The U.S. Embassy in Astana and the U.S. Consulate General in Almaty are pleased to announce the transition to a new visa appointment system on June 10, 2024.

All nonimmigrant visa appointments scheduled before June 10 remain valid.

Through the new service, visa applicants will be able to obtain visa information, pay any required visa fees, schedule a nonimmigrant visa appointment, and receive document courier services.

Please follow the below instructions depending on the status of your nonimmigrant visa application:

• If you paid your nonimmigrant visa application fee and scheduled an interview appointment using https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ or if you paid but you are pending to schedule an interview appointment, follow the steps below to create a user account in the new visa system and associate it with your existing visa application record. These steps will allow you to make changes, submit requests, and verify or modify your document return options.
1. On this website (https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-kz/niv/) click on “Apply”.
2. From the Sign-up page, select the option “I paid my visa application fee prior to June 10, 2024, and I need to link my existing application record to my new user account”.
3. Complete the applicant information page. Note: This information must match the key data fields in your existing application record (e.g., full name, date of birth, passport number and DS-160 confirmation number).
4. If the information entered matches your existing application record, the system will associate your record with your new user account, and you will be able to manage your visa application record online.
• If you have NOT paid the nonimmigrant visa application fee and want to apply for a U.S. visa, please follow the below steps.
1. On this website (https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-kz/niv/) click on “Apply”.
2. From the Sign-up page, select the option “I have completed the U.S. Nonimmigrant Visa Applicant (DS-160) form and I need to apply for a visa”.
3. Create a user account.
4. Pay the required visa application fee.
5. Select a document return location.
6. Schedule a visa interview appointment.

Through this new appointment system, applicants qualifying for interview waiver will be able to submit their visa application documents to the Consular Section through a courier service and collect their documents following adjudication at designated pick-up locations.

The implementation of this new system is part of the United States Department of State’s efforts to continually improve services for their visa applicants.

Visa applicants who need assistance following the above steps can contact our support desk at: https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-kz/niv/information/contact_us

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.

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.

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Important 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 privacy and security of your account on this website

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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.