Filing for a travel visa requires researching visa requirements for your destination country and applying well in advance if required. You should check the State Department or embassy website to determine if a visa is needed, and if so, whether it can be obtained on arrival or requires applying in advance. When applying in advance, the application process often involves providing your personal details, travel plans, passport photos and payment of a visa fee.

1. How to File for a Travel Visa
Filing for a travel visa is an exciting indicator that you are heading off the beaten track. At the time of publication, U.S. citizens can travel without a visa to 169 of the globe’s
nearly 200 countries, including most of North and Central America (except Panama), the Caribbean (except Cuba), and Europe (except Russia and Turkey). In Africa, Oceania,
Asia and South America, most countries issue visas upon your arrival, but others require advance applications. Your travel agent or airline likely will coach you on the process to
file for a travel visa to an unusual destination, but you also can learn the requirements yourself.
Step 1
Familiarize yourself with the visa requirements of your destination, anywhere from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, by visiting either the State Department’s website (travel.state.gov)
or the website for the embassy or consulate of your target nation. The State Department lists visa requirements for each country under “entry/exit requirements.” Look for a
discussion of whether your destination does not require a visa, issues a port-of-entry visa or mandates that you apply for and obtain a visa before arriving.
Step 2
Apply for a visa weeks or months ahead of your planned departure if you are visiting China, India, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Algeria, Mali, Nigeria, Ghana, Iraq, Syria and other
nations with an advance visa requirement for Americans. If you visit these countries without a proper visa, you may be held by immigration officers, have your passport
confiscated or immediately be deported. Your destination’s embassy in Washington, D.C., its consulates or the external affairs ministry in its capital offers an online application
process or requires you to download, fill in and mail a PDF application. Look for rules that require you to also provide one or two passport photographs, a copy of your airline
tickets and a copy of your U.S. driver’s license, as well as acceptable forms of payment. You also may be able to apply in person if you live near Washington, D.C., and its
embassies or consulates in locations including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Step 3
Note on the application your name, date of birth, current address, place of birth, passport number, the length and purpose of your visit, hotels or private addresses where you
plan to stay and names of any relatives at your destination.
Step 4
Present the immigration officer at your port of embarkation -- typically an airport, seaport or border crossing -- with your passport, spare passport photographs, a completed
application form and a copy of your round-trip ticket, if you can obtain your visa on arrival. Pay the visa fee in cash, which typically is local currency or U.S. dollars.