DS-160 Online Form: A Detailed Explanation

Your US education journey has one final and crucial step after all else: Filling out the DS-160 application form online.

In this article we have covered the following aspects of the DS-160 form to help ease the process for you:

1. What is the DS-160 form?
2. Who needs to complete the form DS-160?
3. What are the documents required to complete the DS-160 form online?
4. How to fill the DS-160 form?
5. What are the steps after completing the DS-160 form?
6. What is the cost of filling the DS-160 form?
7. Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s begin!

What is the DS-160 form?

The DS-160 is an Online Non-immigrant Visa application form that is required for temporary travel to the US and also for a K (fiancé) visa. The form has to be submitted online to the Department of State. The information provided in the form is used by the Consular officers to process visa applications. For a successful submission, the form must be filled completely without any error.

The information provided in this form must be completely true as it will form the basis of your visa interview. Applicants need to fill the form with relevant details as per their passport.

Who needs to complete the form DS-160?

Any person with plans to travel temporarily to the US on a non-immigrant visa will have to fill this form. Any dependent or child will also be required to fill their own DS-160 forms.

What documents are required to complete the DS-160 form online?

While filling the form, you will need the following documents:

• Passport
• Travel itinerary, if you have already made travel arrangements
• Dates of your last five visits or trips to the US, if you have traveled to the US in the past. You will also be asked for your international travel history of the last five years.
• Resume: You will need to provide information about your past or current education and work history.
• In addition to these, you might be asked to submit some more information or documents depending upon the nature of your travel.

The last point is related to applicants who are applying for a student visa, temporary work visa, or a petition-based temporary work visa. The documents that might be required for these purposes are:

• Students and Exchange Visitors (F, M, and J visa applicants):

If you are applying for any of the student visas, then you will be required to submit your SEVIS ID. This ID is printed on your I-20 or DS-2019. This is an important stage to complete the DS-160 form. You will also need to provide the name of the school and university which you will be attending. This information will also be mentioned on your I-20 or DS-2019 form.

• Petition-based Temporary workers

This applies to people applying for H-1B, H-2, H-3, CW1, L, O, P, R, E2C visas. They should have their I-129 with them while completing the DS-160 form.

• Other temporary workers:

They will need to submit information regarding their employer such as the name of their employer, employer’s address, etc. while completing the DS-160 form.

How to fill the DS-160 form?

The DS-160 form has to be completed and submitted online as there is no paper version for this. The form is long and time-consuming because it has a number of fields to be filled out. But in spite of the tedious process, the information can be filled with little to no guidance.

You can download the detailed PDF document provided by the US Department of State on their website. Or you can read on and follow the below-mentioned steps to fill out the form:

Start the application

• To start the application, go to the U.S Department of State website and click on the Non-immigration application page.
• Fill in the name of the country from where you are filling in the application.
• Enter the captcha and upload a digital photograph of yourself.
• You will then be given 3 options: Start a new application, Upload an application, or Retrieve an application.
• If you are filling in the application for the first time, click on start a new application.
• You can also retrieve any previously filled application form, if you could not complete it the first time due to a timed-out session. To retrieve an application, you will need to fill in the application ID and answer the security questions that you had chosen.

Enter personal data

This is the simplest part of the process. Just provide all the personal information asked for as per your passport. The fields include Name, Surname, Marital Status, Maiden Name (if any), Date and Place of Birth, Nationality.
Other details regarding the US taxpayer ID, other nationalities (if any) have to be filled on the second page of the personal information.

Travel information

Here you have to give details like the purpose of your travel to the US, itinerary (if any), travel arrangements, or address where you will be staying.
Additionally, you will be asked about the information of the person paying for your trip, your relationship with them, and on the next page, information of any person traveling with you.

Contact details

Enter contact information such as your mobile phone number, address, and email address. If you are active on any social media platforms, then include that as well.

Passport information

Next, fill in the information mentioned on your passport such as passport number, the country that issued the passport, issuance and expiration date, etc.

US person of contact

On this page, you will have to enter your person of contact in the US, their address, and their relationship to you.

Family information

Information related to your family such as your father and mother’s name, occupation, address, spouse/partner, their address, etc. will have to be provided. Other fields include information about any relatives in the US at the time of filling the form.

