US Visa WatchB1 B2 Visa Invitation Letter from Family in Usa
Your parents are at the consulate next month. Their appointment is booked, the DS-160 is filed, and now they're asking you for a letter — something on paper from the person in the US who's inviting them.
Here's the honest version of what you're writing: a short, factual letter that says who you are, who they are, when they're coming, and where they'll stay. That's it. You can write it tonight and sign it in the morning.
One thing to get straight before you start, because it changes how you write it: the invitation letter is optional. When someone applies for a B-1/B-2 travel visa, they have the choice to include a letter of invitation from the relative hosting them. It isn't a form, it isn't filed with USCIS, and there's no rule that the application fails without it.
What the invitation letter does in a B1/B2 application — and what it can't do
The B1/B2 is the visa for a temporary visit — business or tourism. U.S. customs and immigration splits visas into two buckets: nonimmigrant visas for a short stay, and immigrant visas for people moving permanently. A visitor visa is the first kind. Your relative's trip is temporary by definition, and the whole file has to read that way.
The letter helps by making the trip concrete. It answers questions the officer would otherwise wonder about: Who is this person visiting? Where will they sleep? Who's paying for what? How long is the stay? A clear letter answers all of that in a page.
What it can't do is decide anything. It doesn't guarantee a visa, and a strong letter won't paper over a weak application. The officer is looking mostly at your relative — their job, their property, their family, their bank account, their travel history. Your letter is one supporting page in that pile.
Also worth saying plainly: don't treat the letter as a way to set up childcare, eldercare, or a job. More on that in the mistakes section below.
Who can write it: US citizens, green card holders, and F-1/J-1 student hosts
Invitation letters are written by a US citizen or permanent resident inviting someone from another country. But students host family all the time too, and their letters work the same way with different wording.
So there are three versions of this letter, and you should use the one that matches you:
- Green card holder. You'll state your permanent resident status and include a copy of your card.
- US citizen. You'll state your citizenship, usually with a copy of your passport or certificate.
- F-1 or J-1 student. Family visiting the US for less than six months may need a B1/B2 tourist visa, and your letter should say you're a student, name your school, and show you're here temporarily yourself.
The details in the middle are the same for all three. Only the top and bottom change.
The details every invitation letter needs (name as on passport, citizenship, relationship, dates, address)
Open a blank document and get these on the page:
- Your full name, address, and phone number. Written like a normal letter heading.
- Your status in the US. Citizen, permanent resident, F-1, or J-1 — plus the document number if you have one.
- The visitor's full name exactly as printed on their passport. Not their nickname. Not the name they use on Facebook. The passport spelling, in the passport order.
- Their country of citizenship.
- Your relationship to them. Mother, father, brother, aunt — say it directly.
- The dates. An arrival date and a departure date, even if approximate. "Around March 12" beats "sometime in the spring."
- How long the visit is. Two months. Five weeks. Say the number.
- Where they'll stay. Your address, if they're staying with you. If they're splitting time between two places, name both.
- Who covers costs. Say it briefly if you're helping.
- A closing line asking the officer to consider the B1/B2 application.
Then sign it and date it. Keep the whole thing to one page if you can.
Sample letter: green card holder inviting parents for a two-month visit
> [Your full name]
> [Street address, city, state, ZIP]
> [Phone] · [Email]
> [Date]
>
> To: The Consular Officer, U.S. Embassy/Consulate, [city, country]
> Re: Invitation for [Mother's full name as on passport] and [Father's full name as on passport], citizens of [country]
>
> Dear Consular Officer,
>
> My name is [your name]. I am a lawful permanent resident of the United States and live at [your address] in [city, state]. I am writing to invite my parents, [mother's full name] and [father's full name], to visit me here.
>
> They plan to arrive around [date] and return to [country] around [date], a stay of about eight weeks. They will stay at my home at [address] for the whole visit. I will cover their day-to-day costs while they are here, including food and local transportation.
>
> My parents live in [city, country], where they own their home and where my [sibling/relative] and their grandchildren live. They will return at the end of the visit. I would be grateful if you would consider granting them B1/B2 visas so they can make this trip.
>
> Thank you for your time.
>
> Sincerely,
> [Signature]
> [Printed name]
Attach the green card copy, your ID, and proof of address (see the attachment list below).
Sample letter: F-1/J-1 student inviting family for a stay under six months
> [Your full name]
> [Street address, city, state, ZIP]
> [Date]
>
> To: The Consular Officer, U.S. Embassy/Consulate, [city, country]
> Re: Invitation for [visitor's full name as on passport], citizen of [country]
>
> Dear Consular Officer,
>
> My name is [your name]. I am an F-1 student at [school name] in [city, state], studying [program]. I am writing to invite my [relationship], [visitor's full name], to visit me during my [semester break / summer break].
