Visa appointment checklist

Visa appointment checklist

Below is an overview of everything you need to take with you to your visa appointment and information on what to expect at it. 

What to take with you

Please use this list as a checklist and ensure you have all documents with you. We have provided, where possible, images of the documents for reference. We are unable to individually check your documents before your appointment. 

Current passport
If you have an earlier passport containing an American visa you should bring that with you to your visa interview as well.

I-20 document
You must bring both pages of your I-20 to your interview. If your school emailed you yours, you need to print out a copy. Remember to sign and date your I-20 under "Student Attestation" on page 1. Look after this document once you have it back!


DS-160 form confirmation
Before booking the visa appointment, you filled out the DS-160 form and should have saved the confirmation. You can get this by logging into the DS-160 website. 


Non-immigrant visa instructions
Go to the ‘Print instructions’ section of your Visa Appointment Service account here to print the entire instructions page, including the bar codes.


SEVIS I-901 payment receipt
You must pay SEVIS before your appointment, this is a non-negotiable fee!
If you haven't already, you must pay the SEVIS I-901 fee HERE. Your school code is on your I-20. This payment is different to the fee you paid when you booked your appointment. We recommend doing this a minimum of 3 working days before the visa appointment so the payment is registered in the system. To print the receipt, open the link and select "check I-901 status" then fill in the information and click on check status/view payment confirmation". You must print the receipt you receive and take it to the interview. This is very important. 


Passport picture
You need to have a passport picture in colour for your visa application. Even if you have uploaded a passport photo digitally in your DS-160 application, you must take an additional photo with you. You can print/take a copy of the one you uploaded for the DS-160 application. This photo needs to be less than 6 months old, be approx. 5x5cm against an entirely white background. See the embassy’s requirements for passport pictures here.

Bank statement
Take a printout of the bank statement you provided to your school to receive your I-20. You can redact the sort code and account number if you wish to. 

Evidence of your status in the UK
Only if you are not a UK or EU passport holder. Contact us for what to bring. 

Social media requirements
Alert
New requirement
Before attending your appointment, you must change all social media accounts, across all platforms, that you own to public. This is to comply with new vetting requirements in place by the US government. Any accounts they find which are not public could result in your visa being denied.  We also recommend you remove any posts which could be seen as negative to the US government, these include but aren't limited to:
  1. Any political posts
  2. Anti-social behaviour
    1. Under age drinking
    2. Poses that could be interpreted as gang signs
    3. Reckless behaviour
  3. Anything negative about the US

What to expect

The Interview
Here is a good video explaining the appointment at the embassy. The actual visa interview at the embassy is more of a review of all your documents. It’s like standing at a bank booth as opposed to a full-on interview, so don’t panic!

They want to see your ties to your home country/country of residence and that you intend to return after your studies. We recommend you always state that you intend to return and start a work career in your home country. You may get some questions about why you should study in the US, what you are going to study and why you chose this field of study, what is your plan for school, etc. We recommend reading up on your field of study on the school's website in advance of the interview.

Security check & timings
You must go through a security check at the embassy (as if you are at an airport). See here for a guide to what you can and can’t bring in with you. You will not be allowed to take someone in with you.

Leading up to the summer especially, the embassy can become extremely busy. To try and avoid long queues, we recommend getting there in plenty of time before your appointment for the security checks etc. Also be prepared to be in the embassy for a few hours.
Parents are not allowed into the embassy with you unless you are under 18.

After your appointment
Once you’ve been told your application has been successful, the embassy will keep your passport and all your documents. Successful applications take 3 – 5 workdays to process before the passport is handed to the courier for delivery; at least a further 2 working days should be allowed for delivery. The visa will be a sticker on a page in your passport and looks like the below:

As soon as your application has been processed, your passport will be handed to the courier company for delivery and they will email you a tracking number. It will be delivered to either the DX location you chose or your house if you paid for the home delivery service. It is not possible to collect your passport in person from the Embassy or Consulate. When you have had your visa interview you can check the status of your passport/visa here (change the dropdown to non-immigrant visa).

Embassy Information
The address of the U.S. Embassy in London is:
  1. Embassy of the United States: 33 Nine Elms Ln, Nine Elms, London SW11 7US
The best way to contact the Embassy is by using their contact form, you can also call them at 020 7499 9000. We are not able to contact the embassy for you. They will only talk to applicants directly.
The address of the U.S. Embassy in Belfast is:
  1. Consulate General Belfast: 223 Stranmillis Rd, Belfast BT9 5GR, Northern Ireland