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What does my appointment time mean?
Your appointment time is the time when we are expecting you to appear
at the first floor of the U.S. Embassy Seoul, Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV)
branch, to begin your NIV application processing, one of 400,000 applications
we process annually. Your interview will not be at that time, it will
be later. For example, if your appointment is at 9:00 AM, please be inside
the Embassy at 9:00 AM. Your interview is only the last part of your NIV
processing on the day of your appointment. We try to interview applicants
within one hour upon their arrival at the Embassy, but given our large
volume and high complexity of applications, we can never guarantee that
NIV processing can be finished in time to suit anyone's plans. We do try
to process applicants as quickly as possible. Please bring your appointment admission ticket. Please arrive in time for airport style security screening
as you enter the Embassy. Please bring your application materials completely,
correctly and legibly filled out.
I'm not a Korean citizen.
Can I apply for a nonimmigrant visa (NIV) at the U.S. Embassy Seoul?
Yes, anyone physically present in Korea may apply for an NIV here. NIV
applicants are interviewed by scheduling an appointment through Visa Information Web Services at www.us-visaservices.com.
Spouses and minor children of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) personnel (U.S.,
military or civilian) may have interviews for nonimmigrant visas (NIVs) to visit
the U.S. without appointments. Korean employees of USFK, and their spouse
and minor children may also have interviews for NIVs without appointments
at the same time if the primary applicant is on official travel. These applicants must
fall in line at the Embassy's side entry at 8:30 am, any workday, Monday-Friday, except Korean
or U.S. holidays, with all documents fully prepared, including official orders, and necessary fees paid in advance.
Please review the information on this website for detailed information
about documents and fees, and downloadable
forms, including an electronic application form (DS-156).
U.S. law requires that all visitor and student NIV applicants show sufficiently
strong family, social, professional or economic ties to a residence abroad
to ensure that their stay in the U.S. will be temporary. Section 214(b)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (INA), states that "every alien shall be presumed to be an immigrant until s/he establishes
to the satisfaction of the officer, at the time of the application for
a visa, that s/he is entitled to nonimmigrant status." This means
that we are required to view each NIV applicant as intending to immigrate,
and therefore ineligible for an NIV, until the applicant proves otherwise.
We must caution non-Koreans that establishing such ties while someone
is away from home, and in Korea temporarily, can be difficult.
NIV processing usually takes up to seven working days, during busy periods
longer, after we have received all application materials in good order.
Please apply early to avoid last minute problems.
I lost my passport that contained a valid U.S. visa. What can I do?
If you lost your passport that contained
a valid U.S. visa, you must apply by appointment. In addition to the required
application materials, you must submit your new passport, entry/exit records
from Korean Immigration, a signed and dated police report (translated
into English; if available) and copy of the old visa (if available). Please schedule an
interview appointment through Visa Information Web Services at www.us-visaservices.com.
I'm Korean. Can I travel to Guam without a visa?
If you hold a Korean passport that is valid for at least six months past
your date of entry, you may seek entry to Guam for business or pleasure
for 15 days or less without a visa. You must travel on a registered carrier,
have a round-trip or onward ticket in your possession when arriving in
Guam and cannot be otherwise ineligible for a U.S. visa. A visa waiver
traveler to Guam cannot extend, adjust or change his/her status while
in the U.S., including Guam, and cannot travel from Guam to another destination
in the U.S.
The following passport holders are eligible for the Guam visa waiver:
U.S. visa waiver travelers, as well
as Indonesia, Malaysia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Solomon
Islands, Taiwan (residents thereof who begin their travel in Taiwan and
who travel on direct flights from Taiwan to Guam without an intermediate
layover or stop except for stops in a U.S. territory enroute), the U.K.
(British National Overseas, British Dependent Territory passports), Vanuatu
and Western Samoa.
For Information on the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, click
here.
What qualifies as evidence of finances?
Does the U.S. Embassy accept guarantees of financial support for NIV
applications?
Evidence of finances may include bank books, income tax certificates,
certificate of employment/business registration or proof of scholarship.
While we highly recommend that you submit evidence of your financial situation
to help us determine your compelling social and economics ties to Korea,
such documents are not required to apply for an NIV. No NIV decision is
based solely on an applicant's finances. When determining eligibility for a visa, economic, family and social ties are evaluated collectively. Guarantees of financial support
from persons other than the applicant may have little bearing on a visitor
visa application.
What visa do I have to apply for? F1? J1? B1/B2? G?
NIV type is determined by the purpose of travel stated on your NIV application
(DS-156/DS-157). Please refer to "Visa
Classifications " on this website to learn more.
What are my chances of getting a visa?
Please be assured that we adjudicate each visa application on its own
merits as quickly as our resources permit, in accordance with U.S. laws
and regulations. In Fiscal Year 2003 we adjudicated over 420,000 NIV applications,
most within two working days of receipt, finding approximately 95% of all applicants
eligible for a visa.
Please understand that no one, not a travel agent or us, can say in advance
if an applicant is ineligible or eligible for an NIV. While U.S. law does
not permit us to offer advance assurance that we can adjudicate an application
in time to meet the applicant's desired travel plans, or that any particular
applicant is eligible for a visa in advance of actually applying, we strive
to offer the best possible service. For further information on the visa
process please refer any interested parties to our website, available
through links at www.unitedstatesvisas.gov
or www.travel.state.gov.
How can I help my friend get a visa?
Applying for a visa can seem complicated at times, and be a source of
anxiety for the applicant. Understandably, many Americans want to help
a friend, colleague or loved one through the visa process.
While the fundamental rule of applying for a visa is that an applicant
must qualify based on his or her own circumstances.
If you wish to convey information to us in support of an application,
please send it directly to the applicant, who can share it with us during
his/her interview, or who can include it with a mail-in submission.
One of the most common misconceptions regarding nonimmigrant visas is
that someone can act as a sponsor or offer to guarantee a person's return
to their home country. We receive many such well-intentioned letters.
Unfortunately, U.S. immigration law makes no provisions for offers of
guarantee or the like.
We have more information on helping
someone obtain a visa.
How do I arrange an interview?
Interview appointments are scheduled online through Visa Information Web Services at www.us-visaservices.com. The cost of the Visa Information Web Service is a flat fee of 12,000 Korean Won and is charged to a Visa or MasterCard. Purchasing a PIN for a flat fee will allow applicants to access additional information and schedule up to five appointments for immediate family members.
Updated August 17, 2004
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