The process for applying for a visitor’s visa involves a detailed online form, a payment, and then scheduling the interview through an online system.
🕐 Right now, many consulates have a large backlog of cases, and interviews for visitor visas are extensively delayed.
Once the interview is scheduled, there is no way to know if the consular officer will approve the visa or not. The Department of State consular officers are very concerned with visitors who they think will not return home. Sometimes, they make a decision on the spot in less than a few minutes.
It helps for the applicant to provide as much documentation as possible of their assets in their country to assure the government that they will return, and are not planning to stay here permanently. Written statements from the U.S. citizen family members explaining that they will ensure the person’s return can help.
Since August 2026, USCIS does not have to ask you for missing evidence before denying an application. What that means for your filing.