Visa Services

Please note: The annual typhoon and rainy season has begun and is expected to last until September. Please be advised that if Typhoon Signal 8 or above OR Black Rainstorm Warning is announced by the Hong Kong Government, the Consulate General will be closed. In such a situation, there will be no need to reschedule your appointment. Please click here for details.

Visa Fee Information

Non-immigrant Visas: As of January 1, 2008, the application fee for a non-immigrant visa is US$131. Starting February 1st, non-immigrant visa applicants who present Dah Sing Bank receipts for the old fee of US$100 or HK$800 will be directed to proceed to the consular cashier on the 1st floor to pay the Machine Readable Visa fee differential of US$31 or HK$248. Please be prepared to pay in CASH as credit cards may not be used for this fee. We accept both US and HK dollars. If possible, please pay with exact change. (Please note that HK$1,000 bank notes issued by HSBC in 2000 and 2002 will not be accepted.)

Immigrant Visas: The total immigrant visa fees are US$400 effective January 1, 2008. Most immigrant visa applicants pay their fees through the Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC) in the United States. Those applicants who paid the US$380 application fee before January 1, 2008 will be processed without further payment even if they appear for an immigrant visa interview after January 1, 2008. This fee increase also impacts Diversity Visa applicants, who pay the fee at the time of interview at the Consulate.

More information about the visa application process, and a list of Dah Sing Bank locations where fees can be paid, can be found on the U.S. Consulate General web site, http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/.

Customer Service Statement to Visa Applicants

Welcome to the Nonimmigrant and Immigrant Visa Units of the U.S. Consulate General for Hong Kong and Macau.

The U.S. Consulate General is located at 26 Garden Road in Central, Hong Kong.

We provide the following visa services:

Nonimmigrant Visas - temporary visits for pleasure, exchange programs, study and temporary employment

Immigrant Visas - permanent residency, marriage to an American citizen, adoptions

Visa Inquiries – how to get general visa information and help with case-specific nonimmigrant and immigrant visa inquiries

Visa Waiver Program - information on who can use the Visa Waiver Program for visa-free short-term travel to the United States

Related Links

More information is available on the following websites:

Last modified: April 29, 2008

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- Visa News -

• Deployment of Ten-Fingerprint Biometric

- Please be informed that as of Wednesday, October 24, 2007, the United States Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau will require applicants for immigrant and non-immigrant visas to the United States to submit 10 electronic fingerprint impressions (rather than the 2 fingerprint impressions previously required) along with other application documentation. There is no change in the requirements for categories of applicants who must provide fingerprints at the interview. As before, applicants for diplomatic or official visa cases, applicants under 14 or over 79 years of age, and medical emergency cases are exempt from the requirement.

- The electronic fingerprinting process, which is done at the Consulate's Visa section when applicants arrive for their visa interviews, is done digitally; it is a clean, ink-free procedure. The entire fingerprint collection process takes only one or two minutes on average. The additional time required to take ten prints should not significantly change interview wait times.

- BACKGROUND: The Homeland Security Council decided on June 7, 2005, that the U.S. government (USG) standard for biometric screening of foreign nationals coming to the U.S. should transition from two fingerprints to ten fingerprints. This will enable the two major USG fingerprint identification systems, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "IDENT" system and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "IAFIS" system, to establish interoperability. The transition to ten prints will enable DHS and State to clear visa applicant fingerprints against the FBI IAFIS system, which will allow consular officers to screen out applicants who are ineligible due to criminal history records more efficiently and effectively. The State Department is now moving to worldwide deployment of the ten-print collection process for immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants.

• Consular Services During Hot Weather
Please be advised that applicants for Nonimmigrant Visas must spend some time on our outdoor patio, which has fans but is not air conditioned. As such, we recommend that applicants dress for hot weather when they apply for a Nonimmigrant Visa.

• Consular Services During the Typhoon and Rainy Season

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