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Non-Immigrant Visa Information

Important Non-Immigrant Visa Information

Applications may be submitted at any embassy or consulate worldwide but it is important to understand that it may be more difficult to establish visa eligibility when applying outside your home country or country/district of permanent residence.

To apply for a visa, applicants must complete the application forms on-line, make an appointment, and appear at the U.S. Embassy to pay the application fee, scan their fingerprints, and be interviewed by the U.S. Consul. All visa applicants should be prepared to discuss their purpose of travel and their ties to their home country.  Usually, approved visas are available for collection 48 hours after the interview. However, each visa application is carefully reviewed and some cases are subject to additional administrative processing. 

Every effort is made ensure that appointments are readily available and cases are processed quickly. However, circumstances can add to the wait time for an appointment. Likewise, cases requiring additional processing can take several weeks to conclude. All visa applicants are encouraged to plan ahead and allow enough time to complete the process well in advance of their planned travel.

Consular Information

  • Consular Information

ALERT: DO NOT PAY VISA FEES ONLINE

  • ALERT: DO NOT PAY VISA FEES ONLINE

    Please note that in Botswana, the fee to process a U.S. visa is $160 and is paid at the embassy on the day of your interview.

    Some websites and emails try to mislead customers and members of the public into thinking they are official U.S. government websites. These websites are designed to appear official, and often have images of the U.S. flag, U.S. Capitol, White House, or Statue of Liberty. Remember that any website that does not end with the “.gov” suffix on their address should be considered suspect.

    Several of these organizations require payment for information, assistance in completing an application or other visa services which are otherwise available for free on official U.S. government websites.  If payment is made to a non-governmental source, this payment is not received by the U.S. government and does not apply toward visa processing