Apply for a U.S. Visa

Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants:

The Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV) Units of the U.S. Embassy Hanoi and the U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City will be closed to the public beginning Friday, January 20through Thursday, January 26, 2023. Please note, the visa delivery service and visa mail-in renewal submission locations will be open until Thursday, January 19, 2023. If your visa application is approved and you do not receive your passport back by Thursday, January 19, 2023, you will receive them by courier after the Tet holiday. Before mailing your passport to the Embassy or Consulate, please ensure that you will not need it during the Tet holiday.

The NIV Unit will reopen to the public on Friday, January 27, 2023.Visa delivery service and visa mail-in renewal submission locations will resume usual operation on Monday, January 30, 2023.

Immigrant Visa Applicants:

The Immigrant Visa (IV) Unit of the Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City will be closed to the public from Friday, January 20 through Thursday, January 26, 2023. Immigrant visa applicants who have been asked to submit additional documents should not plan on doing so during this period. The IV Unit will continue conducting visa interviews through Thursday, January 19, 2023. However, please expect a delay in the delivery of your visa due to the Tet closure. If you have an urgent need to travel, please notify our office at the time of your interview.

The IV Unit will reopen to the public on Friday, January 27, 2023.

Visa Application Fee Payment Processing Timelines

Fee Payment Locations (Vietnam Post locations) will be closed from January 21, 2023, to January 24, 2023, and resume services on January 25, 2023.

However, if you pay at Vietnam Post location during January 25 to before 5pm of January 26, your visa fee payment receipt will be activated after 11am of January 28, 2023.

From January 27, 2023 onwards, Visa Application Fee Payment Processing time will follow the usual timeline provided here.

As of July 15, the United States Embassy in Hanoi and Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City have resumed certain nonimmigrant visa services, including: F, M, certain J categories (alien physician, government visitor, international visitor professor, research scholar, short-term research scholar, specialist, secondary school student and college/university student), C1/D, E, I, O, and P visas, and certain immigrant visas including IR1, IR2, CR1, and CR2.  The MRV fee is valid and may be used to schedule an interview appointment in the country where it was purchased within one year of the date of payment.  If you have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately, please follow the guidance provided at https://www.ustraveldocs.com/vn/vn-niv-expeditedappointment.asp to request an emergency appointment.

Please note, you must wear a face mask when visiting the Embassy or Consulate.  If you are feeling ill or have reason to believe you have been exposed to COVID-19, please postpone your appointment with our offices and reschedule a new one after at least 14 days.

As of July 15, the United States Embassy in Hanoi and Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City have resumed certain nonimmigrant visa services, including: F, M, certain J categories (alien physician, government visitor, international visitor professor, research scholar, short-term research scholar, specialist, secondary school student and college/university student), C1/D, E, I, O, and P visas, and certain immigrant visas including IR1, IR2, CR1, and CR2.  The MRV fee is valid and may be used to schedule an interview appointment in the country where it was purchased within one year of the date of payment.  If you have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately, please follow the guidance provided at https://www.ustraveldocs.com/vn/vn-niv-expeditedappointment.asp to request an emergency appointment.

Please note, you must wear a face mask when visiting the Embassy or Consulate.  If you are feeling ill or have reason to believe you have been exposed to COVID-19, please postpone your appointment with our offices and reschedule a new one after at least 14 days.

The U.S. Mission to Vietnam understands that many visa applicants have paid the visa application processing fee and are still waiting to schedule a visa appointment.  We are working diligently to restore all routine visa operations as quickly and safely as possible.  In the meantime, rest assured that the U.S. Mission will extend the validity of your payment (known as the MRV fee) until December 31, 2021, to allow all applicants who were unable to schedule a visa appointment as a result of the suspension of routine consular operations an opportunity to schedule and/or attend a visa appointment with the already paid fee.  Please continue to monitor this site for information on when we will return to routine visa operations.

The Presidential Proclamations suspending the entry of foreign nationals who were physically present within 14 days in certain countries prior to their entry or attempted entry into the United States, and the Presidential Proclamations suspending the entry of certain immigrants and nonimmigrants who present a risk to the U.S. labor market following the coronavirus outbreak remain in effect.  For details about these Presidential Proclamations click here.

As of October 12, 2020, the delivery fee of your passports and documents will be changed. For detailed information about the new fees, please click here.

Nonimmigrant Visas Applicants should submit electronically the DS-160 online form before making an appointment. Update your profile with the DS-160 barcode number by selecting “Update Profile” on this website.  When scheduling your appointment, use the same barcode from your current DS-160.  If you have made an appointment with an invalid or previously used barcode, you must update your profile at least three (3) business days prior to your appointment date with the new/valid barcode. Otherwise, you will not be allowed in for an interview and will need to make a new appointment using the new/valid DS-160 barcode. Please bring printouts of your DS-160 confirmation and appointment confirmation to your interview.