Simple Ways to Get Your U.S. Tourist Visa Fast

In the immigration profession, the most frequently asked question is how the visa applicant can get a tourist visa to America and to get it fast.  You can spend countless hours scouring the internet and find immigration forums with well intended posts but be completely befuddled by the immigration process. Here are some simple ways to get your U.S. tourist visa fast.

Be prepared. While this may seem common sense, it still boggles legal professionals when they encounter prospective tourists who expect to get their tourist visa within a few days. You have to plan in advance of your trip and during especially peak months such as June – August, be prepared to wait a little bit longer for the visa interview. So if you know you want to come to the States to visit your friend in December, or even considering it, then put in your tourist visa application in August or September as the U.S. Embassy will more than likely give you an interview before your travel date given that it’s months in advance.

Get your documents ready. If you are applying for a tourist visa to America, you probably found on the U.S. Embassy website that there’s a list of documents that they want to review at your interview. Moreover, these documents must be in English and legible. Prepare your financial statement, employment letter, invitation letter, and your supporting documents in advance so that at your interview you are prepared to hand it over to the interviewing officer.

Be organized and know your stuff. If you ever sat in the waiting area at the U.S. Embassy and watch the people passing through you will see that many come in with thick portfolios, bulging briefcase, or a late tote bag filled with documents and folders. Realistically the visa officer only has a few minutes to interview you and during those precious moments you want to show them your best and strongest evidence. They want to see qualitative evidence of what you have to prove your ties to your home country. So you have a few minutes to impress on them the solid evidence you brought with you Not only do you need to have your documents in an organized fashion but you had better KNOW and VERBALLY express what documents you have with you. You do not have time to rummage through your over-sized tote bag to dig out that employment letter.  And by the way, the slot in the window is not big enough for you to slide your binder through so start throwing it out.  Organize your paperwork so that your strongest and compelling evidence is on top, for instance your employment letter should be on top, next your evidence of financial or property ownership, and then your proof of financial responsibility for your trip. You got 10 minutes so you have to argue your case fast.

Be realistic. Quite simply, some cases are approvable. This means that regardless of what you bring or how well your interview went you do not meet the criteria for a U.S. tourist visa. For instance, if you have committed a crime in the past, whether in the States of abroad and regardless of the type of crime, this is a direct violation of the B1 or B2 Tourist Visa condition. Issuing you another visa may not be possible, but consult with an immigration professional about your particular case. Additionally, if you’ve withheld information or basically misrepresented information in the application, then it decimates your chances of obtaining another visa. In fact, if you currently have a tourist visa to America, any violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act could result in your visa being revoked.