Requests

During your studies at the University of South Alabama, you may want to invite your parents or other family members to visit. Here are some suggestions to help them apply for a visitor’s visa (B-2) at a US Consulate or Embassy in their home country.

To facilitate their visa interview process you should do the following:

• Write a letter of invitation. Include the purpose of the visit, your relationship to the individuals, a statement of your status here, itinerary details and the length of time they will be visiting (usually less than three months). It is best to emphasize the temporary nature of the invitation and to demonstrate their intention to return to their home country following the visit. If you will support them financially while they are here, include that information as well.
• Include an Enrollment Verification Letter from the Office of the Registrar in Meisler Hall 1100 to confirm your student status. Graduate students who hold an graduate assistantship may want to also attach a departmental funding letter.
• If you are graduating and they are traveling to attend your commencement ceremony, provide details of the Commencement Ceremony.
• For additional information about U.S. Consulate/Embassy locations and application procedures, review the U.S. Department of State visa information.

Providing your family members with this documentation may improve their chances of obtaining a visa; however, there is no guarantee a visa will be issued. The success of their request for a visa lies in their ability to prove that they have no intention of staying permanently in the U.S.

Please note that OIIA staff members are unable to write letter of invitation for your family members.