Last reviewed: August 31, 2026

Form DS-5535: Supplemental Questions for Visa Applicants

Form DS-5535 is a supplemental questionnaire that consular officers issue to a small subset of applicants during administrative processing. You complete it only if a consular officer instructs you to — in the letter handed to you at the interview or by email. It is not part of the normal DS-160 process and cannot be filed voluntarily.

What DS-5535 asks for

The questionnaire goes considerably further back than the DS-160:

Travel history for the last 15 years — every country visited, the dates, the purpose, and who paid for each trip.
All passports, current and expired, including any lost or cancelled.
Email addresses used in the last 5 years — all of them, not just your current one.
Social media identifiers from the last 5 years — usernames on any site or app used to create or share content. This is broader than the DS-160's platform dropdown; see the DS-160 social media guide.
Phone numbers from the last 5 years — primary, secondary, work, home, and mobile.
Sibling details — full names and dates of birth of all siblings, including half, step, and adopted siblings, living or deceased.
Depending on the version, employment history and addresses over a similar span.

You are never asked for passwords to any account.

Two deadlines that matter

Incomplete answers delay processing. For anything that genuinely does not apply, write "NOT APPLICABLE" rather than leaving it blank.
One year. If you do not submit the requested information within a year of the request, the visa application may be terminated, and you would need to start over with a new DS-160 and a new fee.

How to prepare the answers

Fifteen years of travel is the part applicants underestimate. Before you start:

Collect every passport you have held in that period, including expired ones.
Work through the entry and exit stamps and visas chronologically — they are the most reliable record.
Cross-check against old boarding passes, email confirmations, and photo timestamps for trips whose stamps are unclear.
Note who funded each trip (yourself, an employer, a family member, a scholarship).
List email addresses and usernames from the last five years, including ones you no longer use.

Answers must be consistent with your DS-160 and your interview. If you realise the DS-160 contained an error while completing DS-5535, see how to fix DS-160 mistakes.

Frequently asked questions

Does receiving DS-5535 mean my visa will be denied?

No. It is part of additional vetting, not a decision. The case remains open under 221(g) while the review proceeds.

How long does processing take after I submit DS-5535?

There is no published timeline, and cases involving DS-5535 commonly run longer than the 60 days typical of ordinary administrative processing. Do not book non-refundable travel.

Can I fill out DS-5535 in advance to speed things up?

No. The form is only accepted when a consular officer requests it and specifies how to return it. Submitting it unprompted does nothing.

What if I cannot remember a trip from 12 years ago?

Reconstruct what you can from passports and records, and be transparent about approximations rather than inventing precision. Deliberately false answers carry far heavier consequences than an acknowledged estimate.

Do I have to list email addresses I no longer use?

Yes — the question covers all addresses used in the past five years, including abandoned ones.