B2 Visa For Parents
A B-2 visa is an application submitted by your parents who wish to visit you while they are on a temporary visit in the United States. Applying for a B2 visa is different than applying for other visas. Two of the main differences between the B2 visa and other visa applications include three day processing time and the requirement that it be applied and approved by mail.
Currently, there are over 12,000 H-4 visa holders in the US. The H-4 visa is an employment based visa and it allows dependents from certain countries to be in the US. A dependent is usually a spouse or a child. These workers come from either India or China and the current law only allows these citizens of those two countries to get an H-4 visa. An H-4 visa holder can’t work while they are getting their green card. This means that many people have to deal with financial issues while they are waiting for their card which can take more than 10 years sometimes.
- Parents Passports: The first step is to apply for passport for your parents, if they do not have one. Depending on the country, the time to get passport can vary, so factor in that time in your entire US visa application process for their B2 visa. For example, if you are from India, in the past it used to take 3 to 6 months, now with outsourcing to TCS, you can get passport in little under 15 days. Also, there are new schemes of Tatkaal, if it is emergency and you can get you passport as soon as 7 days, but you have to pay extra fee. Check out the passport application website for details. You may read our article on applying for Passport Renewal in India, it can give some idea.
- Bank Savings for Sponsorship: You need enough funds for your parents trip. Make sure you save some good amount totalling up to $10,000 dollars or more to cover their expenses. It is advised to start saving 3 months before and accumulate steadily rather than just borrowing money and putting in bank. There is no hard fast rule. Just an advice.
Step by Step Process for Parents US Visitor Visa (B2)
Below are the various steps that you can follow to apply for visitor visa for parents. Some of them can be done in parallel, but below is a general step-by-step guide.
