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I
am in Honduras temporarily. Can I apply for a visa in Tegucigalpa?
If
you are not a resident in Honduras, it may be very difficult for
you to qualify for a visa. You must be able to show ties to your
country of residence and/or your nation of citizenship. Generally,
applicants should apply for a visa in their country of residence.
If you are not a Honduran citizen but have residence, please bring
your residency card (and a copy) to your interview.
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I
missed my appointment for reasons beyond my control. What can I
do to reschedule my appointment?
If
you could not come to your appointment, please go to any branch
of Banco Atlantida, purchase a new PIN number and contact our Call
Center so your appointment can be re-scheduled.
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What
can I do if I need to postpone my appointment?
If
you know ahead of time that you will not be able to come on the
date of your appointment scheduled by our Call Center, you will
need to get in touch with them again, so your original appointment
can be re-scheduled. For this, you will need to purchase a new PIN
number.
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What
should I do if I missed my appointment?
If
you missed your appointment, you need to go to any branch of Banco
Atlantida, purchase a new PIN number, and call our Visa Information
Center (Call Center) so you can schedule a new appointment. If beforehand
you know you will not be able to go to your appointment, please
call the Visa Information Center to re-schedule.
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What
should I do if I’ve lost my appointment receipts?
You
have to go to Banco Atlántida with your passport and request
a receipt replacement, one for your consular fee ($100), and one
for your PIN number ($13). Afterwards you need to call our Visa
Information Center (Call Center), and confirm the date and time
of your appointment, so you can avoid any confusion in the Consular’s
Section entrance.
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We
purchased appointments for the family but not all of them are for
the same date. What can we do?
When
scheduling your appointment with our Call Center, please explain
to the agent that it is a family group, so the appointments can
all be scheduled for the same day and time, otherwise you would
have to purchase a new PIN number, and call again the Call Center
to re-schedule your appointments.
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Should
I come earlier than the time shown on my receipt?
We
recommend that you arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment.
If you come much earlier it will only lengthen your waiting time
outside of our building.
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What
happens if I arrive late to my appointment?
If
you show up past the time of your appointment and entry has already
been allowed for all applicants with that appointment time, you
will be placed at the end of the line of the group scheduled for
next entry.
If you arrive more than a half hour after your scheduled appointment,
unfortunately your access to the Consular Section will be denied,
and you will need to re-schedule your appointment by calling our
Visa Information Center (Call Center) again.
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How
long does the interview take?
You
should arrive no more than 15 minutes before your interview time
and be prepared to wait several hours before your interview with
a Consular Officer. Due to the high volume of applicants, the interview
itself will generally last only two to three minutes. An officer
can quickly verify a case by asking a few questions and skimming
over the documents. Moreover, in order to process all applicants
quickly and fairly, it is necessary for the officers to work quickly
and efficiently.
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How
soon will I receive my visa once it is approved?
Passports
with visas are usually ready three to four working days after the
interview. Normally, applicants pay for a courier service, Cargo
Expreso, to deliver their passports.
When your interview is over and if the visa is granted, the Consular
Officer will hand you a ticket for you to take to Cargo Expreso.
At Cargo Expreso you will pay the delivery service of Lps. 78.40
for deliveries within Tegucigalpa, Lps.100.80 for deliveries in
the rest of the cities in Honduras, and Lps.120.96 for deliveries
in Roatan. Delivery takes an average of 3 business days within Tegucigalpa
and an average of 5 business days outside of Tegucigalpa.
The Cargo Expreso office is just outside the Consular Section’s
waiting room.
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What
is the most common reason for denying a visa?
The
most common reason for being denied a non-immigrant visa is that
the applicant was not able to demonstrate strong ties to a residence
outside the United States. Under Section 214(b) of the U.S. Immigration
and Nationality Act, all applicants for non-immigrant visas, including
tourist, medical and student visas, are considered intending immigrants
unless they can convince the interviewing officer otherwise. Therefore,
it is incumbent on the applicant to demonstrate clear intentions
to return to Honduras after a short visit to the United States.
Applicants generally demonstrate their intention to return by showing
that they have strong familial ties, a stable economic situation
and commitments that require their return. An established job, steady
savings, strong family ties and a defined plan of study or tourism
are important factors during the interview.
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What
happens when I’ve been denied a visa?
If
your visa application is denied under Section 214(b) of the United
States Immigration and Nationality Act, you will be given a letter
that explains the law and the reason for your denial. The section
does not reconsider refusals after the interviewing Consular Officer
has made a decision. Applicants may submit another application and
have their application reviewed based on the social and economic
ties presented at the time of the interview. We generally suggest
that applicants wait at least one year before reapplying for a non-immigrant
visa or until there is a significant change in the required social
and economic ties to Honduras.
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Does
a letter of invitation help me qualify for a non-immigrant visa?
Under
Section 214(b) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, all
applicants for all kinds of non-immigrant visas, including tourist
and student visas, are considered intending immigrants unless they
can convince the interviewing officer otherwise. Therefore, it is
incumbent on the applicant to demonstrate clear intentions to return
to Honduras after a short visit to the United States. Applicants
generally demonstrate their intention to return by showing that
they have strong familial ties, a stable economic situation and
commitments that require their return. An established job, steady
savings, strong family ties and a defined plan of study or tourism
are important factors during the interview. Although many applicants
have family or friends who would like to invite the applicant and
offer to pay all costs for the trip, under Section 214(b), only
the applicant can qualify for the visa. An invitation alone is not
enough for an applicant to overcome the presumption of intending
immigrant.
