Meaning of asterisks and binary mask in the US visa
What do these two sections mean in the United States visa?
- Asterisks (stars) below a photo.
- Some kind of binary mask of size 4. On this photo, it is
0111in the right middle part of a visa.
Most sources say that it's a "risk" indicator. However, it sounds strange for me - why would someone disclose such a confidential information while it can be stored in a private database for restricted users.
If you have any information, please, help to solve this mystery and quell my curiosity.
Best Answer
Officially, from the US Embassy, the answer is:
Q: The space below the word 'Annotation' is blank, with the visa number printed in red to the right. There is a star or * symbol below the bottom left of my photo, does that signify anything?
A: The star symbol is not of any significance.
Of course, a cynic would then ask why they're there...
Another person online who claims to be a consular official states that:
"Wow, you have a keen eye! :) Those are computer-generated features that help make each visa as unique as the people who obtain them"
Similarly, the 0111 is expected to be a checksum by most.
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1 2 3 4 5 Stars or aka Asterisks on Passports? What do they mean? I have 3 Stars on my card?
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Answer 2
Well, this is my Hypothesis (for B1/B2 visas):
NOTE : My hypothesis is based on some visas i had seen/observed, further more observations are needed to verify this
- The person is sponsoring the family has/had some source of income then the number will be 0100 and there will be no whitespace between the two stars.
- The person has a source of Income but is not sponsoring the family then the number will be 1010 and no whitespace between the two stars.
- The person has no source of income and is dependent on the sponsor then the number would be 1000 and there will be a whitespace between the two stars.
- The person is an adult but has no source of Income and is being / will be sponsored by a family member then the number would be 1001 and there will be a whitespace between the two stars.
- The person is a minor, has no source of income and is being / will be sponsored by a family member then the number would be 1001 and there will be only One star instead of two, in other cases
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Laura James, Karolina Grabowska, Uriel Mont, Samson Katt