US B1/B2 visa-practice guides
Direct answer: These guides help you begin B1/B2 interview and DS-160 preparation with real information: read the U.S. State Department sources first, then use practice to check whether your explanation is clear and consistent. They are not legal advice, eligibility assessments, or outcome guarantees.
Guide index
Parents visiting the US
Practice around a real family visit, DS-160 consistency, and each parent's own explanation.
Interview questions for parents
The questions parents are commonly asked: purpose, relatives, funding, stay, home ties.
How to prepare B1/B2 interview questions
Build a practice checklist around a real trip, DS-160 consistency, and clear explanations.
No travel history, single, self-employed, refused before
Prepare against the official 214(b) criteria and ties examples, not a profile label.
What a 214(b) refusal means
Read the official explanation of refusals, reapplication, and the limits of practice.
What a 221(g) refusal means
Read the official explanation of additional documents, administrative processing, and the one-year window.
US visa photo requirements
Official photo specs: color, within 6 months, white background, full face, no glasses in new photos, plus DS-160 upload.
How to apply for a B1/B2 visa
The official steps: DS-160 → schedule interview → pay fee → gather documents → interview, and why a visa is not entry.
How to reapply after a visa refusal
Official common refusal grounds (214(b)/221(g)/212(a)) and the reapply steps: new form, fee, and appointment; fee non-refundable.
What is EVUS (China 10-year visa)
The official pre-travel update for Chinese passport holders with a 10-year B1/B2 visa: who needs it, how to enroll, the fee, and consequences.
US visa fees explained
Tell the MRV application fee (non-refundable, paid either way) apart from the reciprocity issuance fee (approved applicants, by nationality).
US medical treatment visa (B-2)
The documents the interview may require: a local diagnosis, a US-facility acceptance letter with cost, and proof of ability to pay.
DS-160 check before submitting
Make the final review about accurate, complete, current information and the confirmation page.
After submitting DS-160
Keep the confirmation page, follow current post instructions, and check interview consistency.
Common DS-160 mistakes
Official form requirements: match the passport, answer in English, skip nothing that applies, and declare third-party help.
B1/B2 interview documents
Check official core documents and local-post instructions, then verify consistency with DS-160 and your explanation.
Is a B1/B2 invitation letter required?
An invitation letter is not required; start with official guidance and facts you can truthfully explain.
Nervous about the B1/B2 interview
Who decides, how the interview runs, what to bring, and what a refusal actually means—settle the official parts first.
Common B1/B2 interview questions
Grouped by official criteria: trip purpose, intent to depart, ability to pay, ties abroad, and refusal history.
The B1/B2 interview process
Interview day per official sources: documents, fingerprints and what you certify, and the two possible outcomes.
B1/B2 interview English
English is required on the DS-160; interview arrangements follow your post, with bilingual phrasing for real facts.
What to wear to the interview
No official dress code exists; dress cleanly for your everyday identity, with an etiquette checklist for the day.
Answering the purpose question
The purpose + duration + funding one-sentence frame, and how to handle follow-ups.
DS-160 social media identifiers
The platform list, what an identifier is, and why omitting a secondary account is the common mistake.
Refused after a few questions
The interview starts before you speak: the 214(b) presumption, no quotas, and what to fix before reapplying.
First trip abroad: the travel-history question
Travel history is not among the official factors; answer truthfully and steer back to purpose, stay, and funding.
Funding and employment answers
Who pays and what income supports it, in one sentence — including freelancer, retiree, and third-party funder frames.
DS-160 photo upload failed
JPEG, square, 600–1200 pixels, size limit — the five-step troubleshooting order.
Retirement proof for parents
The pension certificate and statements that answer funding and ties at once.
DS-160 history mistakes
Fixing work and education errors by timing: before submitting, after, at the window.
Interview coaching cost
What human coaching and AI mock interviews cost, and what each yuan buys.
Are AI mock interviews worth it?
What AI practice trains, what it cannot replace, and how it compares with ChatGPT self-practice and human coaching.
Interview question bank
One page per common interview question: phrasings, what the officer evaluates, an answer framework and the related DS-160 fields.
Answering "do you have relatives in the US?"
Truthfulness here is a technical requirement, not moral advice: relationship + status + whether you plan to visit, consistent with your DS-160.
Second interview: change documents, or change facts?
After a 214(b), ask what actually changed — documents are rarely the problem the second time.
Seven EVUS misconceptions, corrected
EVUS is not a visa and enrolment is not admission: each misconception checked against CBP's own pages.
When your parents' English won't carry the interview
What official sources say about interview language, and why five short answers in their own words beat an English course.
Rescheduling your visa interview
Read official wait-time figures rather than hearsay, plus how rescheduling actually works and what it costs you.
Mirror practice vs AI mock interviews
Three practice formats train three different targets — how to combine them instead of picking one.
Start with the topic you need
Choose a topic, read its direct answer and sources first, then use its checklist to organize your own true information.
How to use these guides
These pages keep verifiable official information separate from the boundary of practice. They are not visa advice and do not replace applicable guidance from the State Department, a U.S. embassy or consulate, or a qualified professional.
Clear limits
Do not treat a question bank, checklist, or simulation result as an official decision. A consular officer adjudicates visa applications, and the real facts should be checked against current official sources.
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.
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 (B-1/B-2)The official statement of what B-1/B-2 does and does not permit, the application steps, and required documents.
- 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