Applicants for tourist, student and other non-immigrant United States visas will be required to use the new online visa application form starting Feb. 8. This was announced by the US Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran, Sunday. Form DS-160, the new online application form, is available at the US State Department website “http://ceac.state.gov/genniv,” the announcement said. In a press statement, the US consulate here said that all who wish to make visa appointments via the online appointment system in Saudi Arabia must fill out Form DS-160 first, as they will be asked for the DS-160 confirmation numbers for every traveler at the time they book their appointment date. “The use of the new on-line application eliminates the need to print an entire application for each traveler and bring it to the Consular Section at the time of the interview,” the press statement said. Those who already have their appointments on or after Feb. 8 do not need to re-book their appointments, but they must use Form DS-160 for their application, the announcement said. The new interactive form also provides Arabic translations for each question to assist applicants.With the new form, the applicant will be required to upload a visa photograph and to submit the form via the Internet. The applicant will print just a confirmation page upon completion of each Form DS
