United States Diplomatic Mission to South Africa

CONSULAR SERVICES: VISAS

Quick Links

• How to apply for a non-immigrant visa (NIV)
• How to make an appointment for a visa interview
• How to make an emergency appointment
• Instructions for Visa Placement Agents (Johannesburg)
• Contact information (or scroll down page)

Visa Costs

Visa Information Service call center PIN

R86.00 (nine minutes’ consultation time — needed to schedule an interview)

Visa application fee ($131.00)

May 2008: R1061.10 (One thousand and sixty one rand and ten cents)
April 2008: R1087,30 (One thousand and eighty seven rand and thirty cents)
— payable as a cash deposit at any branch of First National Bank (no account number required)

Courier fee

R60.00 — for delivering your passport & visa; payable at the time of the interview. This service is mandatory for Johannesburg and Cape Town Consulates only (Not Durban).

Routine visa processing now takes approximately 5 work days although it may take longer.

General Information

Thank you for your interest in visiting the United States of America. South Africa has three U.S. Consulates where regular non-immigrant visas are issued. All immigrant visa processing is done at the consulate in Johannesburg. See below for a summary of visa services at the three consulates.

The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria provides non-immigrant visas for diplomatic and official U.S. and S.A. government travel.

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.

Today, as in the past, most travelers to the U.S. must obtain a visa. The process still includes application forms and interviews as well as the collection and cross-checking of names in a highly sophisticated inter-agency database. As a visa applicant today, it is important that you recognize that these personal interview, name-checking and registration processes are necessary and crucial elements that protect our citizens and our visitors, so please allow for extra time in your planning.

Visa Services

Cape Town

Non-immigrant visas only: Eastern, Northern & Western Cape provinces; St. Helena & Dependencies.

Durban

Non-immigrant visas only: Kwazulu-Natal province.

Johannesburg

Non-immigrant visas: Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo & North West provinces.
Immigrant visas: all provinces.