Inviting Parents/ Family / Friends for GRADUATION!! Eagerly awaited post! Warning: Long post.

pc: blogs.sjsu.edu

Hello Spartans!!

Hope everything is fine with you :). Here is the long awaited post on how to apply for VISA for family and friends.  Graduation is the most fruitful and happiest part of going to a university. It is most revered celebration, occasion for everyone as we all know “Once time passes, it cannot be reverted". It is very heartwarming and special event in anyone's lives. For graduation, you would have immense pleasure when people who you love the most like family and friends cheer for you on that day. So, i have decided to make this post as this might help you do this process of applying visa for your friends and family to invite them to visit you for your GRADUATION!!! How much more excited are you than them? :D .. Here we go! 

B-1/B-2 (Business/ Tourist) visa applications are sometimes denied. To help strengthen your B-1/B-2 visa application, It is recommend that you provide additional documents to clarify that the visit is temporary and/or is for a specific occasion (e.g., graduation ceremony), and that the visitor will be supported financially while visiting the U.S. Most importantly, the additional documents should show proof of ties to the home country to prove that the visitor does not intend to immigrate to the U.S. Proof of ties to the home country may include proof of economic, social, family, or other commitments that will help demonstrate that the family visitor intends to return home after a temporary stay in the U.S. 

Pre-requisites for people who you are thinking of inviting: 

1) Passport. (Go to bottom to see how to apply for one if they don't have one yet)

2) Aadhar card.

3) Financial proof of expenses for the travel and some docs to show that commitments with own country and the stay in US is temporary. - More details as you go down. 

Procedure for applying VISA (B2 - Pleasure/tourism visa) to invite for graduation ceremony.

1) Fill out the DS-160 form from the usceac website here.

2) Category to choose in that: B-2 (Visa for Tourism and pleasure)

3) Once you have filled all the details, you will get unique number for that applicant. (MAKE a note of that)

4) Keep the copy of the confirmation of DS-160 aside (You gotta take this to the VISA interview). You do not need to print the WHOLE DS-160 application form. They would just need the confirmation page which will come at the END of filling DS-160 form.

4) Go to the US VISA Website here: create one account with their email id, enter all the details ( will be simple but takes atleast 45min to 1 hour - for DS160form and VISA Slot booking), Make sure you choose the language of your choice for the VISA Interview and VISA Location. Pay the fee in the following manners after you choose how many applicants would be together (you will be asked their DS-160 confirmation number). Pay the aggregated fee for the respective number of people individually on their names. Reason being the receipt number will have to be entered for each person separately.  You could save the progress of this application during filling it. Do not panic when you close the tab unexpectedly or something, there will always be a save button to save whatever you have entered up-till then :) (Applies for DS-160 & VISA Application).

Just as a heads up: Ways to pay for the US Visa fee. NOTE: YOU can ONLY PAY from INDIA/ INDIAN  bank accounts in this case.  

Read more on the payments here : http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-niv-paymentinfo.asp

6. Once you have paid the fee, enter the receipt number of the payment on to the website and then you should be able to choose the VISA Interview DATE. If you find one that's suitable, book it and go to the interview. Make sure you choose the language of your choice for the VISA Interview and VISA Location.

Things that need to be carried for the VISA INTERVIEW:  

1. DS 160 Confirmation page.

2. Valid Passport of the applicant.

3. US VISA Appointment confirmation & fee payment receipt.

4. Aadhar card.

5. Letter of Invitation for Graduation. (Student who is graduating - fill this out and give it to the people who you want to invite for graduation: The Doc is here .

6. Additional Documents for Financial proof : 

• Proof of employment – The best document would be a letter from the employer indicating that this individual is currently employed and is taking time off, but is due back at his or her job on a specific date.
• Proof of property ownership, such as a house, an apartment, or a business, if such a document exists.
• Proof of contact with other family members in the home country.
• Proof of finances – Proof that your family member can support himself/herself during his/her entire stay in the U.S. without working. Examples include: Bank Statement , Proof of Assets such as stock or property.
• If you are funded by SJSU, a letter from your academic department indicating the amount of your financial support / Proof of a scholarship or fellowship
• If you are an employee at the University, a document which shows your position and salary
• Proof of your family member's salary, employment, and/or income.

