The DS-160 is long, the session times out, and most people complete it in one tired sitting. The consequences of an error range from a wasted appointment to a permanent misstatement on your record, so it deserves a second pass.
Names and passport details
Enter your surname and given names exactly as they appear on the passport biographical page. Where your passport places your full name in one field, or where you have no surname recorded, follow the guidance in the form's help text rather than improvising. An applicant whose form name does not match their passport can be turned away at the door.
Check the passport number character by character, paying attention to characters that look alike in print. Check the issuing authority, the issue date and the expiry date. If you renew your passport between completing the form and attending, you will need to address that before the appointment.
Include other names you have used, including a maiden name, a name used in an earlier passport, or a religious or professional name. This field exists because records are searched by name, and an undisclosed former name creates a mismatch that takes time to resolve.
Travel and previous US travel history
The intended arrival date can be an estimate, and stating an approximate date is normal. What must be accurate is the purpose of travel and the address where you will stay. A vague entry here undermines your interview before it starts.
Previous US visits need listing with dates and durations. Applicants frequently understate this because they cannot remember exactly, and the answer is to check old passports and boarding passes rather than guess. The government has its own record, and a discrepancy is noticed.
Previous visa applications, including refusals, must be declared. So must any previous visa that was lost, stolen, cancelled or revoked. Applicants sometimes omit a refusal from years earlier on the basis that it was a different category or a different post. Declare all of them.
- Name entered exactly as on the passport, including all given names
- All other names ever used, including maiden names
- Every previous US trip with accurate dates from your passport stamps
- Every previous US visa application, including refusals and revocations
- A specific US address rather than a city name
Work, education and the fields people rush
The employment section asks for your current employer with address and telephone number, your job title, your monthly salary and a description of your duties. Write the description in plain language that a non-specialist can follow. Jargon and internal job titles confuse rather than impress.
Previous employment and education need completing for the periods the form specifies. Gaps should be accounted for honestly; periods of unemployment, study, caring responsibilities or travel are all normal and none of them is a problem when stated.
The section on specialised skills asks about training or experience with firearms, explosives, nuclear or biological material. Answer truthfully. Some professions legitimately require a yes, and a truthful yes with an explanation is manageable while an untruthful no is not.
The security and background questions
The security questions cover criminal history, immigration violations, prior removals, overstays, communicable diseases, drug involvement and related matters. Answer each one honestly. An arrest that led to no charge, an expunged conviction, a caution or a matter dealt with as a minor still usually needs disclosing depending on the wording, so read each question carefully.
A disclosed issue may require additional processing or may make you ineligible under a specific ground, sometimes with a waiver available. An undisclosed issue that surfaces later is treated as a misrepresentation, and a finding of misrepresentation carries consequences far more serious and far longer lasting than most underlying issues.
If a question is unclear in your situation, get proper advice before answering rather than choosing the convenient interpretation. This is the part of the form where guessing is genuinely risky.
Mechanics, photographs and the confirmation page
Save your application ID as soon as the form generates it, and note the security question answer you chose, because you cannot retrieve an incomplete application without both. The session expires after a period of inactivity, so save frequently rather than trusting the browser.
The photograph must meet the specification and is uploaded within the form. If the upload fails the quality check, you will need to bring a printed photograph to the appointment. Getting the digital upload accepted is less trouble than the alternative.
Print the confirmation page with the barcode; the barcode is how the post retrieves your form. Without it, you may not be admitted. Print two copies and keep a photograph of it on your phone as a backup.
Correcting mistakes
Minor typographical errors can often be raised with the officer at the interview and noted. Substantive errors, such as the wrong visa category, an incorrect name or wrong answers to security questions, generally require submitting a corrected DS-160 and may require rebooking.
Do not attend an appointment knowing the form is materially wrong with a plan to explain it at the window. You may be sent away, and you have lost the slot. Submit a corrected form in advance and bring the new confirmation page along with an explanation of the change.
We review DS-160 drafts field by field before submission, which is the least glamorous and most useful part of preparing a US application. Alif Visa is a private service and the form is submitted through the official State Department system; we do not have any privileged access to it or to the appointment inventory.
Alif Visa is a private visa assistance service. We are not a government department, embassy or visa application centre, and decisions are made solely by the issuing authority. Rules and fees change without notice, so confirm the requirements that apply to your circumstances before you travel.