I dream of the day when traveling to the United States will become as simple as visiting most of Europe, which does not require visas for Brazilians. Until that day arrives, however, thousands of tourists are organizing themselves to overcome the steps required by United States immigration. In addition to the interview itself, which makes even experienced travelers a little nervous, another challenge must be overcome: the DS-160 form, which needs to be filled out by everyone applying for a tourist visa to Mickey’s land.
If you are still starting the visa process and don’t know exactly what to do, then some advice: don’t panic. We have two texts to help you with this task. One about how to get an american visa (and with all the step-by-step instructions for you to fill out the DS-160 form correctly). Meanwhile, the other text has practical tips for the United States visa interview. Be sure to read both articles.
In this text the subject is different: what if you make a mistake when filling out the form? What is the solution?
Errors on DS-160 form before submitting
This form is not feared without reason. In addition to needing to be filled out in English and for each person traveling, including children, there are a series of questions, some of them seemingly bizarre and endless. So, have plenty of time and patience when you decide to start the process – no trying to fill it in those 10 minutes off you had at work.
Did you have an emergency (like an internet connection outage or something else) and needed to stop filling out the form? Well, when you come back, chances are the website won’t allow you to continue filling out the DS-160. This happens for security. After you stop filling out the form, you will have 20 minutes to resume the process, otherwise your time will expire.
Has it passed that time? No problem. That’s why before you start filling out the form, the system asks you to register a security question. Pay attention to this step. It will be essential if you need to interrupt the procedure, whether voluntarily or not.
In other words, this is the answer to the question: you haven’t sent the form yet, you just stopped filling it out, but noticed an error? Simply use your ID and security question to make the necessary changes.
You have already sent the form and noticed an error. And now?
Ask yourself: is it really necessary to worry about this error? Is it a serious error that could interfere with the process? The wrong street name of your house, a typo, or an English word that you later discovered was misspelled are not serious problems.
This is not my opinion, but that of the United States Embassy itself. In a discussion on Facebook in 2013, a Brazilian woman asked the North American Embassy what she should do in a situation like this. The answer was simple: ‘There shouldn’t be a problem for you if you take the DS-160 the way you filled it out. If it’s something very serious, you can explain it during the interview.’ Check out the full answer here.
Another mistake where worry is unnecessary involves changes to your “travel plans.” The quotes are there for a reason. When filling out the form, you have to say when you intend to visit the United States, what you intend to do and at which address you will stay. The detail is that you don’t need to have a trip scheduled to get the visa, so the embassy itself doesn’t require you to be so precise with this information.
What if I want to change the form?
It could be that you have made a really serious mistake, one that won’t even let you sleep. But there is a way to solve the problem. If you have not yet paid the fee, create a new form and use the data in this document to generate the invoice and schedule your interview. The previous document will be forgotten by the Consulate (and you don’t need to worry about it).
Have you already paid the fee and scheduled the interview? Well, you can make a new form. But you will also need to go back to the scheduling phase and change the code from the previous form to the new one. Be sure to bring the correct DS-160 form submission confirmation page with you on the day of the interview and be careful not to get confused by taking the old page.
If in doubt, contact CASV where you will be part of the visa procedures and find out more about the matter.
I discovered a serious error almost at the time of the interview. And now?
Calm. You can explain this at the time of the interview – and you will almost certainly not have any problems because of it, as shown by the response from the United States Embassy to that Brazilian woman.
If the error is not very serious, it may be worth not even bringing it up and avoiding any nervousness. Unless, of course, your interviewer asks you something about it (again, use common sense). If it is a serious error, you can calmly explain the situation. Don’t lie, so as not to contradict yourself, and control your nervousness. Remember that the United States wants tourists to visit the country, so legal travelers have nothing to fear.
Attention: It is not a good idea to travel to the United States without international health insurance, as hospital costs there are very high. Read here how to find cost-effective insurance.
