U.S. Department of State

A Customer Service Statement to Visa Applicants

We manage the visa process strictly but fairly in order to best protect the United States. At the same time, we are committed to the essential openness for which the United States has always been known. We welcome and encourage travel to the United States. We promise to you, the visa applicant, that:

• We will treat you with dignity and respect, even if we are unable to grant you a visa;
• We will treat you as an individual and your case as unique;
• We will remember that to you a visa interview may be a new or intimidating experience and that you may be nervous;
• We will use the limited time available for interview to get as full a picture as possible of your travel plans and intentions;
• We will use our available resources to fairly assist all applicants to get appointments to allow travel in time for business, study and other important obligations;
• We will post detailed and accurate information on visa requirements and application procedures on every Embassy and Consulate website,
• We will provide information on appointment waiting times at every Embassy and Consulate posted on http://travel.state.gov and,
• We will explain the reason for any visa denial to you.

Furthermore, if you are a:

• Student, we will make every effort to ensure that you get an appointment and, if qualified, a visa in time to start classes;
• Medical and humanitarian emergency traveler, we will expedite processing for those dealing with life threatening emergencies.
• Business traveler, we will establish appropriate mechanisms to facilitate business travel and expedite cases of particular concern to American business.

At the same time, we expect you the visa applicant to:

• Plan your travel and visa application as far in advance as possible;
• Complete your application fully and accurately;
• Be forthcoming about your purpose and plans;
• Prepare for your interview by being able to clearly and concisely describe your intentions.