Guide to Know About DS 160 Form For Visa Application

What is a Non-Immigration Visa?

A person who lives temporarily in the US is a non-immigrant. Plainly speaking, the one might reside in the US for fulfilling the purpose of employment or medical treatment or business or temporary work/study. He would require a non-immigrant visa. It is provided to the non-natives of that country.

You can’t fulfil immigration dreams unless you have a legal permit to live there. It can be procured through a non-immigrant visa, let’s say H1B Visa. But, this is not the only one option you can have to settle there for a few years. Your employer files petition for seeking this visa on your behalf. In the meantime, you undergo several ordeals to get it.

Filling DS 160 Form is also a part of that visa formality. Let’s catch on why it’s essential; how much safe it is and how you can fill this form on the internet.

What is a DS 160 form?    

As aforesaid, it’s an electronically available application form. You will have to submit it to the Department of the State. If you look into its layout, it would take a wink to estimate what and why you need to fill it.

Simply telling, it’s a kind of an e-Portfolio wherein you fill the necessary information about yourself. The ultimate motto of seeking this biography is to collect pan information and to send it to the US immigration authority (USCIS). It’s mandatory to fill prior to the visa interview. Once you submit it, the consular officers gain an easy access about you. Thereby, examining whether or not you’re eligible to get the non-immigrant visa becomes a walkover for them.

What are the benefits of DS 160 form?

1. It provides with an interactive help that doesn’t need any mediator.
2. In place of Forms DS-156, DS-156K, DS-156V, DS-157, DS-158 and DS-3032, just one form (i.e. DS 160) is to be filled.
3. As far as privacy is concerned, the consulate officer comes across your information through electronic mode. Thereby, your data remains confidential with him.
4. If you have filled it flawlessly and accurately, the visa processing won’t take a long. Rather, the officer would gain efficiency in processing your visa application. He would know about you before the screening during an interview. Hence, the delay in the visa processing can be averted.
5. Since you have the access to this form on the internet, you can easily edit it to serve the accurate details. If you want to edit or revise it the first time, you can do it remotely anytime, as per convenience and requirement.

Where does this form’s information store?

When you fill it online, your data straightly get stored in the robust storage architecture of the Department of State (DoS).

A few years ago, this facility was partially available on the internet. The applicant had to take out its hard copy. Subsequently, he had to visit the consular office in person to submit it. The erstwhile security was based on the barcode scanning. The form consisted of certain code in the form of bars. The officer used to scan it to enter the filled data into the database of the DoS. Thereby, they skip the start to end process of filling and re-filling your information into their database.

Also, you used to go for the interview with the A to Z papers, confirmation sheet and other relevant information in regard of the visa.

How can you skip filling this form?

If you want an employment visa, you will be split into the category of E-2 visa applicants. Then, the DS-160 form is a must. But, if you are a treaty trader or an executive/manager/ crucial employee, your employer will have to fill DS-156E form. When the immigration officer issues DS-161, no other form would be required.