United States Transit Visa

The US Transit Visa applies to people who need to transit through the United States. You might face a few layovers on the way while traveling to your destination. The U.S. could be one of those layovers. This indicates you will have to transit through the U.S. so, you might need a Transit Visa USA.

The U.S. transit visa should be treated as for transit purpose only. You will have to leave the U.S. When you flight or ship is ready to depart.

With a U.S. Transit Visa, you cannot stay more than your approved time, as this is not a visa for tourism or business activity.

C1 Visa – General Transit Visa

C1 visa is the transit visa for non-US citizens moving through the US on a layover on their way to their ultimate destination.

C2 Visa – U.N Headquarters Transit Visa

C2 visa is the transit visa for non-US citizens traveling to the United Nations (U.N) Head Office in New York City or United Nations representatives transiting through the US to go to an ultimate destination.

C3 Visa – Foreign Government Transit Visa

C3 visa is the transit visa for foreign government officials traveling through the US on a layover on their way to their journey’s end. The purpose of the travel must be for governmental or work-related activities.

Source: U.S. Department of State

Eligibility Criteria for Transit Visa USA

To be eligible for a apply Transit Visa to USA, you must fulfill one of the criteria:
You are a non-US citizen on your way to a final destination and only passing through the US.
You are a non-US citizen or UN official going to the UN headquarters in New York City.
You are a foreign government or bureaucratic official transiting through the US to their final destination on a work-related trip.
If you do not belong to one of these categories, you cannot get a C transit visa.

Source: U.S. Department of State

How to get a US Transit Visa?

You need to follow these steps to submit a full application for a US transit visa:

File form DS-160.
Pay the US Transit visa application fee.
Schedule your interview.
Submit the required documents for US Transit Visas.
Attend your Transit visa interview.

File form DS-160

The form DS-160 is the first step for your transit visa. Fill in the required fields and then submit the form online. You will receive a barcode number and confirmation page, which you will need later for your documents file.

Pay the US Transit visa application fee

The application fee for the US Transit Visas is $160.

Schedule your interview

The next step is to schedule your interview. Try to schedule your visa interview as soon as possible.

Submit the required documents for US Transit Visas

Your transit visa application will be rejected if proper documents are missing.

Attend your Transit visa interview

With your document file, you should attend the visa interview at the scheduled time. If your interview is successful, you will have higher chances of getting a United States Transit Visa.

If you have been granted the visa, you will be able to transit through the US successfully to your next or final destination.

Source: U.S. Department of State

To apply for US transit visa you should submit the following documents:

Completed DS-160 application form.
Your valid passport which has at least one blank page to be able to affix visa.
One photograph as per U.S. immigration specifications
Evidence of paid transit visa fee.
Evidence that you are allowed to arrive at the country of your final destination.
Travel itinerary
A letter which states the purpose of your visit to your final destination.
Evidence that you are financially capable of handling your expenses during your transit.
Evidence family ties to prove that you will return to your country after your travel.

Source: U.S. Department of State

The application fee for US Transit visa is $160

Source: U.S. Department of State

Transit visa is issued for a short time and validity. The C visa holder (C1 visa, C2 visa, or C3 visa) can avail maximum of 29 days or until the date to depart the US is on your ticket. Over staying will be treated as violation of law and you might not be able to get a visa approval next time you apply for other purposes.

Source: U.S. Department of State