The Department of State (DOS) has released a new version of the Form DS-160 Nonimmigrant Visa Application. The DS-160 form is an online application form that is completed and submitted electronically in connection with nonimmigrant visa applications at all U.S. embassies and consulates around the world.

The new DS-160 clarifies that the applicant—and only the applicant—must electronically sign and submit the DS-160 application. The only exceptions to this requirement are for applicants under 16 years of age and those physically incapable of completing an application. In these cases, the DS-160 may be completed and executed (i.e., electronically signed and submitted) by the applicant’s parent or guardian or, if there is no parent or guardian, by any person having legal custody of, or a legitimate interest in, the applicant.

Attorneys may prepare the application for the applicant, but the applicant must “submit” the application electronically—an attorney is no longer permitted to submit the application for the applicant. Other changes on the new DS-160 include the addition of six new questions relating to possible grounds of inadmissibility.