 This video is for all of you who are planning to apply for the U.S. B1 B2 visa. One of the documents that can really help you in the process is a sponsorship letter. A sponsorship letter basically tells the visa officer that someone else is willing to take the financial responsibility of your trip. Now, there are so many aspects of the sponsorship letter that you need to fully understand before you can get the maximum benefit from it. And this is exactly what we're going to talk about in today's video. Keep on watching. Hi, guys, my name is Shachi and I'm a travel and a visa coach on this channel. You will find tons of videos on the U.S. visa process right from filling the DS 160 to clearing the interview. So make sure that you check them out. So I get a lot of questions from you guys asking about sponsorship letters. What exactly is a sponsorship letter? Who can issue them? What are the documents I need with it? Will it help my visa chances and so on. So we are going to be covering all of these questions in this video. And we have a free PDF for you, which is going to make the process of preparing the sponsorship letter really, really easy and simple for you. The link for that is in the description box below. So make sure that you check it out. So let's start with understanding what exactly is a sponsorship letter. Now, let's say that you want to visit the United States, but you are unable to finance the trip yourself. However, you have a friend or a relative who's living in the United States and who is willing to pay for all your expenses. This includes the flight, the accommodation, the day to day expenses and everything else. Now, that friend or relative can issue a sponsorship letter to you saying that he or she is willing to take financial as well as legal responsibility for your trip, which means that they are going to pay for all your expenses and also make sure that you return back to your home country. So next, let's talk about who can issue you a sponsorship letter. Now, according to the official visa regulations of US, any person who is legally living in the United States can issue you a sponsorship letter. And by legally, we mean that the person is either a US citizen, a green card holder, or is there in the US on a valid visa such as H1 or L1. But in my experience, I have seen that sponsorship letters work best when it is issued by a close relative or by a person with whom you have a long relationship. For example, a son or a daughter issuing it for their parents, one sibling issuing a sponsorship letter for another sibling or an uncle or an aunt giving it for their niece or nephew. This is because in the interview, the visa officer is always going to ask you, why is this person issuing you a sponsorship letter? And it just becomes easier to justify it. Legally, even a friend or acquaintance can give you a sponsorship letter. But there's always a question of why and you should be able to justify the same in the interview. Next, let's talk about what are the documents that you need from your sponsor? And before we go into the document checklist, the one thing that you need to keep in mind is that your sponsor needs to give these documents to you and not to the US Embassy. So you collect all these documents from your sponsor and take it with you for the visa interview. And before we really get into discussing the documents, I just want to remind you that in the description box below, we have a free PDF, which is going to give you this entire checklist and make this process of document preparation really, really easy for you. So make sure to download your free PDF. The most important document that you're going to need from your sponsor is called the I-134. The I-134 is also known as the Affidavit of Support. And your sponsor will need to download this form, fill it and send it to you. And the one thing that you need to keep in mind is that the I-134 has to be filled individually for each person who is applying for the US visa. So let's say that your sponsor is sponsoring two people, then he or she will need to fill it individually for each of those two people. So the next set of documents that you need from your sponsor is proof of employment. So this basically shows that they are employed in the US and they are earning in the US for proof of employment, your sponsor can give you their employment letter, their salary slips of last three months, income tax return of last three years and a bank statement of at least six months. And all of this should indicate that they have adequate financial resources to pay for your trip. The next document that you would need from your sponsor is a letter addressed to the consulate. Now, this letter is basically like an invite letter in which the sponsor will introduce himself or herself, tell the visa officer what is the purpose of your trip and also state that they are willing to fund your entire trip, accommodate you in their house and also take the legal responsibility of sending you back to your home country. Do check the link in the description box for a sample of this invite letter. And the last thing that you would need from your sponsor is basically proof of their identity. So if your sponsor is a US citizen, then either their birth certificate or the US passport would be sufficient. And if they're a non US citizen, then details of their visa, along with a copy of their birth certificate and passport would be required. So now that we've understood the basics of a sponsorship letter, let's talk about a very, very important question, which is asked really frequently and that is, will a sponsorship letter guarantee my visa? And the short answer to this is no, a sponsorship letter cannot guarantee you a US visa. It is basically a financial aid which can definitely help in making your case stronger. But along with the sponsorship letter, you would also need to have the other important things in place. And this mainly includes having a valid purpose of visit and having strong ties to your home country, which shows that you have enough reasons to come back. Now, I have many videos on this channel, which discuss in length about how to prepare for your purpose of visit and how to show strong ties to your home country. So make sure that you check out those videos. Another question which troubles a lot of people is, which is a better option going for a sponsor or self sponsoring a trip? And in my opinion, I would say that if you are able to fund your own trip, then that is always a better option. So always go for self sponsoring if possible. And only if you are unable to do so, go and get yourself a sponsor. This is because when you're able to fund your own trip, it adds more credibility to your profile and also shows that you are less likely to engage in any illegal activity in the US to earn money. Plus, having a source of income back home adds more reasons for you to come back to your home country. So if you have the option of sponsoring your own trip, then definitely go for that. So guys, I'm sure this video has clarified all your doubts regarding a sponsorship letter. If you know anybody else who's going through this process and could benefit from this video, make sure to share it with them. If you have any more questions, leave them in the comment section below. You can also reach out to me via Instagram DM. My Instagram handle is at shachi.mull. It's right below for a more personalized session. You can book a video consultation with me and the link for booking this video consultation is also in the description box. Thank you so much for watching. If you've been here for a while, do consider subscribing and hit the bell icon so that you don't miss out on any new videos. I'll see you in the next one. Signing off for now. Bye.