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If you intend to apply for a nonimmigrant visa to the United States, we encourage you to first visit our About Nonimmigrant
Visas page.
ALL
APPLICANTS, REGARDLESS OF AGE (excluding
those applying for A-1, A-2, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, and
C-3 visas), ARE REQUIRED TO
APPEAR AT THE EMBASSY FOR AN INTERVIEW.
Minor (unmarried 20 years old and below) nonimmigrant visa
applicants are required to appear with at least one parent for the interview. If the minor is an orphan or if both
parents are outside of the Philippines, then a guardian must be present during the interview.
ALL nonimmigrant visa
applicants (first time applicants, applicants who have an expired visa, or applicants who have lost their visa) must comply with the application
procedures provided below.
Please note that an approved
petition (Notice of Action, I-797 Form) is not a visa. It may not be used in
place of a visa. The
approval of a petition does not relieve the nonimmigrant visa applicant of the
burden of establishing visa eligibility. Temporary workers (H, L, O, P, and Q) must
still apply for a visa.
Step 1: Application Fee
Step 2: Required Documents
Step 3: Scheduling An
Interview
All nonimmigrant visa applicants must pay the machine-readable
visa application fee. The individuals and groups who
are exempt from paying the machine-readable visa application fee are as
follows:
§ Diplomatic (A1, A2)
§ Official (G1, G2, G3, G4)
§ C3 Transit Visa holders
§ Certain U.S. Government sponsored exchange visitors (J)
§ Certain NAFTA treaty nationals
§ Treaty dependents.
Effective
01 January 2008, the application fee for a U.S. nonimmigrant visa increased to
$131. This increase allows the Department to recover the costs of
security and other enhancements to the nonimmigrant visa application
process.
This fee can only be paid at designated branches of Citibank or
Bank of the Philippine Islands. It must be paid in Philippine currency at the U.S. government exchange rate prevailing on the day of payment. The bank will provide a
receipt and DS-157 Form where payment is machine-validated by check-rite.
A fee applies to only one visa classification/application. If an
applicant wishes to apply for more than one visa simultaneously, corresponding
payment per visa class must be made.
Visa application fees are nonrefundable. No exceptions
will be made to this rule. The
application fee is valid for use for one year after the date of actual payment.
The interview schedule must fall within the one-year validity. The fee is
transferable if the DS-157 Form has not been filled out.
The
fee cannot be paid from outside of the Philippines; it cannot be paid at the
American Embassy. See Where To
Pay The Application Fee for a list of
bank locations.
Step
2: |
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS |
All
basic documentary requirements must be ready BEFORE an appointment can
be made. Additional documents may be required, so please read the information
below carefully.
All
documents must be originals. Photocopies will not be accepted, unless
specified. The applicant must submit these
documents to the interviewing consular officer during the interview. The Nonimmigrant Visa Unit does not accept documents
BEFORE the interview. Any documents received will not be returned and will be
destroyed.
BASIC
REQUIREMENTS:
1. PASSPORT – Signed passports
must be valid for at least six months from the date of intended departure from the United States. The passport must be in good condition, i.e., photo
lamination is undamaged, and all passport pages are intact.
Applicants must also present all previously
issued passports or notarized
affidavits of loss,
if applicable.
Taiwanese passport holders that do not have
Taiwan personal identification numbers listed above the date of birth on the
biographic data page in their passports must present their original Philippine
residency permit.
2. APPLICATION FEE – Visa application
fee receipt issued by the bank
(except for A-1,
A-2, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, C-3, NAFTA
Treaty Nationals, Treaty Dependents and certain U.S. Government sponsored J visa applicants)
3. APPLICATION FORMS – Both completed
application forms (DS-156 & DS-157) are
needed for each person, regardless of age. All
questions must be filled out with a high level of accuracy. Errors
and incomplete information may result in a visa processing delay.
a) DS-156 Form –
Starting 01 November 2006, handwritten or typed Visa Application DS-156 Forms will no longer be accepted. Visa application forms printed from the Internet and then
filled out by hand or typed on a typewriter will not be accepted. Please
fill out the form online, and then print it
out using a laser printer. The printout will be three
pages in length and include the two-dimensional barcode
page. Make sure that the barcode is printed clearly and completely, with no
lines broken or torn. Only use laser jet or inkjet printers and good
quality copy paper when printing the online DS-156 Form.
Please
recheck the completed form to ensure its accuracy. If you must make changes,
please fill out another one. Please click here
for additional instructions.
b) DS-157 Form –
Applicants should also complete the Nonimmigrant Visa Supplemental
Application DS-157 Form. The form is provided at the bank where fees are
paid. Applicants must ensure that the back of the DS-157 Form is
machine-validated with check-rite. The U.S. Embassy does not validate
DS-157 Forms.
