The Day of Your Interview

Before Entering the Embassy:

Location: The Embassy is located in Bayan (block 6) near the intersection of Routes 206 (Khaled bin Abdul Aziz Street) and 302 (Masjed Al-Aqsa Street).

Parking:  In June, the Embassy opened a new 120-car parking lot for your convenience. During periods of high demand, however, you may be required to find on-street parking in the residential neighborhood surrounding the Embassy and walk to the main gate. Please plan accordingly.

Arrive early: Arrive thirty (30) minutes prior to your interview time. Proceed to window #2 at the Embassy’s main gate and present a copy of your appointment notice. The wait for your personal interview may last several hours, especially during the summer rush, so you are encouraged to bring reading material.

Necessary Items: Please bring a printout of your visa application’s confirmation page. If you forget, you may not be able to enter for your interview and will need to reschedule. You will also need to bring a second form of identification (for example, Kuwaiti civil id) to leave with the guard before entering the Embassy in addition to your passport.

Prohibited items: You will pass through a security screening prior to entering the Embassy. Leave mobile phones, pagers, cameras and other electronic devices at home or in your vehicle. Visa applicants are not permitted to bring these items onto the Embassy compound.

Who may accompany the applicant: Applicants should come to the interview alone. Parents, however, may accompany children under 21.

Applicants with physical disabilities: Applicants with a physical disability may bring an escort. Those requiring special accommodation should notify the Embassy of their needs well in advance of the interview date.

Once Inside the Embassy:

Take a number: Once you enter the Consular Section, take a number from the machine and have a seat in the waiting room. Once your number is called, proceed to the appropriate window to begin processing.

Complete all forms: Ensure that all required forms have been completed in their entirety before approaching the window. Have your Burgan Bank receipt and photos in hand. Note: You must include the full address of the location (home, hotel, etc.) where you will be staying initially in the United States. Incomplete or unsigned forms will not be accepted.

Customer service statement:

  • We manage the visa process strictly but fairly in order to best protect the United States. At the same time, we are committed to the essential openness for which the United States has always been known. We welcome and encourage travel to the United States. We promise to you, the visa applicant, that:
    • We will treat you with dignity and respect, even if we are unable to grant you a visa;
    • We will treat you as an individual and your case as unique;
    • We will remember that to you a visa interview may be a new or intimidating experience and that you may be nervous;
    • We will use the limited time available for interview to get as full a picture as possible of your travel plans and intentions;
    • We will use our available resources to fairly assist all applicants to get appointments to allow travel in time for business, study and other important obligations;
    • We will post detailed and accurate information on visa requirements and application procedures on every Embassy and Consulate website;
    • We will provide information on appointment waiting times at every Embassy and Consulate posted on http://travel.state.gov and
    • We will explain the reason for any visa denial to you.
  • Furthermore, if you are a:
    • Student, we will make every effort to ensure that you get an appointment and, if qualified, a visa in time to start classes;
    • Medical and humanitarian emergency traveler, we will expedite processing for those dealing with life threatening emergencies;
    • Business traveler, we will establish appropriate mechanisms to facilitate business travel and expedite cases of particular concern to American business.
  • At the same time, we expect you, the visa applicant, to:
    • Plan your travel and visa application as far in advance as possible;
    • Complete your application fully and accurately;
    • Be forthcoming about your travel plans and
    • Prepare for your interview by being able to clearly and concisely describe your intentions.

Fingerprints: Prior to your interview with a Consular Officer, you will be required to scan your fingerprints for biometric identification.

Interview: Be prepared to present all the required and recommended documentation at the time of your interview. At the end of your interview, the Consular Officer will inform you whether your application has been

 

Congratulations! Your application has been approved. Please follow these steps to obtain your visa:

Pay visa issuance fee: Citizens of certain countries (NOT Kuwait) must pay an additional visa issuance fee once their applications are approved.  The Consular Officer normally advises the applicant at the conclusion of the interview if an issuance fee is required.  Refer to the visa reciprocity tableto determine the exact cost by nationality.  Fees may be paid at the Embassy in cash (KD or USD) or by credit card (American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa).

Note: There are no issuance fees for Kuwaiti citizens.

Unless otherwise instructed by the Consular Officer, your visa should be printed the next business day after your interview.  You will be notified by Aramex when your visa may be picked up at the Aramex location you selected when you made your visa interview appointment.

We hope you enjoy your visit to the United States.

Occasionally, the Consular Officer requires additional information from you in order to determine your visa eligibility. The Officer will inform you, in writing, what you need to provide to conclude your case. You may return the information to Aramex for further processing.

Based on the additional information, the Consular Officer will decide whether your application is approved, held pending administrative processing or refused.

Your application may require additional administrative processing before the Consular Officer can decide whether to approve or refuse. The Officer will inform you, in writing, that your application is pending and will return your passport to you. The processing time lasts, on average, between between one (1) and six (6) weeks.

In most cases, applications are approved, and you will be asked to drop off your passport for visa issuance. In a minority of cases, applications are refused following administrative processing.

In either case, we appreciate your patience.

You may check the status of your visa case, using the case number (starts with 201) written by the interviewing Consular Officer on the letter.

Please click here to check the status of your visa.

Unfortunately, your application has been refused. In most cases, applications are refused because the applicants were unable to demonstrate a valid purpose of travel or to provide evidence of strong economic, familial and/or social ties to a residence outside of the United States (in this case, Kuwait) to which they are compelled to return. The Consular Officer will inform you, in writing, of the reason for your refusal.

You are welcome to reapply for a visa at any time. We recommend, however, that you wait until your personal conditions (economic, familial, etc.) have changed, which would strengthen the merits of your application.

Thank you for interest in traveling to the United States.