It is a mandatory requirement that all Internship participants sit an interview with the US Embassy in Dublin to obtain a US Visa. USIT will be working with CIEE to obtain your USA Work Papers, but you must also obtain a US Visa in order to be able to enter the country, which is why you must visit the embassy.
You will have to book your own interview once USIT send you out your pre departure pack. You must bring a series of forms with you to the embassy on the day of your interview, so it is very important that you get everything together as soon as possible and not leave it to the last minute, as missing documents can delay your visa.
When you go to the US Embassy, the interviewing officer will hold onto your passport for approximately 5 working days, so if you are planning on flying to Dublin for your interview, please note that you will not have access to your passport after the interview itself!! When the US Embassy have approved your application, they will issue a visa into your passport and courier it back to a sorting office you choose when you book the interview online. You will have to then collect the passport at the sorting office when it arrives.
When you receive your Pre-departure pack in the post, you are ready to apply, by filling out a DS-160 form and paying your embassy fee.DS160 Form: https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/
Please allow at least an hour to complete this form. It is quite tricky to fill out, so please use the DS160 Prompt Sheet to guide you through the form. It will give you the answers to every question on the form.
You will be asked to upload a 2x2 inch photo onto your DS160 form. It doesn’t matter if your photo is accepted on the form or not as it is a mandatory requirement that every participant brings a 2x2 inch visa photo of themselves to their interview. This is not a passport photo!! You will be able to have this taken in most photo shops or chemists, and it will cost around €7. See visa guide for more information.
The US Embassy must have concrete evidence from you that you will be returning to Ireland once you have completed your internship. BIS@UCC will be sending this to USIT with your application forms. When your application has been processed, USIT will send you your return evidence letter in your pre departure pack. All you have to do is bring it with you to the embassy. If you get asked by the interviewing office what your intentions are after you complete your internship, please make sure that you do advise them that you will be returning to college.
You will need to show the US Embassy that you will have at least the equivalent of $1000 US Dollars in your bank account on the day of your interview. This is because you will need to have start up funds when entering the US to support yourself while you are waiting for your first pay check. The bank statement you present should not be more than 90 days old and should show your bank account number, name and address.
A bank statement takes approx 7 business days to be issued by your bank so please do not leave this to the last minute!
