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DS-160 Previous U.S. Travel
This section asks whether you have been to the United States before, whether you have held a U.S. visa, and whether you have ever been refused one. It looks like record-keeping. It is not.
These questions exist to surface two specific things: whether a statutory bar applies to you under §212(a)(9) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and whether your travel history supports or undermines the case you are making now. Understanding which question is doing which job makes the section far less frightening — and shows you which answers actually carry consequences.
This page explains what the questions are for. It is not legal advice. If you have a real overstay, a removal, a prior refusal or a cancelled visa in your history, talk to an immigration lawyer before you file. The bars described below run for years and are not discretionary.
What the section covers
Broadly, four things:
- Whether you have been in the United States before, and for recent visits, when you arrived and how long you stayed
- Prior U.S. visas — when issued, and whether any was lost, stolen, cancelled or revoked
- Whether you have ever been refused a visa, refused admission at a port of entry, or withdrawn an application for admission
- Whether anyone has ever filed an immigrant petition on your behalf
Read the exact wording on the form itself when you get there. The point of this page is what sits underneath it.
The part that carries a statutory bar
The length-of-stay questions matter because of 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(9)(B), which we read on Cornell's Legal Information Institute on 21 September 2026. It sets two bars:
| Unlawful presence | Then departed | Bar on seeking admission |
|---|---|---|
| More than 180 days but less than 1 year | voluntarily, before proceedings began | 3 years from departure |
| One year or more | — | 10 years from departure |
Two details in that table do most of the damage when people get them wrong.
The bar attaches on departure, not on the overstay. Someone who overstayed by seven months and is still in the United States has not yet triggered the three-year bar; leaving is what starts it. This is precisely the situation where a lawyer is worth more than a guide.
The 10-year bar has no "voluntary departure" condition. The three-year bar applies to someone who left voluntarily before proceedings commenced. The one-year-or-more bar is written without that qualifier.
What "unlawfully present" actually means
The statute defines it, and the definition is narrower than most people assume:
an alien is deemed to be unlawfully present in the United States if the alien is present in the United States after the expiration of the period of stay authorized by the Attorney General or is present in the United States without being admitted or paroled.
The operative phrase is period of stay authorized — not the expiry date of your visa. A visa is permission to travel to a port of entry and ask to be admitted. How long you may stay is set when you are admitted. It is entirely normal to hold a visa valid for ten years and an authorized stay of six months, and it is the second number that unlawful presence runs from.
Three exceptions the statute writes in
These are in the statute itself, and they are not widely known:
- Minors. No period in which you were under 18 counts toward unlawful presence.
- Asylees. No period in which you had a bona fide asylum application pending counts — unless you were employed without authorization during that period.
- Family unity. Time as a beneficiary of family unity protection under section 301 of the Immigration Act of 1990 does not count.
If your overstay happened while you were a child, the arithmetic that frightens you may not apply to you at all.
A previous refusal is a question, not a verdict
The refusal question asks whether you have ever been refused. Most refusals of ordinary visitor applications are under section 214(b) — a finding that you did not overcome the presumption of immigrant intent on that day, not a finding that you did anything wrong. It does not bar a new application, and there is no waiting period. What it does is put your circumstances back in front of an officer. See what a 214(b) refusal means.
Answer it accurately. A refusal is recoverable; a misrepresentation about one runs into §212(a)(6)(C), which is a far worse place to be — see the security and background questions, where that ground is set out.
Why the section shapes the interview
The consular officer has your travel history in front of them before you sit down. A record of entering the United States and leaving on time is the single most useful thing most applicants own, because it is evidence rather than assertion. A record of long stays at the limit of what was authorised invites the opposite question.
This is why the section is worth filling in carefully rather than quickly: it is the part of the form that speaks for you. What officers do with it is on what visa officers ask and why.
If you get the answer wrong
You cannot edit a submitted DS-160. You complete a new one and bring both confirmation pages — and if you have already booked, the barcode in your appointment profile has a deadline attached that differs by country. See the DS-160 mistakes that actually matter.
Frequently asked questions
Does an overstay always create a bar?
No. Under §212(a)(9)(B) the thresholds are more than 180 days and one year or more of unlawful presence, and the bar attaches when you depart. Shorter overstays do not trigger these particular bars, though they can still affect how an officer reads your history.
Does unlawful presence run from my visa expiry date?
No. The statute runs it from the expiry of the period of stay authorized when you were admitted, which is usually a different and earlier date than the visa's own validity.
I overstayed as a teenager. Does that count?
The statute excludes any period in which you were under 18 from the unlawful-presence calculation.
I was refused a visa before. Do I have to say so?
Yes, and you should. Most visitor refusals are under 214(b), which does not bar a fresh application. Concealing a refusal raises a misrepresentation problem that is considerably worse than the refusal.
What if my previous visa was cancelled or revoked?
The section asks about this separately from refusal. Answer it accurately and take advice — a cancellation or revocation usually has a reason attached that an officer can see.
Do I need to list every trip I have ever made?
The form asks for your recent visits in detail and whether you have ever been to the United States. Give what it asks for accurately rather than guessing at completeness.
Official sources
- 8 U.S.C. §1182 — inadmissible aliens, read 21 September 2026; the unlawful-presence bars are at (a)(9)(B)
- Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) — the form itself