Applying for US visas without being a permanent resident of that country, is this possible?
I am from Nigeria, I have been able to get some travel history. So i wanted to ask something here which seems a bit confusing.
I read from here https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/applying-for-nonimmigrant-visa-which-consulate.html That I can apply for US visas outside of my home country, since I would be visiting another country, I wanted to confirm if this is true.
I also see that in places like Dominican republic, something like this here https://do.usembassy.gov/soliciting-u-s-tourism-visa-third-country-national/ , I can apply without being a resident. I wanted to know if this applies as rule of thumb to other embassies? Not a first time traveler, but we have issue of dates here in Nigeria , hence this question. So since I would be visiting other countries I decided to first inquire here.
Best Answer
Is it possible? Yes
Ideally you should schedule an appointment for your visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the country where you live, but the U.S. does not require visitors to apply in their home country.
Source: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html
Is it a good idea? Not necessarily
- It may be more difficult to qualify for a visa outside of the country where you live. You should expect heightened scrutiny and less familiarity with your documents from your home country
- You need to factor in the time it might take to get your passport returned, if you have to submit it with your application, and the length of time you are allowed to stay as a visitor in whatever country you wish to apply from
- If your application is weak in any way, for example your travel history doesn’t include equivalent jurisdictions such as Schengen, Canada etc, the answer will likely be a refusal. You will have wasted the cost of the trip to another country to apply, and damaged your travel history too.
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Can I apply for a visa in a country where I am not a resident?
You must state clearly on your application why you have not applied in your normal country of residence. You can also apply for a visa online.Can I apply for a U.S. visa outside my country of citizenship?
Your country of citizenship and legal permanent residence will determine if you need a visa to enter a specific country. Check with the embassy or consulate of each country you will travel through to see if you need a visa. A good resource for finding foreign embassies or consulates in the U.S. is embassy.org.Can I apply for h1b visa from another country?
As noted above, there are two ways for a foreign national to apply for an H-1B visa: (i) traveling to the foreign national's country of citizenship and applying at a United States Consulate there; and (ii) traveling to Canada or Mexico and applying at a United States Consulate there.Is U.S. Embassy accepting visa application now?
As restrictions start to ease, most U.S. embassies and consulates have resumed certain immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments.ARGO: Can you apply for your U.S. visa outside of your home country? | Third Country National (TCN)
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