Procedure for applying INDIAN Passport: 

               Procedure for applying has become easy than ever before. Everything is online. You just need to fillout the application after creating the account for the applicant on the main website : here and decide a place for verification center, schedule the appointment by paying the fee! Thats it. 

Documents that might be needed for applying passport at the verification center:
You could know by entering the details of applicant here on the Indianpassport webiste: here

For Other countries : Family members who are not the children or spouse of the F-1 student or J-1 exchange visitor must apply for a B-1/B-2 visitor visa to gain entry into the U.S. Family members from certain countries may be eligible to travel to the U.S. to visit for stays of up to 90 days without obtaining a B-1/B-2 visa through the U.S. Department of State Visa Waiver Program.

More information on Applying US VISA: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-niv-visaapply.asp

Have any Questions? Comment on! :)  Would be happy to assist!

Additional info:
1.Details on how to fill DS-160 form : ( choose B2 in the beginning and rest is the same)

2. Applying for VISA - same choose B2 visa in the beginning- rest procedure is same .

Part ONE: 

you could find Part TWO of above video in the description of above video.

I hope this helps you, feel free to share this post with your near and dear! if you have any questions, don't forget to comment! Wishing you All the best!!

Go Spartans!!

P.s. Tell your parents to answer the Visa officer ( if asked) saying that they are going to be here for graduation ceremony and around 25 days. but in reality they don't really care unless it exceeds 6 months. Legally they are allowed to stay for 6 months. Usually the Tourist visa will be valid for 10 years. 6 months maximum stay period in US in an year.

How to book VISA for multiple People ( like for family and friends together). : 
-> Fill Ds160 forms for all the applicants separately.
-> Go to VISA Slot booking website, pay the fee for all the candidates separately by mentioned above ways of payment. ( IMPORTANT NOTE : VISA Interview is available in local language also, so be sure to check that option if your parents are not comfortable with english. )
-> While booking the visa( before visa payment page) , there will be an option to add people to the same interview time. Click on that option and it will ask to enter the DS160 form numbers of all applicants. Just enter that and you will be taken to the fee payment. Once your receipt of fee is activated, you could book the slot all of them together.

Frequently Asked Questions : 
1) Why are you going to US?
2) How long you will be staying in US and where.
3) What do you do and how much is your income?
4) When are you planning to go?

Answers to above questions :
1) Graduation of my child.
2) 25 - 30 days is good number. Place : where ever you are staying. 
3) self explanatory.
4) tell some tentative dates of travel.

Here are some other useful posts for you!

1. Methods of Fee payment : http://iso-sjsu.blogspot.com/2014/09/methods-for-payment-of-fee-by.html

2. How to apply for California Driver's License : http://iso-sjsu.blogspot.com/2014/09/how-to-apply-for-california-dl.html

3. Getting SSN : http://iso-sjsu.blogspot.com/2014/09/all-about-ssn.html

4. Internships OPT's at SJSU : http://iso-sjsu.blogspot.com/2014/08/all-about-cpts-and-opts-at-san-jose.html

5. Exploring Resources at SJSU : http://iso-sjsu.blogspot.com/2014/08/exploring-resources-at-san-jose-state.html

6. On-Campus Jobs at SJSU : http://iso-sjsu.blogspot.com/2014/08/getting-on-campus-job-at-san-jose-state.html

7. How to get SJSU Tower card and VTA Pass( free transportation around sjsu with this pass)  : http://iso-sjsu.blogspot.com/2014/08/how-to-get-sjsu-email-newly-admitted.html

sources for this graduation post : UStraveldocs,Umich
Cover pic credits: Sjsublog :