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I paid for a B1/B2 visa and later I discovered I was supposed to go for a visa for journalists and media. Can I change that through the bank or is it obtainable at all?

How can I cnahge my B1/B2 application to an I visa application?

Contact the consular or visa application centre. You may have to withdraw the B1/B2 application; you certainly have to add eligibility and other supporting documents essential for the Journalist and Media Visa:

Proof of Employment

• Staff Journalist: A letter from your employer that gives your name, your position held within the company, and the purpose and length of your stay in the United States.


• Freelance Journalist under contract to a media organization: A copy of the contract with the media organization showing your name, your position held within the company, the duration of contract, and the purpose and length of your stay in the United States.


• Media Film Crew: A letter from your employer showing your name, your position held within company, the title and a brief description of the program being filmed, and the purpose and length of your stay in the United States.


• Independent Production Company under contract to media organization: A letter from the organization commissioning the work showing your name, the title and a brief description of the program being filmed, the duration of the contract, and the period of time required for filming in the United States.

In addition to these items, you must present an interview appointment letter confirming that you booked an appointment through this service. You may also bring whatever supporting documents you believe support the information provided to the consular officer.

Is it the same price?

The application fee for the Journalist and Media Visas I visa is $160.

If a visa is issued, there may be an additional visa issuance reciprocity fee, depending on your nationality. The Department of State's website can help you find out if you must pay a visa issuance reciprocity fee and what the fee amount is.

Is it obtainable at all?

Media visas are for "representatives of the foreign media," including members of the press, radio, film or print industries, whose activities are essential to the foreign media function, such as reporters, film crews, editors and persons in similar occupations, under U.S. immigration laws, traveling to the U.S. to engage in their profession. The applicant must be engaging in qualifying activities for a media organization having its home office in a foreign country. The activity must be essentially informational, and generally associated with the news gathering process, reporting on actual current events, to be eligible for the media visa. The consular officer will determine whether or not an activity qualifies for the media visa.

Freelance journalists will only be considered for an I visa if all of the following criteria are met. The journalist must:

• Hold a credential issued by a professional journalistic organization


• Be under contract to a media organization


• Disseminate information or news not primarily intended for commercial entertainment or advertising

Still photographers are permitted to enter the United States with B-1 visas for the purpose of taking photographs, provided that they receive no income from a U.S. source.