DS-160 checklist

Pick the embassy or consulate where you plan to interview; it can usually still be used elsewhere if plans change.

Shown at the top right once you start. Write it down at once; you need it to come back to the form.

Choose a question whose answer you will remember exactly; it is required to retrieve the application.

Copy the family name from the passport data page, including all parts.

Copy the first and middle names exactly as printed in the passport.

Only needed if your language uses a non-Latin script; otherwise tick 'Does Not Apply'.

Include maiden names and any earlier legal names; each one is listed separately.

Relevant mainly to applicants with Chinese-character names who have a telecode number.

Follow the official FAQ guidance if your passport shows a different marker.

Choose your current status; a spouse section appears later if you are married.

Day, month and year as on the passport.

Use the city name; the passport spelling is a safe choice.

Tick 'Does Not Apply' if there is none.

The country where you were born, using its present name in the list.

The nationality of the passport you are using for this application.

Past nationalities count too; have any other passport numbers ready.

Answer yes if you hold a residence status abroad, such as a long-term permit.

Your national ID number if your country issues one; otherwise 'Does Not Apply'.

Only if you were issued one in the past.

Only if you have one; most visitors do not.

Select the visa class family that fits your trip, e.g. temporary business/pleasure (B).

Narrow the category, e.g. business and tourism (B1/B2).

If you have no bookings, answer no and give an estimated arrival date and length of stay.

An estimate is fine if you have not booked; avoid dates that are clearly impossible.

Number plus unit, e.g. 2 weeks.

Asked only if you have specific plans; take details from your itinerary.

Hotel or host address; for a multi-stop trip, give the first main stop.

If someone else pays, you will be asked for their contact details and relationship to you.

Family members or friends on the same trip; each person still files their own DS-160.

Answer yes for tour groups, teams or delegations and give the group name.

Use the names exactly as in their passports.

If yes, have the arrival dates and lengths of stay of your last five visits ready.

Give the number and state if you have or had one.

Have your most recent visa's issue date and its red visa foil number to hand.

Short yes/no follow-ups about your last visa; answer from your records.

Include every earlier refusal, even ones that were later overcome; explain briefly.

Relevant if your country is in the Visa Waiver Program and an ESTA was refused.

Covers any green-card petition by a relative or employer, even if it was withdrawn.

Your current residential address, not a P.O. box.

If no, give the address where post actually reaches you.

Include the country code.

Optional.

Optional.

List older numbers you used in the past five years.

Use an address you check; appointment and status messages may go there.

List other addresses used in the past five years.

Pick each listed platform you used in the past five years and enter your username or handle (never a password).

Optional extra platforms not in the provided list.

Most travellers choose Regular.

Copy it carefully from the data page; it is re-entered when you sign.

A separate inventory number some passports carry; otherwise 'Does Not Apply'.

The issuing state, not where you live.

Use the place of issue or issuing authority shown in the passport.

From the data page.

Check the passport is valid well beyond your trip.

Give the number and country of each lost or stolen passport if you know them.

Either a named person or an organisation; for tourists without contacts, the hotel is commonly used.

Pick the closest match.

The contact's full U.S. address.

A U.S. number for the contact.

Optional if not known; tick 'Does Not Apply'.

Tick 'Do not know' for any part you genuinely do not know.

If yes, you will be asked for his U.S. status.

Use her birth surname if that is how she is known in records.

If yes, you will be asked for her U.S. status.

Spouse, fiancé(e), children or siblings; have their names and U.S. status ready.

Wider family such as aunts, uncles or cousins.

Appears if you are married; former spouses are asked about if you are divorced or widowed.

Choose the closest category; students, retirees and homemakers have their own options.

Have the full address and phone of your employer or school ready.

When you started this job or course.

Gross monthly amount in your own currency.

Two or three plain sentences about what you actually do.

Earlier employers with addresses, job titles, supervisor names and dates; a CV makes this quick.

Schools and universities with addresses, course of study and attendance dates.

Answer according to your own background.

Include your native language.

List every country visited in the past five years; your passport stamps help.

Associations, unions, charities and similar bodies.

Answer factually; explain briefly if yes.

Includes compulsory service; have branch, rank, specialty and dates ready.

Answer honestly; a yes requires an explanation.

Covers communicable diseases of public-health concern, certain physical or mental disorders, and drug abuse or addiction.

Covers arrests or convictions, drug offences, prostitution, money laundering, human trafficking and related conduct.

Covers espionage, terrorism and support for it, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, use of child soldiers, severe religious-freedom violations and coercive population or organ-transplant practices.

Covers visa fraud or misrepresentation, past removal or deportation, missed removal hearings and unlawful presence or overstays.

Covers withholding custody of a U.S. citizen child, unlawful voting in the U.S., renouncing U.S. citizenship to avoid tax, and certain past student or exchange-visitor violations.

Square JPEG, 600x600 to 1200x1200 px, 240 kB or less, taken within 6 months, white or off-white background, no glasses.

If the upload fails, the confirmation page shows an X and you must bring one printed photo to the consulate.

Check spelling, dates and numbers carefully; edits after submission require a new form or consular reopening.

Someone else may help, but you must sign yourself unless you qualify for an exemption.

Must match the number entered in the passport section.

Clicking it is your electronic signature certifying the answers are true.

Print or email the barcode confirmation page and bring it to your interview.