Determine whether you need a visitor visa. Citizens of Canada and Bermuda usually do not need a visa to visit the U.S., nor do citizens of countries listed under the Visa Waiver Program so long as they present a valid, machine-readable passport from their country. Countries listed under the Visa Waiver Program include Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. If you are not from one of these countries, a nonimmigrant visa is required.
Determine which type of visitor visa you need. Depending on whether you are traveling for business, tourism, family reasons, medical attention, education, religious work, journalism, temporary work or a number of other possibilities, your visa type will vary. For a complete list of types of visitor visas to the U.S., see the Visa Types link in the resources below.
Fill out the appropriate online application at your nearest U.S. embassy or consulate's website. You will be asked to submit personal information, explain the purpose of your travel to the U.S. and upload a high-quality recent photo of yourself.
Pay the visa fee at the designated location and obtain the receipt.
Attend your interview (if required by your local consular office.) Interview appointments can be scheduled through the consular office's website. Interviews are often not required of applicants for student, exchange and practical training visas. Be sure to bring along a printed copy of your full application (including the confirmation page), your passport (valid for at least six months), your receipt of payment for the machine-readable visa application fee and all other supporting documents (as instructed by your specific visa application). Also, if you were unable to upload a photo in the online application, bring one to the interview. Before or after your interview, expect to have inkless fingerprints taken.
Wait for your visitor visa application to be reviewed and processed before picking it up at the consular office. For specific wait times by location, visit the Visa Wait Times link in the resources section below. You will also be advised after your interview as to how long you should expect to wait for you visiting visa to be processed.
