You should have basic information about the places you are going to visit in the US while here on a tourist visa. Many people who are visiting their relatives have no idea about such places. They just think that once they reach the US, they will go wherever and whenever their relatives take them. That is not a good idea. If you are spending so much money and traveling so far, you should have some basic knowledge about the places you are going to visit, if you are indeed applying for a tourist/visitor visa.
There are many books available in the market about US tourist attractions. If you read some of them, it can certainly help you.
If you don’t have any idea about the approximate cost of the air ticket, which places you are going to visit, what kind of places you are going to stay in, how you will travel in the US etc., it will be very difficult to convince the consular officer that you are indeed going to the US for tourism.
The following list has been prepared primarily from the perspective of preparing for the US tourist visa interview. It is not intended to be any USA tourist guide book by any means.
- East Coast
- New York City
- Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
- Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and Ground Zero
- Times Square
- Broadway shows
- Metropolitan Museum
- Manhattan skyline
- Helicopter tour of New York City
- Niagara Falls, New York
- American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls
- Canadian Falls or Horseshoe Falls
- Maid of the Mist Ride (a boat tour of Niagara Falls)
- Helicopter tour of Niagara Falls
- Atlantic City, New Jersey
- Casinos
- Live shows in the casinos
- Boardwalk
- Washington DC
- White House
- Capitol Building
- Smithsonian Museum
- Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, Jefferson Memorial
- Cherry Blossoms (springtime), Christmas decorations (winter time)
- Virginia
- Luray Caverns
- Shenandoah Valley (especially during the fall season)
- Orlando, Florida
- Disney World that includes the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, etc.
- Universal Studios
- SeaWorld
- Kennedy Space Center by NASA
- Miami, Florida
- South Beach, Miami Beach
- Nightlife
- New York City
- West Coast
- Las Vegas
- Casinos
- Live shows
- Bellagio: Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, musical fountains
- Caesars Palace: Fall of Atlantis fountain show
- Circus Circus: Adventuredome rides and attractions for kids
- Flamingo: Wildlife Habitat
- Fremont Street Experience
- Luxor: Pyramid
- Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum
- Mandalay Bay: Shark Reef Aquarium
- M&M’s World
- Mirage: Volcano, Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat
- New York-New York: Statue of Liberty, Manhattan skyline
- Paris: Eiffel Tower Experience
- Stratosphere: Observation deck
- Venetian: Gondola rides from St. Mark’s Square
- Outside Las Vegas: Hoover Dam, Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Lake Mead
- Grand Canyon
- West Rim
- Skywalk
- Indian Village
- Helicopter, boat and bus ride
- South Rim
- North Rim
- West Rim
- San Francisco, California
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Lombard Street
- Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square
- Alcatraz (a former federal prison located on an Alcatraz Island)
- Cable cars
- Coit Tower
- Chinatown
- Muir Woods National Monument
- Southern California
- Los Angeles
- Disneyland which includes Adventureland, Mickey’s Toontown, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, etc.
- Universal Studios
- Hollywood
- San Diego
- Zoo
- SeaWorld
- Legoland
- Los Angeles
- Other places in California
- Las Vegas
- Rest of the US
- Texas
- Austin
- Capitol building
- Radha Madhav Dham (originally Barsana Dham)
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Arboretum & Botanical Garden
- Fort Worth: Zoo, ranch, rodeo show, Bureau of Engraving and Printing (1 of 2 US Currency printing locations)
- Houston
- Japanese Garden
- NASA Space center
- San Antonio
- SeaWorld
- River Walk
- Austin
- Chicago
- Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower)
- Devon Avenue
- Lake Michigan
- Other
- Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana
- Texas
