Consulate General of the United States Istanbul, Turkey

International visitors add greatly to our nation’s cultural, educational, and economic life. We continue the proud tradition of welcoming visitors to the United States, with secure borders and open doors.  

International travelers come to the U.S. for a wide variety of reasons including tourism, business, medical treatment, and certain types of temporary work. The type of visa you need is defined by immigration law and relates to your principle purpose of your travel. For an overview of the types of nonimmigrant visas available under current U.S. immigration law please click here. The Consular Officer will confirm your visa class selection during your interview.  

Advanced planning can smooth the visa application process for you. Please apply for your visa well in advance of your planned travel.  

Nonimmigrant Visas

General Visa Appointment Information:

The U.S. Consulate General Istanbul offers nonimmigrant visa interviews by appointment only. The Consulate does not accept walk-in applications. The Consulate strongly encourages you to apply for your visa well in advance of your proposed journey, and to always refrain from making irrevocable travel plans until your visa has been issued and you are in receipt of your passport and visa.

Scheduling Appointment Information:

Regular Appointments

In order to get a visa interview appointment, please call +90-212-340-4444 and be prepared to pay a $20 USD fee by Credit Card. If you are unable to pay the fee by Credit Card, please contact your local IS Bankasi. Your personal PIN will be printed at the bottom of your bank transfer receipt. Have your pin available and call +90-212-3404444 to schedule your appointment.

Estimated wait times for receiving an interview date can be found by following this link: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wait/wait_4638.html

Emergency Need to Travel Appointments

In case of emergency, please call our Visa Information Service at +90-212-340-4444 and schedule the first available appointment. Next, send an e-mail explaining your emergency to NivUrgent@state.gov. Please do NOT send attachments with your e-mail. You will receive a response to your request within 24 to 48 hours. Please understand that even if we approve your request we cannot guarantee a specific date. Previously refused applicants should not submit an emergency appointment request, unless there is compelling humanitarian need.

Preparing for your Interview 

Step 1: You must go online to fill out and submit the Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application Form (DS-160). To determine the visa class you need to apply for, follow this link: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/temp_1305.html. The DS-160 form must contain your correct visa class and be completed two (2) business days prior to your scheduled interview. Please print the confirmation page that includes your biographical information and a bar code with your confirmation number. You must bring this confirmation page to the Consulate for your visa interview.

E-visa Applicants

All E-visa applicants should first call Visa Information & Appointment Center to schedule an appointments between 08:30 am and 06:00 pm from Monday through Friday at 0212-3404444 like all other non-immigrant visa applicants. On the day of the scheduled appointment E-visa applicant must submit DS-160 visa application in addition to a complete E-visa file. (do not send your E visa file or any other documents to Istanbul US Consulate before the scheduled appointment date). After submission of the required forms and documents applicant will be given a second appointment date for an interview approximately within a week. This process does require that the E-visa applicant visit the Consulate two separate times. E visa file will be evaluated a consular officer before an interview takes place. Unless requested by the Consular Officer, presence of dependent children under the age of 14 is not required. 

Step Two: There is a nonimmigrant machine-readable visa application fee, which is payable at any TEB Bank (Türk Ekonomi Bankası) branch. The bank will give you a receipt for your payment, and you must include the receipt as part of your application. (Please make sure to bring original customer copy only, copies or other type of receipts will not be accepted.) This is an application fee; it is not refunded if you do not receive a visa. (For a list of visa application fees click here.)

Step Three: Arrive at your scheduled interview time. You should plan on an interview and an inkless fingerprint scan during your visit to the Consulate. Some visa applications will require further administrative processing which may delay your visa issuance. Applicants will be advised during their interview if further administrative processing will be required.

NOTE: Unfortunately, there is NO PARKING AVAILABLE at the Consulate. Please plan to arrive by taxi or public transportation.

Questions

If you have a nonimmigrant visa question that is not answered elsewhere on our website, you may call the General Visa Information Service at +90-212-340-4444 during business hours, or follow this link: http://istanbul.usconsulate.gov/questniv.html to e-mail the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit. Also, the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit is available to answer questions Monday through Friday between 14:30 and 15:30. You can contact them at +90-212-335-9000, press 0 for the switchboard, and request to speak to the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit. The Nonimmigrant Visa Unit is unable to answer phone calls regarding visa questions outside of these hours. 

Further Information

Administrative Processing

Some visa applications require further administrative processing, which takes additional time after the visa applicant’s interview by a Consular Officer. Applicants are advised of this requirement when they apply. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days of the visa interview. When administrative processing is required, the timing will vary based on the individual circumstances of each case. To follow your administrative processing status and for additional information, please click this link: http://istanbul.usconsulate.gov/security_clearance_status3.html.

Ankara Services

Finally, please note that the Immigrant Visa Unit at the U.S. Embassy Ankara processes all immigrant and diversity visa cases for Turkey. Following the links below will provide you with information regarding services provided by the U.S. Embassy Ankara: 

• Immigrant Visas
• Non-Immigrant Visas
• Iranian Applicants

Non-Immigrant Visa Application Fees

Your visa application fee is based on the type of visa. You must review this list to determine the fee for your visa type. After you have determined the correct fee, please go to any TEB Bank ( Turk Ekonomi Bankasi) branch to pay the fee. The bank will give you a receipt for your payment, and you must bring the original receipt to your interview. Please note that we will not accept photocopies of your receipt, only original customer copy accepted. Please also remember that this is an application fee; we will not refund your fee if you do not receive a visa.

Nonimmigrant Visa Application Fees to Change, Apr 13

The Department of State published an interim final rule in the Federal Register to change nonimmigrant visa application processing fees, also called the Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fee. The new fees are scheduled to go into effect on Apr 13th, 2012. Applicants will be charged the fee in effect on the day of payment. For fees that are increasing, receipts for payments made prior to the fee changes will be accepted for 90 days after the fee takes effect, or through July 12, 2012. Although these receipts will continue to be valid for the usual one year from the date of issuance, after July 12th applicants will have to pay the difference to match the new visa application fees. Please be informed that MRV fees are paid at TEB bank and only original customer copy of MRV receipts accepted.

Nonimmigrant Visa Processing Fees

You may view the notice about fee change and submit comments by going to the regulations.gov web site at:
http://www.regulations.gov/#!home and searching for the rule by its
Regulatory Information Number (RIN), 1400-AD06.

Please note that you do not need to pay the application fee if the following applies to:

• Applicants for A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO, and diplomatic visas (defined in 22 CFR 41.26): No Fee
• Applicants for J visas participating in official U.S. Government-sponsored educational and cultural exchanges: No Fee
• Replacement of machine-readable visa when the original visa was not properly affixed or needs to be reissued through no fault of the applicant (to be decided by consular officer): No Fee
• Applicants exempted by international agreement as determined by Visa Services, including members and staff of an observer mission to United Nations Headquarters recognized by the UN General Assembly, and their immediate families: No Fee

Other Fees (to be paid at the consulate on the day of the interview)

L visa fraud prevention and detection fee - for visa applicant included in L blanket petition (principal applicant only): $500.00

Border Security Act fee – for visa applicant included in L blanket petition, where petition indicates subject to fee (principal applicant only): $2,250.00