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On the DS-160 form for an A-2 visa application, there is a set of questions related to "Sponsoring Mission/Organization":

screenshot of DS-160 form

My employer (an agency of the German federal government) is paying for the trip, but I can't write a German address here. I'm travelling to attend a meeting, but the organising institute states they have nothing to do with the A-2 visa and their information should not be here, which is probably accurate. The hint states Enter "Embassy of your country", which I could do (probably Germany then), but I don't have a contact name there.

What are they looking for here?

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  • I think it will have to be the German embassy.
    – phoog
    Commented Mar 15, 2019 at 18:38

2 Answers 2

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For you to get the A-2 visa, the German government (the foreign ministry, I presume) has to notify the US Department of State that you will be traveling to the US on official business. See 8 USC 1101(a)(15)(A)(ii): "upon a basis of reciprocity, other officials and employees who have been accredited by a foreign government recognized de jure by the United States, who are accepted by the Secretary of State, and the members of their immediate families" (emphasis added).

Whoever will be doing that should be able to tell you how to fill out the application form, including whose name to give in the contact fields. You mentioned in your other question that the agency you work for has said that you must use an A-2 visa. The person or office who is responsible for that policy must have a contact at the German foreign ministry because they will have to tell the foreign ministry to tell the US Department of State about your trip.

So it seems to me that you should ask your employer about this, and in particular ask them to refer you to someone at the foreign ministry who can provide you the name of the officer in the German Embassy whose name you should give as a contact.

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  • I'll ask them on Monday.
    – gerrit
    Commented Mar 15, 2019 at 20:19
  • I've reached them, turns out it is not the German embassy, but the hosting institute for the meeting.
    – gerrit
    Commented Mar 18, 2019 at 10:28
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I have reached one of the visa experts at the Dienstleistungszentrum Reisestelle im Geschäftsbereich des Bundesminsteriums für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur beim Bundesamt für Güterverkehr, which is the responsible organisation for organising travel for German government employees.

I have been told that the responsible mission/organization should be the contact person at the hosting institute, who writes (or would write) the visa invitation letter, and that it is not the embassy.

I entered a contact person at the hosting institute and the visa was accepted.

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    I'm surprised to hear this, since that institute does not seem to satisfy the requirement implied by the gray help text that the named sponsor reflect the basis for your diplomatic or semidiplomatic immunity. That is, they name embassy, international organization, and military base, corresponding to the three broad categories of such visas, A, G, and NATO.
    – phoog
    Commented Mar 18, 2019 at 11:24
  • Sounds strange to me too, unless your hosting institute is such an international organization. I would like to hear the end result of this process.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Mar 19, 2019 at 1:51
  • @MichaelHampton I will edit this answer as I hear back.
    – gerrit
    Commented Mar 19, 2019 at 6:51
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    @gerrit, did your application for the A-2 visa was accepted when you entered the contact person at the hosting institute as sponsoring mission/organization as you mentioned in the previous answer?
    – amy
    Commented Apr 7, 2022 at 15:00
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    @amy Yes, it was accepted. Edited for clarification, thanks for the reminder.
    – gerrit
    Commented Apr 7, 2022 at 18:38

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