Family members planning to visit the United States to attend a University of Hawai’i at Mānoa commencement ceremony may need to apply for a B-1/B-2 tourist visa at the US embassy or consulate in their home country. To facilitate their visa application process, you will need to write a letter of invitation to the US embassy or consulate. To learn more about visitor visas and how to write a “Letter of Invitation”, please visit the International Student Services website.

In addition to the “Letter of Invitation” for your guests, to support our graduation candidates, upon request, the Office of the Registrar will provide candidates with a letter to support the visa application process. This letter states that you, the graduation candidate, plan to attend commencement.

You may make your request a letter of support by completing the Graduate Candidate Verification Form.

Please allow 3-5 business days for processing your letter request. Once completed, you will be notified by email and you may pick up your letter at the office during normal office hours or have it emailed to you as a PDF.

Do not mail this letter to the embassy/consulate. Make sure that your guest includes this at their visa interview.

Important: You must provide the “Letter of Invitation” for your guests as the university cannot provide you one. While providing a “Letter of Invitation” and support letter may improve your family’s chances of obtaining a visa, there are no guarantees a visa will be issued. The success of the request for a visa lies in your ability to prove that they have no intention of staying permanently in the US and that they have adequate funding available for their stay.