Statistics provided by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism reveal that in 2018, the number of outbound tourists from China grew 14.7% to reach a total of 149.72 million. The top 10 destinations for Chinese travellers included the United States. Here, the average length of the trip was 12.6 days. All this only goes to reflect how much the Chinese love to explore American culture and history.
If you too are planning to visit the US from China, the first thing you need is a visit visa. The US travel visa is called the B category visa and is classified into two main types, B1 and B2. In case your trip is focused on leisure or to seek medical treatment in the US, you will need to apply for the B2 visa. On the other hand, if it is a business trip, the B1 visa will be applicable.
Process to Apply for a US Visit Visa
The first step is to complete the DS-160 form, which is the Non-Immigrant Visa Electronic Application Form. The details that you will need to provide in this form are:
- Your passport number and other passport information
- Personal information, along with your permanent address and contact number(s)
- Your US travel plan, including duration of the trip, tour itinerary and information about your contact in the United States
- Educational background and employment details
There will also be 5 additional pages of security questions that need to be answered.
Next, you need to pay the visa fee. While the visit visa fee is $160, you can pay it in Yuan. For this, you should check the current exchange rate on the day you pay the visa fee. There are several options for making the fee payment, such as:
- At any one of CITIC Bank’s 1200 branches
- At a CITIC Bank Smart Counter
- Online, through a debit card issued by a Chinese bank
- Via Alipay
Schedule your visa appointment by registering on this page. You will need to provide some key information to book your appointment, such as:
- Your receipt number, present on the visa fee receipt.
- The barcode on your DS-160 confirmation page
- Your passport number.
Go for your interview at the US Embassy on the set date and time. Carry a copy of the appointment letter, one 2×2 inches, recent passport-size color photograph, and all the passports that you hold. Supporting documents include but are not limited to:
- Tax payments receipts, business or property ownership papers, and proof of income.
- A letter from your company that states your position, salary, duration of employment, and any previous US business trips.
- Criminal record, related to any past arrests in any country, even if you were pardoned or completed your sentence.
If you follow all these steps carefully, it will improve your chances of getting the US visit visa. Also, before the actual interview, you should take a look at the sample visa interview questions. This will help you to prepare better.
