American visa: learn how to complete the DS 160 form

If you want to travel for sightseeing, shopping or visiting relatives in United States, you must first take into account the procedure that you must complete to apply for the B1/B2 non-immigrant visa. To do this, you must fill out the DS-160 form, do you know how to do it? Here we tell you.

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This electronic document is the first step to apply for a non-immigrant visa and must be completed with all the required information, such as personal, work, health and travel information. How long does it take to fill out the DS-160? It can take around 90 minutes and is done virtually, through the link provided by the Consular Center for Electronic Applications (CCAE), which is the official site for the start of the visa process.

WHAT IS THE DS-160 APPLICATION?

The DS-160 application is an electronic form from the United States Department of State, which must be filled out by American visa applicants. It is considered the most important step because it contains the information on which the consular officer will base his decision whether to grant or deny the visa. Take into account the following:

• If you fill it out with accurate data and in great detail, it is more likely to be successful because you will have all the answers in your application.
• If you leave spaces unfilled, on the other hand, you create information gaps that will lead to more questions from the consul.

WHERE DO I FILL OUT THE DS-160 APPLICATION AND WHAT LANGUAGE IS IT IN?

The DS-160 form is completed on page https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/ and a barcode is obtained to identify and track the request. The form, but can be translated into several languages, such as Spanish.

Please note that the application is in English and you must turn on spanish translation at the beginning. To do this you must select the language change to Spanish by clicking on the tab that appears in the upper right. And when you move the cursor closer to each paragraph that you need to read, the translated text in Spanish will appear.

After reading the informative guidelines, you will have to select your country, in this case you will have to click on Peru and enter the multi-digit security code (captcha) that will appear on the screen.

Do I have to answer all the questions on the form?

Most questions are required and must be answered in the spaces provided. You can leave blank spaces when questions are marked as ‘optional’. You can answer a question with “Not Applicable” when that question does not apply to you; however, all other questions must be answered.

The system will not allow you to submit an application with unanswered required questions. If you do not complete a required question, the system will display an error message and ask you to answer the question before continuing with the application. If you do not answer the questions that apply to your circumstances and/or purpose of travel, the system will not accept your request.

HOW DO I FILL OUT THE DS-160 APPLICATION FOR THE AMERICAN VISA?

The DS-160 application is made up of different information points. To avoid losing your information due to system crashes, save your changes every time you finish a module to avoid having to start your application from scratch in case the system crashes and takes you off the page. These are the sections of the form:

1. Personal information

• Enter surnames and first names in this section. It must be the same as in your passport, as it is essential that the information matches.

2. Personal information

• Select your country of origin. You must also indicate if you have another nationality or if you are a resident of a country other than the one you already indicated.
• Indicate your National Identity Document number

3. Travel information

• Indicate the purpose of your trip to the United States. Select “temporary visitor for tourism”, if it is the case.
• Select a tentative date of arrival in the United States and the length of your stay. (If you haven’t defined it yet, you can put an estimated date).
• Enter the address where you will stay in the United States: You can write the address of the hotel where you would like to stay or the address of a relative where you will stay. Write down the number and name of the street, the city, the state and the ZIP code. It is important that these data are true and specific.
• Indicate who will pay the costs of the trip: if you will pay for it, select the self option.
• Inform if you will travel with another person and indicate the relationship. In this case, you must write down the full name.

4. Address and telephone

• Indicate street, city, state, postal code and country where you reside. Do not forget to indicate if that address is the same where you can receive postal mail.
• Give three phone numbers: you can choose the first two (it can be your cell phone and your home phone). The third must be your job.
• You must enter the social networks that you have used in the last 5 years, as well as the username with which you identify yourself in them.

5. Passport information

• Indicate if your passport is regular, number, the country that issued it, as well as its date of issue and expiration.

6. Contact information

Enter the names of people who can contact you in the United States. If you don’t know anyone, write down organizations or the name of the hotel where you will be staying. Provide your address, phone number, and email.

7. Family data

• You must fill in fields with the name and date of birth of your parents. Also, indicate if they live in the United States.

8. Labor data

• Indicate the sector to which your company belongs, the name and address.
• Indicate the date on which you started working in said company, the gross salary you receive per month.
• Describe the activities you do (you can do it in Spanish).

9. Security part I

• Answer if you have communicable diseases such as gonorrhea, tuberculosis or more.
• Indicate if you suffer from a mental illness or if you have been “addicted to drugs”.

10. Security Part II

• Indicate if you have been arrested, have broken the law or have been involved in crimes of prostitution and sex trafficking. They are answered with “yes” or “no”.

11. Security Part III

• They ask if the applicant has participated in espionage, in terrorist activities or has incited/participated in genocide, torture or violations of religious freedom.

12. Security part IV

• Respond if you have received help to fill out the DS-160 form. Ideally, the applicant does it by himself, if he is of legal age.
• Answer if you have been deported from a foreign country.

To finish:

• Sign your application by re-entering your passport identification number.
• You can print the entire application when you finish, or just print the completion confirmation sheet.

IS IT NECESSARY TO HIRE A PROCESSOR TO REQUEST TO COMPLETE THE DS-160 APPLICATION?

Because the information is personal and sensitive, you can fill out the DS-160 application yourself. You do not need to hire an agency.

HOW IS THE APPOINTMENT TO THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY MANAGED?

With the printed confirmation sheet, on the website of the Visa Appointment Service You can request an appointment for your interview at the Embassy.

• To do this you will need to create a user account. They will ask for your first and last name, an email address, and a password of at least eight characters.
• With your account created, in the new window choose the appropriate visa category, select the DHL location where you wish to collect your passport with visa after the interview, pay the visa fee (MRV payment) –currently US$160– and schedule your appointment.
• For schedule your appointment at the Consular Section You will need your valid passport and the previous ones (if you have them), in addition to the barcode of the confirmation page of the DS-160 of each applicant.
• After you attend the appointment at the Consular sectionfollow the specific instructions given to you or consult online (with your email and password) to view your visa status and document delivery information.