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Home / What Is the DS-160 Form? Purpose, Sections, and Who Files It

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What Is the DS-160 Form?

The DS-160 is the Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application — the form nearly everyone applying for a temporary U.S. visa must complete before they can be interviewed. It is filed online, free of charge, on the Department of State's Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC). There is no paper version and no other website that can submit it for you.

Completing it takes most applicants 60–90 minutes. When you submit, you receive a confirmation page with a barcode — that page, not the form itself, is what you bring to your interview.

The DS-160 at a glance

Official nameOnline Nonimmigrant Visa Application
Filed atceac.state.gov/genniv — the only official site
Cost to fileFree. The separate MRV visa fee ($185 for most categories) is paid elsewhere
Who needs oneEvery nonimmigrant visa applicant, including infants and children
Time to complete60–90 minutes
Session timeoutAbout 20 minutes of inactivity
LanguageAnswers in English, Latin characters only
Unsubmitted forms keptAbout 30 days from the last save
What you getA confirmation page with a barcode

Who has to file a DS-160

Nearly every applicant for a U.S. nonimmigrant (temporary) visa, including:

  • Visitors — B-1 business and B-2 tourism, or the combined B-1/B-2. If you're unsure which applies, see B-1 vs B-2.
  • Students — F-1 and M-1, who have extra fields and a separate SEVIS fee.
  • Exchange visitors — J-1.
  • Temporary workers — H, L, O, P and similar petition-based categories.

Every applicant needs their own form, including infants and children. A family cannot share one DS-160. CEAC offers a "family application" option that copies shared details into a new form, but each person still submits separately and receives their own barcode.

Who does not file a DS-160

This is the most common point of confusion, and filing the wrong form wastes weeks:

  • Immigrant visa applicants file the DS-260, not the DS-160. If you are moving to the United States permanently rather than visiting, see DS-160 vs DS-260.
  • Visa Waiver Program travellers apply for ESTA instead. Citizens of VWP countries travelling for tourism or business up to 90 days generally do not need a visa at all — and so do not need a DS-160. Check whether you need a visa before paying anything, because the visa fee is non-refundable.

The sections the form covers

The DS-160 moves through these sections in order:

  1. Personal information — name, gender, marital status, date and place of birth
  2. Address and phone — home, mailing, and a working email address
  3. Passport — number, issuance and expiry, plus any lost or stolen passports
  4. Travel plans — purpose of trip, dates, U.S. address, who is paying
  5. Travel companions — anyone travelling with you, or your group
  6. Previous U.S. travel — prior visits, prior visas, and any refusals
  7. U.S. contact — a person or organisation in the United States
  8. Family — parents, spouse, and relatives in the U.S.
  9. Work, education and training — employment and education history
  10. Security and background — the yes/no eligibility questions

Two further steps complete the application: uploading your photo, which has its own strict requirements, and reviewing and electronically signing.

For what each section actually asks and the answers that most often cause problems, see the section-by-section DS-160 form guide.

Where the DS-160 sits in the visa process

The form is one step of five, and it comes first:

  1. Complete and submit the DS-160 — free, online, at CEAC
  2. Pay the MRV visa application fee — separately, through your country's appointment service
  3. Schedule your interview — once the fee receipt activates
  4. Attend the interview — bringing the confirmation page with the barcode
  5. Wait for processing — some applications go to administrative processing under 221(g)

Submitting the DS-160 does not mean you have applied for a visa. It starts the process; the fee, the interview and the decision all come after.

What the DS-160 is not

  • It is not the visa. It is the application for one. A consular officer decides.
  • It is not the fee. The form is free; the MRV fee is separate and paid through your country's service.
  • It is not an account. There is no DS-160 login. You get an Application ID and a security question, and those two things together are how you return to an unfinished form.
  • It is not the I-94. That is your arrival record, created when you enter the United States.
  • It is not the SEVIS fee. F, M and most J applicants pay I-901 SEVIS separately from both the DS-160 and the MRV fee. "Most" matters: au pairs, camp counselors and summer work travel participants pay a subsidised $35 rather than $220, and government visitors pay nothing — see the SEVIS fee.

Frequently asked questions about the DS-160

Who has to complete a DS-160?

Nearly every applicant for a U.S. nonimmigrant visa — visitors, students, exchange visitors, and temporary workers — including children and infants, who each need their own form. Immigrant visa applicants use the DS-260 instead.

Is the DS-160 free?

Yes. Completing and submitting the form costs nothing. The separate MRV visa application fee — $185 for B visitor and F/M/J student categories, higher for petition-based ones — is paid through your country's appointment service, not on CEAC.

Does submitting the DS-160 mean I applied for a visa?

Not by itself. The DS-160 starts the process; you still pay the fee, schedule an interview where required, and attend it before any decision is made.

Is there a DS-160 login or account?

No. There is no username or password. When you begin, CEAC gives you a 10-character Application ID and asks you to set a security question. Those two, together with your date of birth, are what let you reopen an unfinished form. See the retrieval guide.

How long does the DS-160 stay saved if I don't submit it?

About 30 days from your last save. After that an unsubmitted form is deleted and you start again, which is why saving your Application ID matters.

Can I complete the DS-160 on a phone?

It is possible but not advised. The form is long, the session times out after about 20 minutes of inactivity, and the photo upload is considerably easier on a computer.

In what language must I answer?

Answers must be in English, using Latin characters, even though the interface offers translations of the questions themselves.

What happens after I submit it?

You get a confirmation page with a barcode. Save and print it — that page is what the consulate scans at your interview. You do not need to print the whole application. See the confirmation page guide.

Can I change an answer after submitting?

Not on the submitted form. What to do depends on the error and how you are applying — see fixing DS-160 mistakes.

Official sources

Ready to fill it in?

Work through the form section by section with the DS-160 form guide, and check your photo against the photo requirements before you start — a rejected photo is the most common reason an otherwise finished form stalls.