How To Apply For Italy Schengen Visa From Houston, Texas

Itlay Schengen Visa from Houston, TX

Italy is a beautiful country and it’s known for its rich culture and history. Being one of the most visited Schengen countries, it receives millions of visa applications from all across the world.

Update : It is now mandatory to get COVID Insurance when you travel Abroad. Click the below link to get your COVID Insurance at cost price. 

Houston is among the top states in the USA with the maximum number of visa applications to Italy. Sadly, the rejection rate for Italy visa is 7% which is considered very high as well.

Italy Schengen Visa Statistics Houston

It is important that you apply in the right way at the Italy Consulate in Houston, Texas. The following guide explains clearly as to what you need to do when applying for an Italy Schengen visa from Houston.

Italy has several consulates in the US in almost all major cities. Each major consulate covers a certain jurisdiction when it comes to issuing visas. Approach the Consulate General of Italy in Houston if your place of residence is in one of these states – Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, or Oklahoma.

Application of visa at the Italy Consulate in Houston involves four simple steps

  • Now that you already know which embassy you need to apply at, you’ll have to make online registration for an appointment
  • Book an appointment at the Italian consulate in Houston. ( Get Schengen visa appointment  for $ 10 )
  • Collect all the relevant documents needed for your Italy Schengen visa that you’ll need to show at the interview
  • Be present at the interview, answers all the questions, show all the documents and get your visa approved.

Schengen Visa appointment

Do US Permanent Residents Going for Tourism Purposes Need Italy Schengen Visa?

The answer to this question depends on your nationality. Since only full US citizens holding the blue passport can visit Europe without a visa. The below guide will help you answer your questions.

First you need to find out if you need a visa to enter Italy. Use the official website for the Italian Consulate in the USA to determine this. Choose ‘EN’ from the top right as your preferred language and scroll down.

Italy visa San Francisco website

Enter the following personal details to find out if you’ll need a visa to enter Italy.

  • Nationality
  • Country of residence
  • Length of your stay in Italy
  • Reason for your stay

do you need italy visa new york

Click on ‘Go to answers’ to know whether you will need to apply for a visa or not.

What is a Schengen Visa? What if I am visiting other Schengen countries like France and Spain?

Short Stay Visas covering visits of up to a total of 90 days are tourist Visas that also permit you to travel freely within the Schengen region. The Schengen region in Europe covers 25 countries that signed the Schengen Agreement to allow their citizens freedom of movement across the different countries without requiring a Visa.

The Schengen Visa also allows similar freedom of movement to the holder of the Visa for up to 90 days within a period of 180 days (6 months). After this 6-months period, you have to apply for a short-stay Visa again even if you have not used up the 90 days stay allowance.

where-to-apply-for-Schengen-visa

So if you get a short-stay visa to Italy, you can freely travel to France, Belgium, Germany. Greece, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, and other Schengen countries. However, if you’re applying at the Italy consulate, your travel ‘theme’ should be Italy.

How to Book an Appointment at the Italy Consulate in Houston?

The Consulate General of Italy in Houston works only via on-line applications. Visit this website and click on ‘Visa’ on the top.

You will be taken to a User Registration/Login Page. First, create a User Account by registering at the website. Click on ‘New User Registration’ to get registered.

Italy visa make appointment

Once your account is activated, log in to your account and try to fix an appointment at the Visa Office. You’re lucky if you manage to book an appointment in the first shot. If not, then you have to keep checking back, so that you can avail one of the canceled slots. Cancellations can open up free time slots for an interview.

select date italy visa

After you have scheduled an appointment, collect all the required documents for your interview, including the filled-in and printed Visa Application Form.
Note: If you schedule an appointment and then you find that your plans have changed and you don’t need it, cancel the appointment so that someone else can use that time slot.

The Documents Needed for Italian Visa at the Italian Consulate, Houston

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You need to provide proof of US residence, your employment or student status, proof of sustenance, proof of flight tickets, hotel bookings, health insurance etc.

Here is an exhaustive list mentioning all the documents you’ll need:

  • Passport (in accordance with the number and specifications on the application) Photographs
  • Permit Card of Permanent Residence
  • Flight Itinerary
  • Schengen Visa Insurance
  • Hotel Booking
  • Cover letter
  • Proof of sustenance (this will be shown in the form of bank statements of the last three months from a bank in the US) and can be in the form of credit cards or travel cards
  • Letter of employment (if you’re employed)
  • Letter from college (if you’re a student)
  • Company registration (if you’re self-employed)

A medical insurance with a minimum cover of € 43000 (read this article for more details)

Travel Documents

Passport: You need to present a valid passport with a minimum of two blank visa pages. The passport should be valid for at least three months after your planned return to the US.

Two identical photographs: Front face view, taken recently. The photos should present a clear view of your face against a neutral background. One of these photos should be affixed to the printed Visa Application Form, the other should be given as an additional copy.

US Permanent Residence card and a Re-entry permit that are also valid for 3 months or more after your return.
If you are not a permanent resident, then your Student Visa or Exchange Visitor Visa and Re-entry permit to the US, along with the relevant forms – Form I-20 or Form DS-2019. These forms confirm your current status as a Non-immigrant Student or as Exchange Visitor. All these documents should be valid for a minimum of three months beyond your last day of stay in Italy or the Schengen region.

Employment Letter: A Letter of Employment From your company stating your Date Of Hire, your current job position, your permitted leave details etc.

Business Proof: If you are self-employed, provide copies of your latest business license, business registration, and latest tax returns.

If you are a student, get a letter from the school, college, or university confirming your enrolment, your study period, your expected graduation date, and other details.

