Announcements

Update: Validity of the Nonimmigrant Visa Fee (MRV Fee)

11 October, 2023

All receipts for payment of Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fees issued before October 1, 2022, expired September 30, 2023. There will be no extensions of fee validity. Applicants must have scheduled an appointment or submitted an interview waiver application before September 30, 2023 to avoid paying a new fee. If you paid the MRV fee on or after October 1, 2022, you must have scheduled the appointment within one year of your MRV payment date. Please note that the interview itself does not need to take place within one year, but an interview appointment needs to be made in the system, even if it is scheduled months into the future. Furthermore, applicants using MRV fees paid before October 1, 2022 to book an appointment are cautioned not to attempt to change their appointment dates on or after October 1, 2023. Doing so will result in forfeiture of both the original appointment slot and the MRV fee receipt. The applicant will be required to pay a new fee and submit a new application package.

COVID-19 Vaccination and Travel to the United States

5 September, 2023

Nonimmigrant visa holder travel: Passengers no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine to board a flight to the United States. For more information, visit https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/before-travel.

Immigrant visa applicants: U.S. immigration law requires immigrant visa applicants to obtain certain vaccinations prior to the issuance of an immigrant visa. For more information visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/vaccinations.html.

Access to the Embassy's Consular Services Entrance

11 August, 2023

Access to the consular services entrance is affected due to ongoing construction in front of the U.S. Embassy on UN Avenue. Visitors to the U.S. Embassy for consular services will not be permitted drop off in front of the consular entrance and must seek an alternative drop off area. Pedestrians must exercise caution as construction works have also affected the sidewalks in front of the Embassy. Security personnel will facilitate access to the Embassy Compound.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF YOUR VISA FEE

10 July, 2023

Visa application fees are valid to use for 365 days from date of purchase. After the 365 days, if the applicant has not scheduled their interview appointment or submitted their application to apply for a U.S. Non-Immigrant visa (including K fiancé visas), the fee will expire and the applicant will forfeit the right to use the fee for a visa application. However, as a result of the suspension of routine consular operations due to COVID-19 in early 2020 and the U.S. Department of State’s efforts to restore all routine visa operations as quickly and safely as possible, the Department extended the validity of visa application fees until September 30, 2023 for all fees that expired between February 20, 2020 and September 30, 2022.

Please check the validity of your visa fee and read the below important information:

  • To check the expiry date of your visa fee, log into your account on this website (https://ais.usvisa-info.com/), click the Continue button, and select Payment Receipt option. The visa fee expiry date for each visa applicant is listed on the Payment Receipt.
  • If you do not use the fee before the fee expiration date, you will be required to pay a new fee if you want to apply for a visa. You can use the visa fee until 23:59 EST time on the expiration date.
  • If you have already used your visa fee to schedule an appointment in the future (after the visa fee expiration date), you will not be able to cancel or reschedule your appointment after the fee expiration date, unless you pay a new visa fee. Your current appointment is still valid even if it is scheduled after the visa fee expiration date. Please plan to attend your scheduled visa interview appointment.
  • You will NOT be able to cancel or reschedule your appointment after the visa fee expiration date. If you try to cancel or reschedule your appointment, the scheduling system will display a warning message indicating that your visa payment of the original appointment has expired and if you wish to continue with your appointment cancelation or reschedule, the system will require you to pay a new visa fee.
  • If you miss your interview appointment and the fee used to schedule the appointment is already expired, you will be required to pay a new visa fee if you wish to continue with your visa application. Plan to attend your scheduled visa interview scheduled appointment to avoid having to pay a new fee.
  • If you already attended your consular appointment but you were refused under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and your visa application is still pending review, you are not affected by the visa fee expiration date because the visa applicant is already in progress. You should follow the guidance received during your interview.

Please check information posted on https://ais.usvisa-info.com/ for the most updated information regarding your visa fee and appointment.

Nonimmigrant Visa Processing Fees

17 June, 2023

  • The application fee for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition based NIVs such as student and exchange visitor visas is $185 USD.
  • The application fee for certain petition-based nonimmigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) is $205 USD.
  • The application fee for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicant in a specialty occupation (E category) is $315 USD.

Applicants who have already paid a visa application fee that is currently valid and non-expired, but who have not yet appeared for their visa interview or are waiting for their case to be processed, will not be charged any additional fees.

