Thank you for your interest in traveling to the United States.  We hope that this web site makes it easier for you to select and apply for the proper visa.

The type of visa you will need and the requirements to apply for that that visa depend largely on your purpose of travel to the United States. 

o   H1N1 FLU ALERT

o   NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES ALLOWED INSIDE THE EMBASSY

o   NEW NONIMMIGRANT VISA FEE PAYMENT SLIP

o   MAIDEN NAME AND OTHER NAMES REQUIREMENT

o   IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED NONIMMIGRANT VISA APPLICANTS

VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREIGN WORKERS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS (CNMI) EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 28, 2009

DAMAGED NONIMMIGRANT VISA AND BANCO DE ORO (BDO) PAYMENT SLIP DUE TO TYPHOON

If your nonimmigrant visa was soaked in water or peeled off from the passport page because of the recent typhoon, your visa is considered invalidated. In order to make future trips to the United States, you must reapply for a nonimmigrant visa. The step-by-step procedures are provided in http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwhniv1.html.

Please be aware that a visa may only be used to apply for entry to the United States. Visa holders are subject to inspection at the port of entry by officials of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) who have the sole authority to allow or deny anyone admission to the United States.

In addition, visa applicants whose Banco de Oro (BDO) payment slips in blue paper (US embassy copy) are damaged or lost because of the typhoon will have to pay a new visa application fee of $131 at any BDO branch and Citi's corporate center branch in Makati.

Message updated: October 15, 2009

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR A-3, G-5, H, J, and B1 Domestic VISA APPLICANTS

On December 23, 2008, then-President George Bush signed into law the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (WWTVPA) of 2008. The Act requires that an individual applying for an A-3, G-5, B1 domestic employee, J1, or certain H1B and H2B visas is made aware of his or her legal rights under federal immigration, labor, and employment laws. This includes information on the illegality of slavery, peonage, trafficking in persons, sexual assault, extortion, blackmail, and worker exploitation in the United States. Please read this pamphlet prior to your visa interview. You will be asked if you have received, read, and understood its contents.

For inquiries related to this matter, please e-mail us at ConsManilaNIV@state.gov.

Message updated: September 15, 2009

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AMERICAN CITIZEN SERVICES AND VISA APPLICANTS

If you have an American Citizen Service appointment or visa appointment and you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, please do not come to the U.S. Embassy, Manila. We will provide re-scheduling of your appointment should you need to cancel for this reason as follows:

• To reschedule American Citizenship Services appointments, please call 301-2000 x2376

• To reschedule Visa appointments, please call 1-909-101-7878 (from a PLDT landline) or 1-888-877-9888 (from the U.S.)

Message updated: May 15, 2009

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ELECTRONIC DEVICES NOT PERMITTED ON

EMBASSY GROUNDS

For the safety and security of all applicants and employees, visa applicants are NOT PERMITTED to bring any kind of electronic and battery-operated devices (cellular phone, digital camera, laptop, music player, portable game consoles such as PSP, etc.) into the U.S. Embassy. Applicants who bring such devices will be denied entry.  Please make arrangements to leave your electronic equipment in a safe location off Embassy grounds BEFORE your interview appointment.  We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your cooperation.

Message updated: May 28, 2009

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NEW NONIMMIGRANT VISA FEE PAYMENT SLIP EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2009

Beginning July 1, 2009, Citi and BDO will use new payment slips for nonimmigrant machine-readable visa (MRV) application fee payments. 

Upon payment of the $131 MRV application fee, the bank will issue a new “US Embassy copy” of the bills payment slip which will be stapled to a blank DS-157 form. The BDO bills payment slip will have three copies. The copy on blue paper is the “US Embassy copy.” On the day of the interview, the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit will only accept the “US Embassy copy” as proof of payment of the $131 MRV application fee. If the slip stapled on the DS-157 form gets lost, the applicant will need to pay a new MRV fee.

All MRV fee payments made between May 25, 2009 and June 30, 2009 with the old bills payment slip will still be accepted. All MRV fee payments made before May 25, 2009 with a proof of payment validation at the back of the DS-157 form, which fall within the one-year fee validity, will also be accepted.

The DS-157 form is still a required document and must be submitted as part of the visa application.

TFor questions and concerns, please e-mail us at ConsManilaNIV@state.gov

Message updated: June 16, 2009

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MAIDEN NAME AND OTHER NAMES REQUIREMENT

Boxes 8 and 9 of the Nonimmigrant Visa Application Form, DS-156, require you to list any other Surnames used (Box 8) and/or First and Middle Names used (Box 9).  This is a REQUIREMENT.  For example, if you are married, this means you MUST list your Maiden name in Box 8 of the DS-156.  If you are known by a nickname, you MUST list this in Box 9 of the DS-156.  Failure to list the other names by which you are or have been known may result in delays of your visa processing.

Message updated: May 28, 2009

AVAILABLE APPOINTMENTS

Due to heavy summer visa demand, the wait time for a nonimmigrant visa interview appointment has increased. To find the typical wait time for a nonimmigrant visa interview appointment, please click here. 

Appointment availability changes often.  Appointments may not be available on the date shown as appointment bookings are made continuously through the Call Center and VisaPoint™.

Please visit the Nonimmigrant Visa Application Procedures page for information on how to apply for a nonimmigrant visa to the United States.  For medical emergencies, family emergencies, and other cases requiring earlier appointments, please click here.

To avoid delay in travel, apply for the visa at least 3 months in advance and before making final travel arrangements.  Final travel plans or the purchase of airline tickets should not be made until a visa has been delivered.

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AVERAGE VISA PROCESSING TIME AND DELIVERY

Depending on the volume of the visa issuances of the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit, visa processing after the interview usually takes at least one week*.  After the one-week visa processing, the receipt of a passport with a visa may take longer, depending on the applicant’s delivery address.

* – Average Visa Processing Time: This means the number of working days it takes for an approved applicant to receive his/her passport back from the Embassy with the U.S. Visa at the address given to the courier company.  All applicants should be aware that the one week processing time is an AVERAGE, and that the processing time of a specific case can vary due to individual circumstances and other special requirements.

For more information on visa processing and release, please visit the If Visa Is Issued page.

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EARLY ARRIVAL AT THE EMBASSY FOR

VISA INTERVIEW APPOINTMENT

Applicants are requested to come to the Embassy an hour earlier than their appointment time in order for the Embassy to process their applications prior to interview. Applicants who appear an hour or more after their scheduled appointment time will not be granted access to the Consular Section (absent dire circumstances). Those applicants will then be required to book a new appointment for interview online or through the Call Center.

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K & V VISAS

Fiancé(e) of a U.S. Citizen (K-1), child of K-1 (K-2), spouse of a U.S. Citizen (K-3), child of K-3 (K-4), spouse of legal permanent resident (V-1), child of legal permanent resident/child principal/L.I.F.E. Act (V-2), and derivative child of V-1 and V-2 (V-3) visas are classified as nonimmigrant visas. However, applications for such visas are processed and issued only at immigrant visa issuing posts, which cover the consular district, unless the post has been specifically authorized to process K visas.

The Nonimmigrant Visa Unit in Manila is NOT authorized to process or respond to inquiries on K and V visas. The Immigrant Visa Unit processes these visa applications.