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How To Apply

How to Apply for a U.S. Visa

1.  Fill out the online application: Please click here to complete the DS-160 online visa application.  Note:  You should have your passport, previous visa information (if applicable), and any other documents relevant to your intended travel to the United States ready and available for your reference before you start the application process.  Also, be sure to select "Zambia, Lusaka" as the location where you will be submitting your application.  

Important Information and Tips for the Online Visa Application

  • Access times-out after 20 minutes, so save a copy frequently to your computer.
  • Choose the correct purpose of travel. Review the options under “Other.”
  • After reviewing, if the SIGN tab is gray, go back a screen, and then go forward again.
  • Have ALL your information at hand, including your biographical data and trip information.
  • Please read the instructions carefully and answer every question thoroughly. If the application is incomplete, you will be asked to leave and reschedule your interview for another time using our internet appointment system.

2.  Schedule an appointment:  Following completion of the DS-160 application, please schedule an appointment online. The Embassy cannot schedule an appointment for you. Enter the barcode that is listed on your application confirmation page.  You will not be able to schedule an appointment without this barcode. Select the date and time of your interview and enter the requested information.  Print the NIV appointment confirmation page.  You will be required to present this page, along with your application confirmation page, at the U.S. Embassy on the day of your interview. 

3.  Interview:  Attend your interview at the U.S. Embassy and pay the appropriate fee to the Embassy cashier. The fee for a business, tourist, exchange visitor, or student visa is currently $160. Bring your application confirmation page, your appointment confirmation page, passport, a 2 inch by 2 inch photograph, and all supporting documentation.

Supporting documentation:

Applicants in certain visa categories are required to provide specific additional documents, as follows:

  •    Student visa applicants and those participating in exchange programs must present a valid SEVIS generated I-20 form (for F and M visas) or DS-2019 form (for J visas) completed and signed; for more information about SEVIS, please click on this link.  They must also present proof of financial ability to pay education and lodging costs.
  •    Work visa applicants must also bring the work visa petition (approved by the Department of Homeland Security), and the supporting documents that led to the approval of the work petition.  Applicants who are renewing their work visas should bring evidence of their continued employment with the same company, or, if changing employers, a recent job offer letter.
  •    Domestic employees/babysitters accompanying their employers must bring a contract of employment signed by both the employer and the employee (see example).

According to the Immigration and Naturalization Law, all non-immigrant visa applicants must demonstrate to the consular officer that they have strong ties to their country of residence, and must show that they intend to depart the U.S. after their temporary visit.  While there is no specific list of documents to be provided, applicants may wish to bring a variety of materials that can assist in demonstrating these ties.  Such documents may include the following: 

  •    Bank statements, pay stubs, marriage/birth certificates, car documents, real estate deeds, school statements, letters from employers, and, for business owners or partners, company tax returns, etc.
  •    Expired passports for yourself, as well as current and expired passports for others who may be traveling with you, especially if they are family members. 
  •    If someone else will pay for your travel, then it can be important to bring documents demonstrating that person's or organization's ties outside of the United States, as well as documents that can help demonstrate the applicant's own ties to his or her country of residence. 

Please note that the submission of false or altered documents in support of a visa application will result in your visa being denied and/or your being declared permanently ineligible for a visa.  Moreover, document fraud is a crime in Zambia.  The U.S. Embassy routinely provides Zambian authorities with falsified documents submitted by visa applicants for follow-up and/or prosecution.