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American Embassy Advice for People Seeking Travel Visas to the United States

March 20, 2000

Vilnius - The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy offers the following advice for people seeking nonimmigrant travel visas:

1.  Get your interview appointment early.  Due to unprecedented demand for visas, the Consulate currently operates on a first-come, first-served appointment basis.  The waiting period varies; during peak travel season it is as much as four or five months.  You may come by the Embassy at Akmenu 6, with your passport 24 hours per day, seven days per week, and get a sticker containing your interview date.

2.  On your appointment date, please bring the following items with you: passport, photo, application fee of 180 litu or $45, payable in cash only; job documents, especially your Sodra book; job letter; bank statements for past six months; contract (if self employed); copies of your prior visas or visas of your spouse; petitions for students and/or exchange visitors.

Items that are not necessary during the visa interview:

a)  Invitations from friends or relatives in America are not critical documents in the decision-making process.  Whether or not you get the visa or not will be determined by the strength of your ties to Lithuania -- not on an invitation or offer of support from persons living in the U.S.

b)  Entry forms downloaded from the Internet for conferences andlor fairs will not be considered.

Important Note:

The only fee you should expect to pay is the $45 (180 litu) fee for a regular tourist visa.  If anyone, for example a travel agency, tells you that you will never get a visa without their "help," do not believe them.  Hundreds of Lithuanian citizens are victimized each year in this fashion.  The Consul can easily recognize fraudulent documents.  If you submit such documents, you can be permanently barred from entry into the United States.  Your best bet is to tell the truth.

FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING TRAVEL VISAS, PLEASE CALL 312-812.