USA Visa Intro Paragraph 

In order to make an entry in the USA, a citizen of any other country must first attain a US visa. This visa will be placed in the itinerant’s passport, which is issued by the nation of citizenship the itinerant belongs to. Without the permission of Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors, none is allowed to step in any US port of entry, land border crossing or airport. These authorities are responsible for travellers’ entry to the US borders for specified purpose and time frame and also for immigration matters. However, there are some international travellers, qualifying the requirements for visa-free travel, who can enter the USA. 

Types of USA Visa  

There are around 185 USA visa types. The US visa is broadly classified into two categories: Non-immigrant visas and Immigrant visas. 

Non-immigrant visas are basically temporary, time-bound which does mean that the traveller visiting the USA has to return to his/her home country within the visa’s time of expiry. Such visas are meant for employment, family visit, studies business, tourism et al.

Also known as Green cards, immigrant visas are permanent ones issued to the itinerants who seek to move to the USA with a purpose to reside there so long they want to under immigrant investor schemes or maybe family reunion, unlike non-immigrant visas. 

Documents required for USA Visa 

Irrespective of the type of US visa you like to attain, there are some important documents, which the US consulate or embassy would ask for, that are mandatory from every applicant in USA visa process. Every applicant of US visa needs to face an interview with the concerned officials to get a visa. So once you have finalised the visa type, don’t fail to double check if you have gathered the following USA visa documents while you submit your US visa application:

1. An online non-immigrant DS 160 application form
2. One photograph
3. Your valid passport, which should be valid for a minimum of six months
4. A list of social media you use with the basic details including account name, email, contact number et al.
5. For a non-immigrant US visa application, the payment receipt documenting a non-refundable fee of US$160 for the visa interview schedule should be attached.
6. If any document is not written in English or in the official language of the country where the interview is scheduled then it should be translated by an experienced translator.  

USA Visa Fees 

Depending on the USA visa type you wish to apply for, the USA visa fees is determined. Every visa applicant including children has to pay a non-refundable, non-transferable machine readable visa (MRV) application fee irrespective of issuance or non-issuance of visa. 

The visa charge for USA in the immigrant category is US$220, which is issued by the US Department of State at US Embassies and Consulates abroad. It is called US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) immigrant fee. The USCIS is a federal agency overseeing lawful immigration to the USA. The fee includes the processing cost of USCIS, filing and maintaining immigrant visa packets and also the cost to produce Permanent Resident Cards.

For non-immigrant category, there are several sub-categories of visa charges for USA ranging from US$160 to US$205. The most common non-immigrant visa type includes business, tourist, student and exchange visas. Work and religious visas, which belong to the petition-based visas, cost US$190 whereas E and K visas respectively amount to US$205 and US$265. An elaborate and comprehensive list of visa types and fee amounts can be found at US visa related websites.

USA Visa Centres in India 

Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and New Delhi are the five Indian metros where you would find the US visa centres in India. These US Embassy or Consulate and visa application centres remain open from Mondays to Fridays from 8 am to 5 pm and on Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm. However, these would remain closed during all US and Indian holidays. The visa application call centre services too would remain shut on Saturdays, New Year, Republic Day, Holi, Independence Day, Diwali and Gandhi Jayanti. For Biometrics appointment, these remain open on Mondays to Fridays from 8 am to 5 pm and on Sundays, from 1 pm to 5 pm. For submission of drop box visa application, you can visit on Mondays to Fridays from 10 am to 4 pm, and for passport collection, you can visit on Mondays to Fridays from 10 am to 4 pm and on Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm.