How to Apply for Temporary Employment Visas

Labor Certification – Some temporary worker visa categories require your prospective employer to obtain a labor certification or other approval from the Department of Labor on your behalf before filing the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Form I-129, with USCIS. Your prospective employer should review the Instructions for Form I-129 on the USCIS website to determine whether labor certification is required for you.

Petition Approval – Some temporary worker categories are limited in total number of petitions which can be approved on a yearly basis. Before you can apply for a temporary worker visa at the U.S. Embassy in Belarus, a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Form I-129, must be filed on your behalf by a prospective employer and be approved by USCIS. For more information about the petition process, eligibility requirements by visa category, and numerical limits, if applicable, see Working in the U.S. and Temporary (Nonimmigrant) Workers on the USCIS website. Once the petition is approved, USCIS will send your prospective employer a Notice of Action, Form I-797.

Step 1. Check the Validity of Your Passport

Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your period of stay in the United States, unless exempt by country-specific agreements (PDF, 57 KB). If more than one person is included in your passport, each person who needs a visa must submit a separate application.

Step 2. Complete the Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-160

Completed Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-160

Please note that you must answer EVERY question on the application forms. If the answer to a question is “none,” please write “none”(Do not leave it blank). Incomplete/incorrect forms will be returned and will require you to schedule a new interview appointment.

Important! Many of our visa applicants are completing the DS-160 incorrectly, causing us to postpone their planned visa interview dates.

Step 3. Collect any Supporting Documentation

Only a passport, DS-160 confirmation page, a 2 x 2 inch color photo not older than 6 months – with a light or white background, and the forms listed in Step 2 are required for the visa interview and the Receipt Number for your approved petition as it appears on your Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker (Form 1-29) or Notice of Action (Form 1-797), from USCIS.

L Visa Applicants- If you are included in an L blanket petition, you must bring FormI-129S, Nonimmigrant Petition Based on Blanket L Petition, to your interview.

All visa applicants, except H-1B and L, will generally need to show proof of compelling ties to your home country to demonstrate your intent to return after your temporary stay in the United States. Examples of compelling ties include:

A residence abroad which you do not intend to abandon
Your family relationships
Your economic situation
Your long term plans

Step 4. Schedule an Interview Appointment

To schedule an appointment for a non-immigrant visa (NIV) interview, please consult the Embassy’s online NIV Appointment System. Please have your DS-160 Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application Form Confirmation Number handy. It is located on your DS-160 confirmation page, in bold print.

Step 5. Pay the MRV Fee

On the day of your interview, please pay the following nonrefundable visa application fees to the consular cashier: $160 for B-1 (Business), B-2 (Tourism & Visit) and C1/D (Crewmember) nonimmigrant visas; and $190 for H, L, O, P, Q and R visas. Payments must be in U.S. or local cash using the current consular exchange rate. No cards are accepted for payment.

Submit the completed DS-160 confirmation sheet, documents specified above, if any, a 5 cm. X 5 cm. (2 x 2 inch) color photo not older than 6 months (white background and no eyeglasses), and a passport valid for more than 6 months, to the Consular Section when you arrive at the Embassy for your interview.

If you are issued a visa, you will usually be invited to return to the embassy in two days to collect your passport and visa.

Step 6.Interview for your visa with the Consular Officer

During your visa interview, a consular officer will determine whether you are qualified to receive a visa, and if so, which visa category is appropriate based on your purpose of travel. You will need to establish that you meet the requirements under U.S. law to receive the category of visa for which you are applying.

Ink free, digital fingerprint scans will be taken as part of your application process. They are usually taken during your interview, but this varies on location.