Just like many other places in the world, foreigners cannot enter the United States without getting an entry paper beforehand, and many who are planning to travel there are wondering about this process. We’ve heard stories that some people got their approval in just a week or two, while others say that they have been trying for years to no avail. It seems like everyone has a story that is on the opposite extreme and nothing seems logical.
More than one million people enter the Stated every year, and all of them have to go through this process if they want to be able to legally stay in the country for a number of months or years. If you are one of the millions who are trying to get this approval, you are probably wondering what you need to do and how long do you have to wait to get it. Keep on reading if you want to learn how long does it take to get a visa from the US embassy and what you need to do to ensure that you don’t get declined over and over again.
What are the requirements?
The first thing we are going to talk about is the conditions for getting the appeal and for getting the approval. Depending on where you are located the process may differ a little bit, and it also depends on what type of entry papers you want to get.
Most of the people who enter the States are people from Canada and Mexico and the process is fairly simple to apply for the visa. First thing you will need to find out what type of application do you need, and more often than not, people ask for work entry papers.
The next step of the process is seeing where you will need to submit the appeal. This is usually done directly on the website, you can also contact the US embassy, you can choose to use a third-party service that will help you get all the documentation and they will even help you submit it.
You will also need to complete the application form, and this is commonly done online. You will need to add information about your current whereabouts, personal details, plan about the stay, where you are going to work, if you are already employed, and for how long you are going to stay.
Remember that there are some fees that you will need to pay before you submit your appeal, and you will need to provide proof that you have paid those fees. The good thing is that the fees will not cost you too much, and depending on where you are coming from, you won’t need to pay more than 200 dollars.
For citizens of Canada and Mexico, that need work entry papers, the fees that they need to pay are between 160 and 190 dollars. Once again, the price may vary depending on many things, so it is better to either consult with the US embassy or check out places like this website where you can get all the information that you need for the process.
After you are done with all the document gathering and online submissions, you will need to schedule an interview and attend it. You can usually get the appointment within two to four months, but that depends on the purpose for entry, so you may even get the appointment much faster. Most Canadian and Mexican citizens get their interviews within a month after submitting the request.
You will need to prepare for the interview and you need to be on time. The interview process is relatively simple, and you are going to be asked several questions on why you want to enter the country, where you will be staying if you are not already employed who is going to cover your expenses until you can get a job and so on.
You can use a third-party service to help you out with the preparation process, or you can choose to prepare on your own. Make sure you go over the questions that you can easily find online so that you don’t lower your chances of getting approved just because you were not prepared.
How long do you need to wait?
After you are done with the interview, and after you submit the documentation for the entry papers, the next stage is just waiting. You cannot do anything else but wait for the response and the processing time will vary depending on your location, the type of permit you need, as well as the seasons.
Know that there are some times of the year where there are a lot of applicants, so the whole process goes much slower. If you want to speed things up, it is better to choose a month or a week where there are not a lot of applicants, so that your request can be processed faster.
More often than not, it takes about one month for the appeal to be processed, and you should not wait for more than five weeks to get the response. In some cases, you may even get the information on the paper after three weeks, and if you are in a lot of luck, and if you are one of the few applicants, you may even get a response within two weeks.
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t receive that information after a month, and remember that, as we mentioned before, you may need to wait for a bit longer if you are applying for work entry papers during the season when millions of people are submitting their requests.
You can check the status of your entry papers on the official website, and you can also contact the US embassy for more information on the process. If you are using a third-party service, they will also keep you updated and they will let you know what’s happening and for how long you will need to wait.
These are most of the things that you need to know about the process and the conditions, and you should get the reply and confirmation notification in about a month after you are done with the interview. Make sure you understand every bit of the process before you apply for a permit and for all the questions you may have, you can collaborate with the right service that will help you out.
