December 26, 2001 - The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has mandated that all Consulates and Embassies adopt the new biographic nonimmigrant visa information form (Form DS-156) and immediately discontinue the use and acceptance of prior versions. For those unfamiliar with the biographic visa application, it is a form that must be completed by all nonimmigrant visa applicants; it solicits information to determine whether the applicant is suitable for admission to the United States.

Form DS-156 is available to the general public for download on the DOS Internet site for visa services (http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html). Individuals will need Acrobat Reader software (version 3.0 or higher) to view or print the form in Portable Document Format (.pdf), and version 5.0 to fill out the form electronically. Readers may download a free copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 directly from Adobe (www.adobe.com).

The most noticeable change from prior versions is a doubling in the size of the form (8.5 X 11 inches or A4). DOS cited the enlargement as necessary to make the form more readable and give Consular officers more space to write notes. DOS also deleted the former instruction sheet, instructing individual Consulates to create their own instruction sheets to fit local conditions.

More information on the visa issuance process is available on this website by clicking the section entitled “visas” to the left of this article.