Invitation letter: original, scan, printout or handwritten?

Official pages below were checked on October 1, 2026. The comparison describes what those sources say; it does not claim every conceivable scan, photocopy or handwritten letter will be accepted.

Washington, DC · Embassy: the September 2025 requirements distinguish online uploads from originals submitted after preliminary review. Q1/S1 relationship certificates require original verification, and other originals may be requested. The checked page does not establish a blanket rule accepting every invitation photocopy.

• Embassy requirements · checked 2026-10-01

New York: the current requirements likewise separate uploads from physical originals and reserve additional original requests. The Q1/S1 relationship-certificate requirement is not a statement that every invitation letter must be couriered as an original.

• New York requirements · checked 2026-10-01

Chicago: the September 2025 list identifies originals for physical submission, including Q1/S1 relationship certificates and any other originals requested by the officer. It does not confirm universal acceptance of a handwritten invitation.

• Chicago requirements · checked 2026-10-01

San Francisco: the checked requirements distinguish uploaded materials from originals, including Q1/S1 relationship evidence and other originals requested by the office. Preserve the letter’s complete issued version and check the individual review instructions.

• San Francisco requirements · checked 2026-10-01

Los Angeles: the current document table lists M/F and Q/S invitation letters for upload with no routine physical submission, subject to the system instructions and review comments. Its September 17, 2026 FAQ requires the inviter’s signature and says an invitation transmitted solely by email is not accepted. Do not interpret that sentence as either a universal ban on signed scans or permission to email a letter instead of using the application system; clarify an ambiguous case with this office.

• Los Angeles document table · checked 2026-10-01
• Los Angeles invitation FAQ · checked 2026-10-01

The official sources checked for this guide do not confirm a universal acceptance rule for a fully handwritten invitation. Los Angeles says there is no standardized format, but that does not explicitly settle handwriting. A handwritten signature and a handwritten body are different questions.

If you plan to use handwriting, ask the responsible office whether it accepts a fully handwritten letter for your category and what signing, upload and physical-submission conditions apply. A clearly typed body can help readability, but that is preparation advice, not an official guarantee of acceptance.

Do not copy a handwritten-signature requirement from a separate visa declaration and assume it answers how the entire invitation must be written.

1. Confirm the responsible office and read its current list plus your application’s review message.
2. Ask the issuer for a complete, readable version including the required execution; check all pages and edges before uploading.
3. Use the file format the system requests. The Embassy upload guidance specifies image files rather than PDF uploads; a document’s PDF filename is not proof that the portal accepts it.
4. If an original is requested, agree how the issuer will deliver it and how it will reach the correct submission channel. Retain a copy of the exact version; do not assume an agency can waive the request.

• Embassy upload guidance · checked 2026-10-01

This page reports no rejection-frequency ranking: verified invitation-specific aggregate evidence is not available for this guide. The common-mistakes page instead provides explicitly hypothetical checks.