// B1/B2 GUIDE · INVITATION LETTER

B1/B2 invitation letters: official requirements first, real facts second

Direct answer: The U.S. Department of State says an invitation letter or Affidavit of Support is not required for a visitor-visa application and is not a deciding factor. An applicant may be asked for additional evidence about a real trip purpose, intent to depart, or ability to pay costs; current post-specific requirements control.

Source: Visitor Visa

An invitation letter is not a required document

The State Department visitor-visa page says that an invitation letter or Affidavit of Support is not needed to apply for a visitor visa and is not a deciding factor in issuance. A popular online template is not a substitute for the official process.

Check the core passport, DS-160 confirmation, applicable fee, and current instructions from the application post before gathering generic letters.

Source: Visitor Visa · DS-160 overview

Additional evidence is only about real circumstances

The State Department says a consular officer may request additional documents to establish trip purpose, intent to depart the United States, or ability to pay travel costs. What is requested depends on the applicant and post; no universal document set decides every case.

If you bring material, make sure it matches plans and facts you can truthfully explain. Do not use a template to invent details or create a mismatch with DS-160.

Source: Visitor Visa

Do one fact-consistency practice

Compare the real trip purpose, stay plan, funding source, and ties outside the United States with DS-160. Practice helps make an explanation clear and consistent; a letter cannot replace the applicant's own facts.

VisaIsle offers education and mock practice only. It is not legal advice, does not assess eligibility, and makes no outcome guarantee.

Check DS-160 against the true trip plan you intend to explain.
Read the current document and appointment instructions for the application post.
Keep only material you can truthfully explain.

Source: Visitor Visa · Visa Denials

What else do applicants ask?

Is an invitation letter required for a US B1/B2 visa?

No. The State Department says a visitor-visa application does not require an invitation letter or Affidavit of Support, and they are not a deciding factor in issuance.

Does bringing an invitation letter improve my chances?

It is not a factor in the decision. Even if you choose to bring an invitation letter or Affidavit of Support, the State Department says it is not one of the factors used to decide the visa; applicants qualify on their ties abroad.

If not an invitation letter, what does the visa depend on?

You qualify on your ties to your home country (job, family, residence) showing you will leave after a temporary stay; if the officer asks, prepare evidence about the real trip purpose, intent to depart, and ability to pay costs.

What if I still want to bring an invitation letter?

You may bring one, but make sure it matches plans you can truthfully explain — do not use a template to invent details or create a mismatch with your DS-160.

What are the official numbers?

Every figure below was read from an official U.S. government page, not from experience or an agency's summary. Fees and rules change — before you actually pay or file, check the primary pages listed under the sources section. One row deliberately carries no number: the State Department has never published a fixed duration for administrative processing.

Item	Official value	Source
Non-petition-based visa application fee (includes B-1/B-2, F, J, M), non-refundable	US$185	State Dept. fee schedule
Petition-based visa application fee (H, L, O, P, Q, R)	US$205	State Dept. fee schedule
E treaty trader / investor visa fee	US$315	State Dept. fee schedule
DHS visa integrity fee — created by statute, not yet collected by DHS; do not add it to the fee above	US$250	PL 119-21 §100007
Official estimate for completing one DS-160	90 minutes	CEAC DS-160 instructions
Passport validity required beyond your intended stay	6 months	State Dept. visitor visa page
Window to submit documents after a 221(g) refusal (from the refusal date)	1 year	State Dept. administrative processing
How long administrative processing takes	no fixed time published; varies by case	State Dept. administrative processing
EVUS enrolment validity (or until the passport/visa expires, whichever is first)	2 years	EVUS
Re-entry bar after departing with more than 180 days of unlawful presence	3 years	8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(9)(B)
Re-entry bar after departing with 1 year or more of unlawful presence	10 years	8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(9)(B)

Every figure above was last checked against its source on 2026-08-27

Where are the official sources?

These are the primary sources this site cites — U.S. government pages and the statute text itself. Each one was opened and confirmed reachable on the date shown below. Wherever this site and an official page disagree, the official page is the one that counts.

U.S. Department of State — Visitor Visa
U.S. Department of State — DS-160: Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application
U.S. Department of State — Visa Denials
U.S. Department of State — Fees for Visa ServicesThe only authoritative source for the application fee. Fees change — check this page before you pay.
CEAC — Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application (DS-160)The DS-160 form itself, and where the confirmation page is reprinted.
USTravelDocs — appointments and fee payment (China)The official service for booking, rescheduling, paying and passport return; rules vary by the post where you apply.
8 U.S.C. §1184 — the statute behind a 214(b) refusalWhere the presumption of immigrant intent — the thing a 214(b) refusal actually applies — is written down.
EVUS — Electronic Visa Update SystemWhere holders of a 10-year B1/B2 on a PRC passport enrol before travelling.
9 FAM 402.1 — Overview of NIV ClassificationsThe Foreign Affairs Manual consular officers work from — more detailed than the applicant-facing pages.

How do you turn this into something you can say at the window?

Reading the guide is the easy half. What decides the outcome is whether you can say the same facts out loud, in order, under time pressure, at the window. qianyu (签屿/VisaIsle) is an AI mock visa interviewer for the US B1/B2 visitor visa: it reads your DS-160, cross-checks it against your spoken answers and supporting documents to catch every inconsistency, and drills you with realistic 214(b)-style consular questioning at three difficulty levels. Credit packs are pay-as-you-go — ¥29.9 for 1 credit, ¥59.9 for 3 — and new users get 1 free training credit on sign-up.

Updated 2026-08-27