Present work and education information

Specific information about your current occupation or education has to be filled in, followed by information about your previous education and work experience.
On the next page, you will be asked about additional work information, such as previous travel experience to other countries, participation in social or charitable organizations, military service record, if any.

Background and security

This has five parts pertaining to your physical and mental health, including vaccinations, criminal or unlawful record,s etc.

Student visa applicants

Students applying for F, M, and J visas have to provide additional information about their person of contact. For students applying for F and M visas, they will need to enter their SEVIS ID, school and course name, and address.

Review Application

The final step includes reviewing the application and uploading a recent photo. Make sure you are not wearing glasses in the photo as it will not be accepted.
Once you confirm the photo, review the application and all the details you have entered. Sign your application and click on submit. You’ll receive a confirmation that you can print out the application.

What are the Steps After Completing the DS-160 form?

Once you have successfully signed and submitted your application, you can either print out the entire application or the barcode page of the application.
Next, schedule a visa interview appointment and pay the visa application fee. When you appear for the interview, remember to bring your DS-160 form with you along with other essential documents.

What is the cost of filling the DS-160 form?

The DS-160 form does not require any fee to be submitted. However, to complete the process, you will need to schedule a visa interview appointment for which you will have to make payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I answer the questions on the form in my native language?
Answer: No, the answers cannot be made in your native language. All the questions are to be answered in English.

How long is the DS-160 valid?
Answer: The application is valid for as long as the information mentioned in the application is current and unchanged. If you have received a new I-20 or your university name has changed, you will have to submit the application again.

My session timed out. Is my application lost?
Answer: If your application has timed-out, you can retrieve the application after entering the application ID and answering the security question.

How long does it take to fill the application form?
Answer: It can take anywhere from 60-90 minutes to complete the application form. If you have all the information ready before you fill the form, the process will be faster.

Can I change the information in the form after submitting the form?
Answer: Once you submit the form electronically, you won’t be able to make any changes. However, you can retrieve the application form in less than 30 days before access. You can change whatever information you need to correct then.

What should I do if the photo area of the confirmation page has a big X?
Answer: The big X in the place of your photo means that the photo did not upload correctly. Once you get a digital photo, follow the photo requirements to successfully upload it.

Are all questions on the form mandatory?
Answer: No. Depending on your purpose of the US visit, some questions will be optional for you.

Are there more forms that I have to fill to complete the process?
Answer: No. DS-160 has replaced other forms like DS-156, DS-157, DS-158, and DS-3032. All you have to do once you have signed and submitted the application is to print the application barcode and schedule a visa interview appointment.

How can I save my application?
Answer: After filling in information on a particular page, you can save the application. This is helpful in the case the session times out or you don’t have the complete information at present.

Can I save my partially-completed application and return it later?
Answer: Yes, you can. To return to a previous application, enter the application ID, and answer the security question chosen by you. However, you have 30 days to return your partially filled application.

I lost internet connection and received an error message? Is my application lost?
Answer: No. Each page is automatically saved once you move on to the next page. To get back to your application, enter your application ID, and answer the security question. The application will open on the last page you were filling. You can also edit the previous pages if required.

I could not complete my application in one go. Do I need to save my application?
Answer: The system will time out after 20-minutes of inactivity and you will lose all information. To avoid the loss of information, save your application frequently. Or you can retrieve your application if you have noted down the application ID.

My visa application got denied because the DS-160 form contained errors/was incomplete. What should I do next?
Answer: You can retrieve your application and correct the errors or complete the application. Once you have corrected the information, contact the embassy/consulate where you applied for specific information.

Do I have to bring the entire DS-160 application with me to the visa interview appointment?
Answer: No, you do not need to bring the entire application. Only the confirmation page is necessary for the interview. This confirmation page should contain your application ID so that the application can be retrieved during the interview. This is an important document without which your visa will not be processed.

I lost the confirmation page of the DS-160 form. What should I do now?
Answer: You can retrieve your confirmation page if you have already submitted your application. Go to the Consular Electronic Application Centre’s website; select the embassy/consulate where you are applying; enter your application ID and hit on Option-C ‘Retrieve application’.

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