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I
live in the United States. What can I do to have my relatives/friends
come visit? How can I help?
As
explained above, applicants have to establish that they have strong
ties to Honduras that will compel them to return after a temporary
stay in the United States. Despite the assurances or good intentions
of a U.S. relative or friend, an invitation letter will simply help
establish that the applicant has a credible reason for traveling,
and will do little to help the applicant overcome the presumption
of immigrant intent. It is important that the applicant bring documents
that prove strong family and/or economic ties to Honduras in addition
to the invitation letter.
It is not necessary for relatives from the U.S. to come to the interview,
nor should they send documents to the Embassy. The Consular Section
cannot be responsible for any documents mailed, faxed, or emailed
in support of an application for a non-immigrant visa. If you are
going to send a letter of invitation, send it directly to your friend
or relative.
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For
how long are visas valid?
Visas
can range in validity from limited, one-entry visas to ten year,
multiple entry visas.
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If
I get a 5-year visa, can I stay in the United States for five years?
No.
A visa only gives you the right to present your application for
entry into the United States. A five year, multiple entry visa,
for example, would allow you to travel to the United States as many
times as you like during the visa's validity. An immigration officer
determines the amount of time you can stay in the United States
once you have been granted entry. If you remain in the United States
for extended periods of time it will be more difficult for you to
prove ties to a country of residence when you apply for a visa again.
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What
happens if I want to stay longer than the time the immigration’s
officer allowed me when I entered the US?
If
you wish to stay beyond the date authorized on the I-94 form stapled
in your passport at the port of entry, it will be necessary to apply
directly to a Department of Homeland Security office in the United
States for an extension. If you stay beyond the period authorized
by DHS without getting the proper extension, you may jeopardize
your chances of qualifying for visas in the future.
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What
happens if I’ve entered the United States illegally or have
some other ineligibility?
If
you have traveled to the United States illegally, it makes it very
difficult to qualify for a non-immigrant visa. Other ineligibilities
(such as fraud, deportation or working illegally in the United States)
have different penalty times attached. If you are notified that
you have an ineligibility other than 214(b), you will be informed
orally and in writing under what section of the law you have been
denied, and you will be told whether you may apply for a waiver.
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What
size is the photo for the application?
The
photo is 2x2 inches, taken with a white background and no glasses.
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If
I’ve been invited to the United States, should I present the
financial documents from the person inviting me?
It
might be helpful to have them if an officer might want to see them,
but you still must present the documents that show your family,
economic, professional or other ties to Honduras.
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When
I departed the United States, they did not take my I-94. Could this
be a problem?
If
you returned home with your Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) departure record Form I-94 (white) of Form I-94W (green) in
your passport, it means that your departure was not recorded properly.
It is your responsibility to correct this record. You must provide
the Legacy INS (DHS) sufficient information so we can record your
timely departure from the United States. This will close your earlier
record of arrival to this country.
If you do not validate a timely departure from the United States,
or if you cannot reasonably prove otherwise when you next apply
to admission to the United States, the INS may conclude you remained
in the United States beyond your authorized stay. If this happens,
the next time you apply to enter the United States, your visa may
be subject to cancellation or you may be returned immediately to
your foreign port of origin.
In particular, visitors who remain beyond their permitted stay in
the United States under the Visa Waiver Program cannot reenter the
United States in the future without obtaining a visa from a United
States Consulate. If this occurs and you arrive at a United States
port-of-entry seeking admission under the Visa Waiver Program without
a visa, United States immigration officers may order your immediate
return to a foreign port of origin.
To validate departure, DHS will consider a variety of information,
including, but not limited to:
•
Original boarding passes you used to depart the United States
• Photocopies of entry or departure stamps in your passport
indicating entry to another country after you departed the United
States (you should copy all passport pages that are not completely
blank, and include the biographical page containing your photograph);
and
• Photocopies of other supporting evidence such as:
-
Dated pay slips or vouchers from your employer to indicate you
were in another country after you departed the United States
- Dated bank records showing transactions to indicate you were
in another country after you left the United States
- School records showing attendance at a school outside the United
States to indicate you were in another country after you left
the United States
- Dated credit card receipts, showing your name, but, the credit
card number deleted, for purchases made after you left the United
States to indicate that you were in another country after leaving
the United States.
Your statement
will not be acceptable without supporting evidence such as noted
above.
You must mail
legible copies or original materials where possible. If you send
original materials, you should retain a copy. The INS cannot return
original materials after processing. To help us understand the situation
and correct your records quickly, please include an explanation
letter in English. You must send your letter and enclosed information
only to the following address:
ACS-INS SBU
P.O. Box 7125
London, KY 40742-7125
USA
Do not mail your departure Form I-94 / I-94W or
supporting information to any United States Consulate or Embassy,
to any other Legacy INS (DHS) office in the United States, or to
any address other than the one above. Only at this location are
we able to make the necessary corrections to INS records to prevent
inconvenience to you in the future.
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If
your inquiry was not addressed here, or you have further questions
about any of the topics covered, you are welcome to send a message
to TGGNIV@State.gov. This
e-mail address is for those who seek information on U.S. non-immigrant
visas. |
