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Frequently Asked Questions
 

For more information on Frequently Asked Questions on the DS-160 Non-Immigrant Visa Electronic Application, please visit this page.

Answers

What can I do if I have an emergency and cannot wait until the date of my appointment?

Expedited appointments will only be given in the following situations:

  • To receive or continue urgent medical treatment in the United States.
  • To care for/visit an ill relative in the United States.
  • To attend a funeral of a close relative.
  • For an urgent trip for work or business.
  • A court appearance or legal citation.

If your situation falls into one of the above categories, please contact our Call Center and request an emergency appointment.

What should I do if my passport is lost or was stolen and it had a valid visa?

If you have lost your passport or it was stolen, please follow these steps:

  • Notify the U.S. Consular Section of the loss by fax at (504) 2237-1792 or (504) 2238-4357.  In a note state your case, give us your full name, your date of birth and Honduran ID card number.
  • Notify the closest Honduran Migration office of the loss and request a "Movimiento Migratorio," a report of all entrances and departures from Honduras in the last 10 years.
  • Submit an official report of the loss to the police.
  • Reapply for a visa interview, and at the personal interview present the police report and the Movimiento Migratorio, in addition to the rest of the documents to qualify for a visa.

What should I do if my visa is still valid but my passport is not?

You may travel with a valid passport and a valid, unexpired visa in an expired passport. You can staple or clip the two passports together.

If you want, you may also apply for a new visa with your new, but you must go through the regular visa application procedure.

Can I travel to the United States even if my visa expires in less than six months?

You may enter the U.S. up until the day your visa expires.  Your passport must have a minimum six-month validity remaining at the moment of travel.

A visa is to request permission to enter the United States.  The immigration's officer establishes the time you are allowed to remain in the U.S. and it will be stamped in the form I-94 in your passport.  The time you are allowed to stay is not necessarily limited to the validity of your visa.

I am in Honduras temporarily.  Can I apply for a visa in Tegucigalpa?

If you are not a resident in Honduras, it may be very difficult for you to qualify for a visa.  You must be able to show ties to your country of residence and/or your nation of citizenship.  Generally, applicants should apply for a visa in their country of residence.  If you are not a Honduran citizen but have residence, please bring your residency card (and a copy) to your interview.

I missed my appointment for reasons beyond my control.  What can I do to reschedule my appointment?

If you could not come to your appointment, please contact our Call Center so your appointment can be rescheduled.

What can I do if I need to postpone my appointment?

If you know ahead of time that you will not be able to come on the date of your appointment scheduled by our Call Center, you will need to get in touch with them again, so your original appointment can be rescheduled.

What should I do if I missed my appointment?

If you missed your appointment, you need to contact our Visa Information Center (Call Center) so you can schedule a new appointment.  If beforehand you know you will not be able to go to your appointment, please call the Visa Information Center to reschedule.

What should I do if I've lost my Consular fee receipts?

Contact our Visa Information Center (Call Center), and confirm the date and time of your appointment, so you can avoid any confusion in the Consular's Section entrance.

We purchased appointments for the family but not all of them are for the same date.  What can we do?

When scheduling your appointment with our Call Center, please explain to the agent that it is a family group, so the appointments can all be scheduled for the same day and time, otherwise you would have to contact the Call Center again to reschedule your appointments.

Should I come earlier than the time shown on my receipt?

We recommend that you arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment.  If you come much earlier it will only lengthen your waiting time outside of our building.

What happens if I arrive late to my appointment?

If you show up past the time of your appointment and entry has already been allowed for all applicants with that appointment time, you will be placed at the end of the line of the group scheduled for next entry.

If you arrive more than a half hour after your scheduled appointment, unfortunately your access to the Consular Section will be denied, and you will need to reschedule your appointment by calling our Visa Information Center (Call Center) again.

How long does the interview take?

You should arrive no more than 15 minutes before your interview time and be prepared to wait several hours before your interview with a Consular Officer.  Due to the high volume of applicants, the interview itself will generally last only two to three minutes.  An officer can quickly verify a case by asking a few questions and skimming over the documents.  Moreover, in order to process all applicants quickly and fairly, it is necessary for the officers to work quickly and efficiently.

How soon will I receive my visa once it is approved?

Passports with visas are usually ready three to four working days after the interview and will be available for pickup in several Cargo Expreso offices throughout Honduras.

Please note that there will be no home delivery service for passports.

What is the most common reason for denying a visa?

The most common reason for being denied a non-immigrant visa is that the applicant was not able to demonstrate strong ties to a residence outside the United States.  Under Section 214(b) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, all applicants for non-immigrant visas, including tourist, medical and student visas, are considered intending immigrants unless they can convince the interviewing officer otherwise.  Therefore, it is incumbent on the applicant to demonstrate clear intentions to return to Honduras after a short visit to the United States.  Applicants generally demonstrate their intention to return by showing that they have strong familial ties, a stable economic situation and commitments that require their return.  An established job, steady savings, strong family ties and a defined plan of study or tourism are important factors during the interview.

What happens when I've been denied a visa?

If your visa application is denied under Section 214(b) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act, you will be given a letter that explains the law and the reason for your denial.  The section does not reconsider refusals after the interviewing Consular Officer has made a decision.  Applicants may submit another application and have their application reviewed based on the social and economic ties presented at the time of the interview.  We generally suggest that applicants wait at least one year before reapplying for a non-immigrant visa or until there is a significant change in the required social and economic ties to Honduras.

Does a letter of invitation help me qualify for a non-immigrant visa?