Proof of Sustenance: For the entire period of your travel in Italy and the Schengen area, you need to show that you have the financial resources necessary to support yourself. This is an addition to your flight and hotel bookings, and your travel health insurance.

Provide proofs in the forms of copies of bank statements for the past 6 months, travel cards, and credit cards with enough funds for the stay. You need to prove that you have enough funds on a per-day basis as well as a fixed sum for emergencies.

Proof of Travel Plans: You need to show proofs of you flight ticket bookings, hotel room reservations, and also documents proving your health insurance cover while in the Schengen region.

For these, make use of flight itinerary, hotel bookings, and insurance plan documents offered by us. These unconfirmed flight and hotel bookings are accepted by all embassies. In fact embassy websites of many countries advice Visa applicants against making actual flight reservations, because Visa approval is not guaranteed, and if your Visa application is rejected, you will lose a lot of money.

In case your visa gets rejected, you’ll not end up making a huge loss, something that is bound to happen, if you have confirmed flight tickets and hotel bookings.

Once your Visa application is approved, you can always confirm the flight tickets and room bookings, or look for other option, as well, if you want.

The travel health insurance plan you purchase should be for a minimum cover of € 43,000. It should provide for direct payments to the health care provider like hospitals or emergency services. The insurance should also cover the expenses for your repatriation to the US if needed.

The Cover Letter: You should prepare a cover letter to accompany the documents you are presenting to the Visa Office. This cover letter should include details about your travel plans, your purpose of visit, duration of stay, list of the documents that you have presented at the Visa Office along with this letter. It should clearly communicate the purpose of your visit, your travel itinerary, and your planned return to your country of residence.

What if I have been invited by a Host?

If you are going to Italy on the invitation and will be provided accommodations and food by a resident of Italy, you need to ask the host to send a formal letter of invitation in the format required by the embassy. You can access the invitation format at the Visa application section of the embassy website.

The invitation has to state the host’s address, the duration of stay of the visitor with the host, the host’s legal residence status and proof. If a citizen of Italy, then a copy of a valid ID should be sent, as well. If the host is a foreign resident, then proof of permission to stay in Italy should be provided along with the Invitation Letter.

What is a Flight Itinerary? What about Hotel Bookings?

Flight Itinerary: You need to show your flight itinerary to get your visa approved. You must be thinking about what will happen to your flight tickets if your visa request gets rejected. If your visa is rejected, you will end up losing a lot of money. Opt for temporary flight itinerary which isn’t actual bookings. This will help in saving a lot of money.
What is a flight itinerary? Is it accepted by the Schengen consulate?

Of course, in fact all the embassies mention the same. We have added links to the official visa pages which you can verify.

France Consulate

Your travel itinerary : you MUST BOOK your airline ticket but do not purchase until the visa has been approved.

Spain consulate

We recommend that you do not purchase travel tickets until your visa has been approved. On the other hand, you may provide us with a reservation, a planned itinerary or an online printout of a roundtrip ticket.

Netherland consulate

Travel reservation to and from schengen area, not a ticket. Note: Make travel reservation which you can cancel

Germany consulate

Flight (roundtrip)/travel reservations and full itinerary (if several Schengen States will be visited or if the trip covers several Schengen States and non-Schengen countries) with the name of passenger and one copy

Italy consulate

Round trip ticket/reservation, originating in this jurisdiction to Europe (and ultimately to Italy) and back, including internal entry and exit points of travel i.e. EURORAIL tickets, car rental, internal flights. The names on reservations have to reflect the names on passports.

We can provide you with flight itineraries which is accepted by not only for Schengen visa but for all visas. We have customers using the same flight itinerary for Malaysia visa, Singapore visa, India visa, UK visa etc.

In fact the European union visa requirements for visa states the same.

As per the official document,

Round trip reservation or itinerary with dates and flight numbers specifying entry and exit from Schengen state.Schengen authorities accept the itinerary when applying for the visa but request the original air ticket when visa is collected.

That is why we have 100% visa acceptance rate although some of our customer have been requested to provide “additional documents”,none of their visa has been rejected for providing fake documents.

With 80% of our customers being return customers or companies which process visas for their employees/clients, our approach is the best approach if you want to ensure the safety of your visa.

This is our orders screen for this month. Most of the orders have been placed by repeat customers.

travelvisabooking orders

The best part about our service is along with getting a flight reservation without payment, you can also get confirmed hotel bookings, personal cover letter, leave/no objection letter for your visa consulates.

Hotel Reservation: Just like temporary flight tickets, you can opt for temporary hotel reservations as well. Opt for our services and save a lot of money.

Want temporary flight, hotel or insurance for your Schengen visa appointment?

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Why Should I take Flight and Hotel Reservations from You?

We can help you with everything as far as your visa application is concerned. Also, you will get the flight and hotel reservations at the best rate from us. We have a huge customer base, who trusts us completely.

I am a B1/B2 Visa Holder. Can I Apply at the Italian Consulate in Houston?

Unfortunately, no. You’ll have to apply from the country of your nationality.

What are Charges that I’ll Need to Pay?

What is the Visa Office Timing?

The Italian visa office stays closed on Wednesday. For Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, it works from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm.

When will I get my Visa?

The visa processing can take any time between 5-15 days. Whether your visa is approved or rejected, the consulate will let you know. In case, your visa is rejected, they will tell you why. Ideally, it shouldn’t take more than 2 weeks.

Address of the Visa Office of the Italian Consulate in Houston, TX

CONSULATE GENERAL OF ITALY

1300 POST OAK BLVD STE 660 HOUSTON

TX 77056-3088

Related Italy Visa links

https://travelvisabookings.com/italy-schengen-visa-in-7-days/

https://travelvisabookings.com/italy-visa-requirements-for-us-green-card-holders/

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