Apply for a U.S. Visa

Group Appointments

On this page:

• Overview
• How to Apply

Overview

Non-family groups of 10 or more individuals who are required to travel as a group for a specific event may request a special group appointment.  Examples of groups include a troupe of performers going to tour and perform in the United States, athletic teams, or pilots or skilled workers traveling to participate in training.  If there are regular appointments available prior to your desired travel date, there is no need to request a group appointment; you can simply schedule regular appointments together.  Groups of family or friends traveling for tourism do not qualify for group appointments. 

When submitting a group appointment request, please be sure to include detailed information about the nature of your travel plans, including a roster of group members and their roles, an explanation of who is sponsoring the travel,  and whether there is a particular day that you would like to schedule your group interview. If there are any particular dates that you prefer for the interview, please make sure to add these in the Reason for Travel field. The Embassy may take your preferred dates into consideration when assigning a date and time for your group. If your group has fewer than 10 people, you cannot book a group appointment.

How to Apply

Step 1

A designated group coordinator uses the  online appointment system to click on Group Scheduling Request and to request a group appointment. It is not possible to submit a request through an agent. Once the request is submitted, wait for a response from the U.S. Embassy or Consulate which will come via e-mail.

Please do NOT add any group members / dependents before you have received an email saying your group request has received approval from the Embassy or Consulate. You will add the group members / dependents after you have received the email confirmation only.

Step 2

If the U.S. Embassy or Consulate approves the request, the group coordinator will receive an e-mail inviting him or her to return to his or her profile to  schedule appointments for each member of the group. A call center agent cannot schedule group appointments, but they are able to assist with questions. Should the U.S. Embassy or Consulate deny the request for a group appointment, a notification will also be sent by e-mail. In this case, each group member must schedule an individual appointment.

Note: The e-mail confirming or denying your request comes from no-reply@ustraveldocs.com. Some e-mail applications have rules which filter unknown senders into a spam or junk mail folder. If you have not received your e-mail notification, please look for the message in your junk and spam e-mail folders.

Step 3

Each group member must pay the visa application fee. In the case of making a bulk fee payment, you will receive only one receipt number per transaction and will use this receipt number for each valid MRV fee paid.

Step 4

Each group member must complete the Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application (DS-160) form and print the confirmation page.

Step 5

The group coordinator returns to his or her profile at the  online appointment system and clicks on the Group Scheduling Request button to begin scheduling the group's appointments. He or she should have at hand three pieces of information about each group member:

• The group member's passport with the applicants full name, passport number, date of birth, passport expiration date, and other important data located on the passport's biographical page.
• The group member's CGI reference number on the visa fee receipt. Click here for help locating this number.
• The 10-digit barcode number from the group member's DS-160 confirmation page.

Step 6

The group coordinator selects the approved group appointment request corresponding to the correct group. If the group coordinator frequently schedules group appointments, it is important to select the correct group request.

Step 7

Each group member is added as a "Dependent" to the group coordinator's profile. The group coordinator can choose to be a member of the group or not.

Step 8

The group goes to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate on the date and time of their visa interviews. Each member must have a printed copy of the appointment letter, DS-160 confirmation page, one photograph taken within the last six months, a current passport and all old passports. Applications without all of these items will not be accepted.

Important Points to Remember

• Once the group request has been approved, the group has a limited time to complete steps one through six. Typically, it is a timeframe of seven days, but the group coordinator should refer to the confirmation received by e-mail. In case the request expires, the group coordinator must start over and submit a new request.
• The group coordinator should perform steps 1, 2, 3 and 5 for group members. Each applicant must complete his or her own Form DS-160.
• If a group member has already scheduled an appointment, he or she is no longer eligible to be a group member. He or she must attend the visa interview alone.
• If the group's applicants are applying under an approved I-797 petition, such as H2A, H2B, or H3 visa applicants, in Step One the group coordinator must upload a legible copy of the approved I-797 as part of the request.

Note: If you have additional questions on group scheduling, please visit Tutorial for Scheduling Group Appointments for more detailed instructions.