Applicants whose DS-157 Form is
not machine-validated by the bank with check-rite will NOT be allowed to
enter the Embassy premises. The applicant will then have to book another
interview appointment. Re-bookings do not require another application fee.
For nonpaying applicants (diplomatic (A), official (G),
certain U.S. Government sponsored exchange
visitor (J), and treaty dependents
(TD),please complete the DS-157 Form by clicking here.
4. PHOTO – One 2” x 2” standard, full-frontal face position color photo against
a white background taken within the last six (6) months is required. The photo
must be glued or stapled to the application form where specified. Note:
The U.S. Embassy Manila also requires that both ears be showing in the photo.
Please click here for
additional information on photo specifications.
5. EXTENSION OF STAY/CHANGE
OF STATUS – Please bring copies of U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) approvals of extension of stay or change of status, if
applicable.
6. PROOF OF RELATIONSHIP (if applying with/for
dependent/s)
ü Original
marriage certificate printed on the Philippine National Statistics Office security paper, if applicable (if applying with a spouse and/or child)
ü Original
birth certificate printed on the Philippine National Statistics Office security paper (for dependent/s)
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Please click on a particular
visa class below to find the list of additional requirements:
§ Representatives
of Foreign Governments and Employees of International Organizations –
Diplomatic/Official (A, C3 and G) and Personal/Domestic
Employee (A-3 and G-5)
§ Visitor
– Business/Tourist and Personal/Domestic
Employee
§ Crewmembers Working
on Outer Continental Shelf (B-1/OCS)
§ Transit
(C-1)
§ Crew-member
(C-1/D)
§ Treaty
Trader and Investor (E-1 and E-2)
§ Academic
Student (F), Nonacademic Student (M) and Exchange Visitor (J)
§ Temporary
Worker (H) and Intra-company Transferee (L)
§ Representatives of
Foreign Information Media (I)
§ Temporary Worker of
Extraordinary Ability in Sciences, Arts, Education, Business, or Athletics (O)
§ Entertainers,
Athletes and other Performers (P)
§ Participant in an
International Cultural Exchange Program (Q)
§ Temporary
Religious Worker (R)
§ NAFTA
Derivative (TD)
Step
3: |
SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW APPOINTMENT |
§ Appointments for Applicants Requesting
Earlier Appointments
1. Schedule An Appointment Online
The U.S. Embassy in Manila launched the VisaPoint™ system – the
new way for applicants to schedule visa interview appointments online. This
system allows one to schedule an appointment at any time of the day or night
and see all available dates and times on the computer screen. Please click here to get started.
Students (F and M), exchange visitors (J), temporary workers (H, L, O, P, and Q), and their qualified
dependents DO NOT NEED to have their I-20 Form (F or M visas), their
DS-1219 Form (J visa), or their approval notice I-797 (H, L, O, P, or Q visas)
in order to make an appointment. Rather, they should make their appointment
based on the expected travel date in order to ensure the availability of
an open time. They will not be issued a visa without the I-20 Form/DS-1219
Form/approved petition, but they can be interviewed BEFORE the
certificate of eligibility/approved petition is issued.
Ø APPOINTMENTS FOR PRIORITY INTERVIEW PROGRAM
PARTICIPANTS
Priority Interview Program (PIP) participants must
schedule interview appointments through VisaPoint™. While VisaPoint™ is
available to the general public, PIP participants who use this system will have
access to PIP special appointment slots reserved for PIP members. Please click here to get started.
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Ø APPOINTMENTS FOR SEAFARERS
For interview schedules for
nonimmigrant transit/crewmember (C-1/D) visa
applicants, outer continental shelf applicants (B1-OCS), and crewmembers of
privately owned yachts (B1-Yacht) please visit our VisaPoint™ page.
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Ø APPLICANTS REQUESTING EARLIER APPOINTMENTS
All applicants must comply with Steps 1 to
3. If the appointment is still too late for the applicant’s intended trip,
please visit the Early Appointment and Emergency Travel page.
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_________________________________________________________________________
NOTES
§ Unless
an applicant or his/her representative contacts the Call Center or uses the VisaPoint™ system to provide all
the required information, an application cannot be processed. All information
obtained from the applicant will be entered into the database for processing
when the applicant appears for an interview. An applicant’s name with a
confirmed interview appointment will appear on the Embassy gate list for access
purposes. An applicant whose | 