Important information about the privacy and security of your account on this website

30 May, 2023

Your privacy and security are important. We strongly recommend that you do not share your sign in credentials for this Site, with anyone, under any circumstances. Our team will never request your credentials either over the phone, or via e-mail. Sharing your credentials could result in misuse or compromise of your personal information. Additionally, the use of automated tools such as bots, scripts, or other non-human interfaces within this Site is prohibited. Such tools not only have the potential to jeopardize the integrity of your personal data, but may also result in delays in the processing of your application. Refer to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use of this Site for additional details. Thank you for your cooperation in maintaining a high standard of security and privacy.

Changes to Vaccination Requirements for Immigrant Visa Applicants, K Fiancé(e) Visa Applicants and Some Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants

13 October, 2021

Effective October 1, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) instructions for panel physicians will require all immigrant visa applicants and all K fiancé(e) visa applicants to receive a full COVID-19 vaccine series as part of their medical exam prior to being issued a visa. The CDC requires the COVID-19 vaccine to be approved through either the World Health Organization (WHO) or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Blanket waivers for the COVID vaccination will be applied in countries where the vaccine is not routinely available or when the vaccine is not age appropriate. The Department of State encourages all immigrant visa applicants and others subject to a medical exam to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible to not experience delays in their visa processing.

Please see the full announcement here. This and other recent announcements can be found at the following link: U.S. Visas News (state.gov).

If you need further information or clarification, please visit www.travel.state.gov. However, if you have specific questions, you are welcome to contact us at ImmigrationVisaNairobi@state.gov.

16 September, 2020

Urgent Information For Visa Applicants

Please review the information below before scheduling or attending a visa-related appointment.

Important Announcement on Waivers of the Interview Requirement for Certain Nonimmigrant Visas

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF YOUR VISA FEE

Important information about the privacy and security of your account on this website

COVID-19 Vaccination and Travel to the United States

Nonimmigrant Visa Processing Fees


U.S. Visa and Travel Updates

For the latest information from the U.S. Department of State regarding visa issues and travel to the United States, please visit: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news.html.

K VISA APPOINTMENTS

19 September, 2019

This website is updated as appointment slots become available. Please monitor regularly to secure a K1 (fiancé visa) appointment.

SECURITY AT THE CONSULAR SECTION - U.S. EMBASSY NAIROBI, KENYA

11 September, 2019

All visitors to Embassy facilities are subject to search before entry.

Effective September 23, 2019, no luggage, electronic or photographic equipment is permitted in our waiting room or on other Embassy premises, nor are we able to hold these items for you. Mobile phones will be held at the gate while visitors are on Embassy grounds.

FORBIDDEN ITEMS AND ENTRY REGULATIONS:

Embassy security procedures require that all visitors receive a security inspection. You will be allowed to check one cell phone at the Embassy gate but the US Embassy and the Embassy guards are not liable for any loss or damage to your cell phone while it is checked. You will NOT be allowed to enter the U.S. Embassy for your appointment carrying any of the following items:

  • Any other battery-operated or electronic devices such as computer tablets, digital diaries, pagers, cameras, MP3s, laptops, or portable music players and wearable devices such as Google glasses or body cameras.
  • Any oversize shoulder bags or purses.
  • Any oversize handbags and travel bags, large back-packs, briefcases, or suitcases. Applicants can only carry in clear bags containing papers needed for their appointment.
  • Any food item.
  • Sealed envelopes or packages.
  • Cigarettes / cigars / match boxes / lighters, e cigarettes, liquid vaping devices.
  • Any sharp objects such as scissors, pen knives or nail files.
  • Weapons or explosive materials of any kind.

The list provided above is not exhaustive. Other items may be prohibited at the discretion of security staff. Other than the one allowed cell phone, the US Embassy will not accept the storage of any of the above prohibited items. You will have to make alternate arrangements to store these items before you enter the Embassy.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

29 August, 2019

Due to the directive of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) that 1,000 shilling notes of the old design will no longer be legal tender on October 1, 2019, the U.S. Embassy’s consular section will not accept old KSH 1,000 notes after September 12, 2019. Please note that older bills of lesser denominations (500, 200, 100, and 50) will continue to be legal tender after October 1, and will be accepted by the consular section.

Call center contact numbers

25 September, 2018

You can reach us through the following numbers:

+254 20 764 0121
+254 20 764 0799