To travel to the United States for holiday or business, or for any other reason, you will need a valid short travel entry permit. If you do not have a passport from a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) eligible country, you may need to apply for a Short Travel Visa to the US Embassy in UK prior to travel.
The chart below contains many different purposes of temporary travel and the related nonimmigrant visa categories. Here you can see the visa category you require.
Purpose of Travel |
Visa Category |
Required: Before applying for visa* |
Business visitor ,Athlete, amateur or professional (competing for prize money only) Domestic employee or nanny - must be accompanying a foreign national employer |
|
|
Tourism, vacation, pleasure visitor, Medical treatment, |
|
|
Au pair (exchange visitor) |
SEVIS |
|
Australian professional specialty |
DOL |
|
Border Crossing Card: Mexico |
|
|
CNMI-only transitional worker |
(USCIS) |
|
Crewmember |
|
|
Diplomat or foreign government official |
|
|
Employee of a designated international organization or NATO |
|
|
Exchange visitor |
SEVIS |
|
Foreign military personnel stationed in the United States |
|
|
Foreign national with extraordinary ability in Sciences, Arts, Education, Business or Athletics |
USCIS |
|
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Professional: Chile, Singapore |
DOL |
|
International cultural exchange visitor |
USCIS |
|
Intra-company transferee |
USCIS |
|
Media, journalist |
|
|
NAFTA professional worker: Mexico, Canada |
|
|
Performing athlete, artist, entertainer |
USCIS |
|
Physician |
SEVIS |
|
Professor, scholar, teacher (exchange visitor) |
SEVIS |
|
Religious worker |
USCIS |
|
Specialty occupations in fields requiring highly specialized knowledge |
DOL then USCIS |
|
Student: academic, vocational |
SEVIS |
|
Temporary agricultural worker |
DOL then USCIS |
|
Temporary worker performing other services or labor of a temporary or seasonal nature. |
DOL then USCIS |
|
Training in a program not primarily for employment |
USCIS |
|
Treaty trader/treaty investor |
|
|
Transiting the United States |
|
|
Victim of Criminal Activity |
USCIS |
|
Victim of Human Trafficking |
USCIS |
|
Nonimmigrant (V) Visa for Spouse and Children of a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) |
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*What the abbreviations above mean:
- Before applying for a visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate, the following is required:
DOL = The U.S. employer must obtain foreign labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor, prior to filing a petition with USCIS.
USCIS = U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approval of a petition or application (The required petition or application depends on the visa category you plan to apply for.)
SEVIS = Program approval entered in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)
Apply for your DOL, USCIS or SEVIS for approval if they apply for your chosen visa category above
Complete online Nonimmigrant Visa Application Form DS-160
Email to us the application form DS-160, a copy of your passport and the petition approval if they apply to your chosen visa category
We will book the interview appointment at the closesr US embassy to you.
Visit the Embassy for your interview and finger prints
We collect your passport when your visa is ready and post it to you or inform you that is ready for collection
It must be valid for at least the next 6 months when you apply for the visa, with at least two blank pages remaining. The passport should be in acceptable condition. If not there is a chance your application will be rejected.
The photos should be recent, good quality, identical and (50mm x 50mm) taken against a white background (the background must be white!). If you cannot get a photo yourself then we can print them for you from a digital file. Simply email us a clear photo of the applicant and we can process them for a £5 fee.
A copy of your approved DOL, USCIS or SEVIS petition, if you are applying for a visa category above that requires a petition.
Confirmation page of your DS-160 Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application form completed at Consular Electronic Application Center website less then a month ago.
Confirmation page of your appointment, (instruction page) Visa24 will email it to you, please read it through as may contain a list of any additional documents you may be required to provide depending on your visa type
Additional requested documents may include evidence of the purpose of your trip, your intent to depart the United States after your trip, your ability to pay all costs of the trip
- During your visa interview, a consular officer will determine whether you are qualified to receive a visa, and if so, which visa category is appropriate based on your purpose of travel. You will need to establish that you meet the requirements under U.S. law to receive the category of visa for which you are applying.
- Ink-free, digital fingerprint scans will be taken as part of your application process during your interview.
- After your visa interview, Embassy informs us when your passport is ready for collection and Visa24 collects it.