Under Section 214(b) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, all applicants for all kinds of non-immigrant visas, including tourist and student visas, are considered intending immigrants unless they can convince the interviewing officer otherwise.  Therefore, it is incumbent on the applicant to demonstrate clear intentions to return to Honduras after a short visit to the United States.  Applicants generally demonstrate their intention to return by showing that they have strong familial ties, a stable economic situation and commitments that require their return.  An established job, steady savings, strong family ties and a defined plan of study or tourism are important factors during the interview.  Although many applicants have family or friends who would like to invite the applicant and offer to pay all costs for the trip, under Section 214(b), only the applicant can qualify for the visa.  An invitation alone is not enough for an applicant to overcome the presumption of intending immigrant.

I live in the United States.  What can I do to have my relatives / friends come visit?  How can I help?

As explained above, applicants have to establish that they have strong ties to Honduras that will compel them to return after a temporary stay in the United States.  Despite the assurances or good intentions of a U.S. relative or friend, an invitation letter will simply help establish that the applicant has a credible reason for traveling, and will do little to help the applicant overcome the presumption of immigrant intent.  It is important that the applicant bring documents that prove strong family and/or economic ties to Honduras in addition to the invitation letter.

It is not necessary for relatives from the U.S. to come to the interview, nor should they send documents to the Embassy.  The Consular Section cannot be responsible for any documents mailed, faxed, or emailed in support of an application for a non-immigrant visa.  If you are going to send a letter of invitation, send it directly to your friend or relative.

For how long are visas valid?

Visas can range in validity from limited, one-entry visas to ten year, multiple entry visas.

If I get a 5-year visa, can I stay in the United States for five years?

No.  A visa only gives you the right to present your application for entry into the United States.  A five year, multiple entry visa, for example, would allow you to travel to the United States as many times as you like during the visa's validity.  An immigration officer determines the amount of time you can stay in the United States once you have been granted entry.  If you remain in the United States for extended periods of time it will be more difficult for you to prove ties to a country of residence when you apply for a visa again.

What happens if I want to stay longer than the time the immigration's officer allowed me when I entered the United States?

If you wish to stay beyond the date authorized on the I-94 form stapled in your passport at the port of entry, it will be necessary to apply directly to a Department of Homeland Security office in the United States for an extension.  If you stay beyond the period authorized by DHS without getting the proper extension, you may jeopardize your chances of qualifying for visas in the future.

What happens if I've entered the United States illegally or have some other ineligibility?

If you have traveled to the United States illegally, it makes it very difficult to qualify for a non-immigrant visa.  Other ineligibilities (such as fraud, deportation or working illegally in the United States) have different penalty times attached.  If you are notified that you have an ineligibility other than 214(b), you will be informed orally and in writing under what section of the law you have been denied, and you will be told whether you may apply for a waiver.

What size is the photo for the application?

The photo is 2x2 inches, taken with a white background and no glasses.  Please upload your photo at the DS-160 form and also bring it in paper to the Consular Section.

If I've been invited to the United States, should I present the financial documents from the person inviting me?

It might be helpful to have them if an officer might want to see them, but you still must present the documents that show your family, economic, professional or other ties to Honduras.

When I departed the United States, they did not take my I-94.  Could this be a problem?

If you returned home with your Department of Homeland Security (DGS) departure record Form I-94 (white) of Form I-94W (green) in your passport, it means that your departure was not recorded properly.  It is your responsibility to correct this record.  You must provide the Legacy DHS sufficient information so we can record your timely departure from the United States.  This will close your earlier record of arrival to this country.

If you do not validate a timely departure from the United States, or if you cannot reasonably prove otherwise when you next apply to admission to the United States, the DHS may conclude you remained in the United States beyond your authorized stay.  If this happens, the next time you apply to enter the United States, your visa may be subject to cancellation or you may be returned immediately to your foreign port of origin.

In particular, visitors who remain beyond their permitted stay in the United States under the Visa Waiver Program cannot reenter the United States in the future without obtaining a visa from a United States Consulate.  If this occurs and you arrive at a United States port-of-entry seeking admission under the Visa Waiver Program without a visa, United States immigration officers may order your immediate return to a foreign port of origin.

To validate departure, DHS will consider a variety of information, including, but not limited to:

  • Original boarding passes you used to depart the United States.
  • Photocopies of entry or departure stamps in your passport indicating entry to another country after you departed the United States (you should copy all passport pages that are not completely blank, and include the biographical page containing your photograph); and
  • Photocopies of other supporting evidence such as:

    • Dated pay slips or vouchers from your employer to indicate you were in another country after you departed the United States.
    • Dated bank records showing transactions to indicate you were in another country after you left the United States.
    • School records showing attendance at a school outside the United States to indicate you were in another country after you left the United States.
    • Dated credit card receipts, showing your name, but, the credit card number deleted, for purchases made after you left the United States to indicate that you were in another country after leaving the United States.

Your statement will not be acceptable without supporting evidence such as noted above.

You must mail legible copies or original materials where possible. If you send original materials, you should retain a copy.  DHS cannot return original materials after processing.  To help us understand the situation and correct your records quickly, please include an explanation letter in English.  You must send your letter and enclosed information only to the following address:

DHS-CBP SBU
1084 South Laurel Road
London, KY 40744
USA

Do not mail your departure Form I-94 / I-94W or supporting information to any United States Consulate or Embassy, to any other DHS office in the United States, or to any address other than the one above.  Only at this location are we able to make the necessary corrections to DHS records to prevent inconvenience to you in the future.

If your inquiry was not addressed here, or you have further questions about any of the topics covered, you are welcome to send us ane-mail to tggniv@state.gov.  This e-mail address is for those who seek information on U.S. non-immigrant visas.