Apply for a U.S. Visa

The U.S. Mission in Vietnam will change its consular exchange rate from US$1=25,000VND to US$1=24,000VND effective February 3, 2023.
All applicants for nonimmigrant visas and K visas who pay the visa processing fee on or after February 3, 2023, must pay at the new exchange rate of US$1=24,000VND.
Applicants who paid the visa processing fee at the exchange rate of US$1=25,000VND on or before February 3, may still use their receipt before it expires.
For any inquiries or assistance related to new exchange rate, please contact the U.S. Visa Service Desk at support-vietnam@ustraveldocs.com or contact the call center in Vietnam at 19006444 (Monday - Friday, 08:00 - 16:00, except on holidays).

After thorough review, the Department of State determined that for visa application purposes, the new Vietnam passport, issued starting July 1, 2022, which does not contain a birthplace, must include a Vietnam government endorsement page that states place of birth information. We urge all individuals with upcoming appointments already scheduled to get the endorsement prior to their appointment. Recognizing the inconvenience this presents, we will continue to interview applicants whose passports lack the endorsement through September 29. Beginning October 3, all visa applicants with the new blue-covered passports must have the passport endorsed with place of birth before their interview. Applicants who do not have an endorsement in their blue cover passports will not be permitted to interview and will need to reschedule their appointments. From now until October 3, to minimize disruption, all Vietnamese nonimmigrant and immigrant visa applicants should do the following:
• ALL NEW APPLICANTS: When completing your DS-160 application or DS-260 application, please make sure that you write your place of birth. (Do NOT write your place of origin or your place of birth registration. Write the name of the city/province and country where your mother gave birth to you.)
• APPLICANTS WITH THE NEW BLUE-COVERED PASSPORT: We strongly recommend that you request that the place of birth be added as an endorsement prior to your interview. If your new passport is not endorsed, then bring an original birth certificate with you to your visa interview. If you do not have an original birth certificate but do have an old green-covered passport that shows your place of birth, then bring the old passport along with your new blue one.

Nonimmigrant visa applicants who are in an urgent need to travel should continue to follow the instructions here to request an expedited appointment. Fiancé(e) and immigrant visa applicants who have questions about their specific case may contact the Immigrant Visa (IV) Unit here. We encourage you to book your appointment as soon as you think you may need to travel in the future.

For 221g applicants going to the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, you may come to the consulate for an interview anytime between 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday, except holidays and other days where the Consulate may be closed for other work-related purposes. Please check the Consulate website for the latest operating hours. If you submitted your mail-in visa application more than 6 months before the interview, then you will need to provide a new visa photo.

Check your email and phone the day before your scheduled visa interview to ensure that your appointment has not been rescheduled or cancelled. Arrive no more than 20 minutes before your scheduled appointment.

Please do not enter the U.S. Embassy or the U.S. Consulate General if you are feeling ill or have reason to believe you have been exposed to COVID-19. You may reschedule your appointment.

Effective February 7, 2022, the Pick-up / Drop off of your passport / documents at the courier locations and delivery service for return of your passport / documents will be changed as follows

• Pick-up / Dropoff of passport / documents at Bưu cục Thanh Xuân - 1 Nguy Nhu Kon Tum (Hanoi) and Văn phòng 18A Cộng Hòa, Phường 12, Quận Tân Bình (HCMC)
• Drop-off of passport / documents at any other courier location will be charged a fee of VND133,000 per passport / document at the time of drop-off;
• Pick-up of passport / documents at any other courier location will be charged a fee of VND143,000 per passport / document at the time of pick-up;
• Expedited delivery service will be charged at VND240,000 for mailing address in Hanoi / Ho Chi Minh City and VND302,000 for mailing address in other provinces per passport / document;
• Regular home delivery service will be charged at VND143,000 per passport / document;
• The fees will be collected in cash when the passport / document is delivered. Exact change required.
For detailed information, please

Select here to learn more about certain individual petition-based visa applicants who are now eligible for waiver of interview.

Effective Sunday, June 12, 2022, at 12:01 a.m. EDT, the CDC rescinded its Order requiring all airline or other aircraft passengers to show a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 to board any aircraft destined to the United States from a foreign country. Of note,CDC’s Order requiring proof of vaccination for non-U.S. citizen nonimmigrants to travel to the United States is still in effect. For more information see Requirement for Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination for Air Passengers.

Secretary Blinken, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, has temporarily expanded the ability of consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for individuals applying for a nonimmigrant visa in the same classification. Previously, only those applicants whose nonimmigrant visa expired within 24 months were eligible for an interview waiver. The Secretary has temporarily extended the expiration period to 48 months. This policy is in effect until further notice. This change will allow consular officers to continue processing certain nonimmigrant visa applications while limiting the number of applicants who must appear at a consular section, thereby reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission to other applicants and consular staff. Travelers are encouraged to review the website of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for detailed information on what services are currently available as well as eligibility information and instructions on applying for a visa without an interview.

All nonimmigrant visa application fee (also known as the MRV fee) payments made on or after October 1, 2022, are valid for 365 days from the date a receipt is issued for payment of the MRV fee. Applicants must schedule an interview appointment or submit an interview waiver application during this 365-day period. Please note applicants must only schedule their interview or submit their waiver application within the 365-day period. There is no requirement the interview must occur during the 365-day period. All receipts for payment of MRV fees issued before October 1, 2022, were extended until September 30, 2023, and remain valid until this date

• Applicants should use the Vietnamese-language video guide to complete the DS-160. All applicants must fill out a new Form DS-160 for every new application for a U.S. visa. All previously submitted DS-160 forms cannot be used for a new visa interview.
• Using a barcode number from the DS-160 that is not submitted to schedule an interview appointment will result in appointment cancellation.
• The barcode number on the DS-160 Confirmation page that visa applicants bring on their interview dates must be exactly the same one used to schedule the appointment. Failure to present the DS-160 Confirmation page with the same barcode number that you used for scheduling your appointment will result in the cancellation of your visa interview appointment.
• Correction of the DS-160 confirmation number after you have scheduled an appointment is available until two business days before your visa interview. To correct the number, please log in to your profile, and select “Update profile” or contact the call center for assistance. If your DS-160 confirmation number is not corrected before two business days prior to your appointment, your interview will be cancelled, and you will have to reschedule your interview appointment.
• Please make sure you come to your interview with an Appointment Confirmation Sheet bearing the most up-to-date DS-160 barcode number; and the new/valid DS-160 Confirmation page