How does the application process work?

Apply for a C-1/D visa at your local US consulate in your home country.

In general, you apply for a visa to the US in your current country of residence. In Germany, for example, you can apply at the US consulate in Frankfurt on Main, Berlin or Munich. In Austria you can apply at the Consulate General in Munich, in Switzerland at the US consulate in Bern.

IMPORTANT: Since 2001 all applicants from age 14 through 79 are required to apply in person. That means you have to schedule an appointment at the US consulate for a personal interview. Do not mail your application in advance. (Exception: persons under the age of 14 or over the age of 79 may apply by mail.)

So, first of all, please schedule an appointment for an interview, check your local US embassy website for details. Normally you should not have to wait more than a few days or up to one or two weeks as the case may be for your appointment. During the main travel seasons (summer and winter), however, it is possible that you will have to wait for up to four weeks. Please schedule your appointment well in advance since US officials can and will not take individual travel arrangements into consideration.

Every applicant needs to pay an application fee of at present 140 US$ (= 105.00 euros), which you can usually pay online. Even if your visa is denied, this money will not be refunded.

In addition to submitting the common application forms (DS 156 and DS 157) and paying the fee, applicants generally have to provide evidence of strong professional and personal ties to their country of residence (not the US!) and their intention to return there at the conclusion of the stay.

In addition, applicants are required by law to provide documentation concerning their job, their employer, their qualification, etc. They have to submit an employment contract with the airline or shipping company that proves the regular necessity to transit through or travel to the USA. Additionally, a letter from the foreign employer is required, stating the exact type and length of the employment on board.

IMPORTANT: The C-1/D visas are usually issued by the US consulates without a lot of red tape and faster than other visas. For example, interview appointments for this type of visa are usually available on short notice, since the consulates are aware of the fact that hiring, especially for the shipping companies, can also often be short notice. Therefore, the consulates always try to get the passport with the C-1/D visa back to the applicant as soon as possible after the interview. In especially urgent cases the applicant can ask to pick up the passport the next day in person, but it may not always be possible.