>
> [He/She] plans to arrive around [date] and return to [country] around [date], a visit of about [number] weeks — well under six months. [He/She] will stay with me at [address]. I have enclosed proof of my enrollment and my I-20 [or DS-2019], along with my lease and address documentation.
>
> [He/She] lives in [city, country] and has [job/business/property/family] there to return to. I would be grateful if you would consider granting a B1/B2 visa for this visit.
>
> Thank you for your time.
>
> Sincerely,
> [Signature]
> [Printed name]
If you hold a J-1, swap I-20 for DS-2019. Same structure, same length.
Sample letter: US citizen inviting a sibling or extended family member
> [Your full name]
> [Street address, city, state, ZIP]
> [Date]
>
> To: The Consular Officer, U.S. Embassy/Consulate, [city, country]
> Re: Invitation for [visitor's full name as on passport], citizen of [country]
>
> Dear Consular Officer,
>
> I am [your name], a U.S. citizen living at [address] in [city, state]. I am writing to invite my [brother/sister/cousin], [full name], a citizen of [country], to visit me.
>
> [He/She] plans to arrive on or about [date] and depart on or about [date], staying approximately [number] weeks. [He/She] will stay at my home at [address] during that time. We plan to [spend the holidays together / attend a family event / travel locally together].
>
> [He/She] works as a [job] at [employer] in [city, country] and will be returning to that job after the trip. I would appreciate your consideration of a B1/B2 visa for this visit.
>
> Sincerely,
> [Signature]
> [Printed name]
For extended family, name the relationship precisely — "my mother's brother" is clearer than "uncle" if the officer needs to match it to documents.
What to attach with the letter — proof of status, address, and your relationship
Keep the packet tight. Three categories, a few pages each:
- Proof of your status: copy of your green card (front and back), US passport page, naturalization certificate, I-20, or DS-2019.
- Proof of your address: lease, mortgage statement, utility bill, or your driver's license. Something with your name and the address in the letter.
- Proof of the relationship: your birth certificate, a marriage certificate, or civil registry documents showing the family link. Family photos help as a backup but don't lean on them as the main proof.
If you're covering costs, a recent pay stub or bank statement is a reasonable addition. You don't need to turn this into a financial affidavit for a visitor visa.
Mistakes that hurt: vague dates, promises about work or caregiving, names that don't match the passport
The letter is short, so every mistake stands out. These are the ones that come up most:
- Dates like "this summer" or "soon." Give the officer something to write down. A rough month with a rough length beats a shrug.
- Promising work, childcare, or caregiving. If the letter hints that your mother is coming to mind the kids while you work, or that your brother will help run your business, you've just described something a tourist visa doesn't cover. People ask about this constantly — inviting a relative to care for a family member isn't what the letter is for, and framing it that way invites refusal. Leave caregiving out entirely.
- Names that don't match the passport. Nicknames, married names, different transliterations of a name from another alphabet — all of these slow things down. Copy the passport exactly.
- Overpromising. Don't write that you guarantee your relative will go home. That's not yours to guarantee, and officers know it.
- Sending it somewhere official-looking. The letter belongs with the applicant. Your relative brings it to the interview or uploads it with their paperwork — you don't mail it to the embassy on your own and hope it lands in the right file.
- Three pages of flattery. One page, plain facts. Long letters read as nervous letters.
Where the letter fits in the applicant's own interview and evidence of ties back home
The part people miss: your relative applies for the visa, not you. For a temporary visit that's a nonimmigrant visa, and the interview is theirs. You can't attend, can't speak for them, and can't write them into approval.
Your job as host is narrow and clear. Write the letter. Supply the documents about your status and address. Make sure your relative has a printed copy in hand.
What the officer weighs most is your relative's life back home — a steady job, a business, property, a spouse or children, savings, and any previous travel that shows they've left the US on time before. That's the evidence that matters. Your letter just fills in the reason for the trip and the logistics.
If they get asked "why are you going?" or "where will you stay?", the letter gives them a straight answer to point to. That's the whole job.
A few quick answers if you're still working through it:
- Do I need an invitation letter to invite family to the US? No — it's optional, and it doesn't decide the case.
- Can a green card holder invite parents to visit? Yes. Permanent residents write these letters all the time, and parents are one of the most common cases.
- What does the letter have to include? Your status and address, their name as printed on the passport, their citizenship, your relationship, the dates and length of stay, and where they'll stay.
- Does the letter have to be notarized? Not for a visitor visa. A signature and a date are enough.
Copy whichever sample above matches you, swap in your own details, and you'll have a signed letter ready today.