be as far away from the applicant's face as possible. Photos with messy background, patterns or patterns, or dark colors are not acceptable.

Visa reservation

Starting from July 12 and 16, the time to book a visa with the US Embassy is required to provide the number of the visa application form DS- 160 in addition to the visa fee receipt number, passport number, ID number and contact information.

This is another measure taken by the US Embassy to limit the number of visa appointments to the United States and the time of visa appointment in advance after providing the visa fee receipt number when requesting the appointment time. This means that visa applicants need to fill in the DS- 160 visa application form before the appointment time, and the details of admission institutions and other forms cannot be changed. Because if the form information changes, the form number will also change, and the original appointment will be invalid, which brings certain difficulties to the visa applicant to agree on the ideal visa time in advance.

Because of the first-come-first-served system in the United States, experts advise students to prepare their application materials as soon as possible under the guidance of authoritative experts studying abroad, submit their applications in September and 10 at the best time, follow up their admission notice as soon as possible, get I20, determine their intended institutions, and provide accurate and confirmed visa form information quickly to avoid unnecessary troubles.

To ensure a smooth trip, please apply for a visa appointment as soon as possible (4 to 6 weeks in advance is recommended). You only need to provide a copy of your passport and ID card to make an appointment. Have you applied for that type of American visa before, when and where, and have you signed it? Other materials of the invitation letter should be delivered to the embassy or consulate accurately and completely no later than 1 week before the interview.

The embassy stipulates that you can only make an appointment if you pay the visa fee and buy a reservation card, so you need to pay 1200 yuan first to confirm the discount.

Special note: Please don't issue air tickets without the result of visa, otherwise all the consequences will be borne by the applicant.

Embassy interview

When you enter the American embassy, you will have relevant fingerprints and wait in line for a face-to-face interview.

The interview time is generally short, with only 4.5 questions, which will be asked according to the form you fill out.

Interview questions generally include:

1. What are you doing in America?

2. Where are you going? How long will it take? When will you go back to China?

3. Where do you work? What is the position? How many years have you worked? How much is the monthly salary?

4. Are you married? Where do you live? What do your parents do? Still working?

5. Have you been abroad before? Where have you been?

6. Do you know anyone in America? If so, I will ask him when he went. How did you meet? Do you have her visa?

The visa officer's main concern during face-to-face signing is

Will you come back from America?

2) Do you have other intentions?

So when you meet the visa officer, you must show your confidence, don't whisper, and show your confidence so that he won't feel that your going abroad will bring security problems to the United States. When you get the visa, you can think about whether you look confident or not. If you are a visa officer, do you think this person is reliable? Self-confidence is the key! It shouldn't be difficult to speak Chinese confidently, should it?

If successful, you will be given a white note asking you to go through the mailing procedures and get your passport.

If you refuse the visa, a letter of refusal will be sent to you.

In addition to the explicitly required documents, the last kind of supporting documents puzzled many applicants. Therefore, it is often seen that some candidates are holding a large pile of various materials to interview, which is actually completely unnecessary. According to American law, all foreigners who apply for the United States are presumed to have an immigration tendency, and the purpose of your materials is to overthrow this preset, so all your preparations should focus on this purpose.

Generally speaking, producing documents that are binding on the applicant in economic, social, family or other aspects can help the applicant convince the visa officer to prove that he intends to return to China after a short stay in the United States. Due to different personal circumstances, the evidence that the applicant should produce is also different. The following documents can help the visa officer to evaluate whether you intend to return to China: household registration book, ID card, employment certificate, payroll that objectively reflects your monthly income, passbook with regular entry and exit records, etc. The latter two can also prove that you have the financial resources to complete your trip to the United States. Many people will choose to provide proof of deposit, which is actually a misunderstanding. For the visa officer, the certificate of deposit can only prove your financing ability, but not your spending ability. Comparatively speaking, the latter is more convincing.

Finally, it is especially necessary to remind applicants that a tourist visa to the United States is only a basic threshold, and whether they can finally enter the country depends on whether they can pass the inspection set by the US authorities at the US Customs. People often tell you that visa application is easy, but when you arrive at the airport in the United States, you will encounter detailed and long inspections. Therefore, it is recommended that you select some important contents from the visa application materials and carry them with you, even if you encounter excessive inspection, it will help you to clear customs quickly.

Universal visa editor

EB5 visa

The EB5 project in the United States has the following requirements for applicants: the investment is 654.38 USD+00,000 USD; However, if it is an investment project of the regional center, it needs 500,000 US dollars. The investment period is five years, and the investment money will be returned after the investment expires.

Applicants must be at least 2 1 year old; Their spouses and unmarried children under 2 1 year can apply at the same time; Applicants are not required to have any business background, education level and English language ability; The applicant's assets are not necessarily accumulated by the applicant's own ability, but can be donated or inherited.

It is reported that no matter which regional center's investment project, as long as it is an immigrant visa obtained through the US EB-5 Act, it must follow the EB-5 law.

The specific application generally includes the following seven steps:

1. The applicant selects the investment project in the regional center and remits the investment funds to the regulatory bank designated by the project;

2. Collect all materials and submit the I526 application;

3. Approved by 3. I526 and transfer to the National Visa Center;

4. The National Visa Center informs to pay the visa fee, fills in the DS230 form and forwards it to the Guangzhou Consulate;

5. Guangzhou Consulate interviews to get a visa;

6. The whole family landed in the United States and obtained a conditional green card;

7. Submit an I829 application within 2 1 month from the date of landing and get an unconditional green card. Due to the sudden increase in the number of applicants, it takes about 1 to 1 year and a half from submitting an application to obtaining an immigrant visa.

Conditional green card is valid for 2 years. The first thing you get through EB-5 investment is a two-year conditional green card. After the expiration of two years, as long as the investment funds have not been withdrawn and corresponding jobs have been created, they can be converted into unconditional green cards. Conditional green card and unconditional green card mainly have different validity periods, and their rights and obligations are the same, including children's education, investment and life in the United States, medical care for the elderly and so on.

The loan project has low risk. American EB-5 investment immigrants are different from the traditional immigration methods, which combine immigration and investment most effectively. Any investment is accompanied by risks. These risks include at least immigration risk, investment risk and exchange rate fluctuation risk. Among them, the risk of investment funds is the most concerned and uncontrollable for investors. At present, EB-5 projects are divided into direct investment and investment lending. In direct investment projects, investment funds often develop with the invested projects, so there is basically no exit mechanism and no guarantee behavior, and of course there may be a certain return on investment.

As the name implies, a loan investment project is to pool the money of many investors and lend it to an enterprise that needs to borrow money. If you borrow money at once, you must pay it back. The value of collateral and the qualifications of borrowers are particularly important. Applicants in China tend to care more about the green card than the investment income, so it is suggested that applicants can choose a loan with lower risk. At the same time, the employment created by investment is also an important factor that must be considered, so some labor-intensive industries and projects that have just started to operate can usually create employment.