Visa Information :

What kind of visa do you need?

 Non-immigrant visas
Most types of temporary vias, including visitors for pleasure and business, foreign students, employees assigned to work at companies in the U.S., etc.

 Visa Waiver Program
Check whether you qualify for entry into the United States without a visa.

 Immigrant visas
Visas for family-sponso immigrants, employment-based immigrants, and diversity immigrants, or for those who may obtain legal permanent residence status.

 Visa Information Line
We are happy to provide visa information all day every day through our Visa Information Line, which has recorded and fax information about visas for residents of Japan. Call (03) 5354-4033. This service is payable by VISA, MasterCard, JCB or American Express. You may also talk to a live operator 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. except on holidays.

 Visa Fees :

The Visa Application Fee

The United States Congress requires American embassies and consulates to collect a $100 Machine Readable Visa (MRV) application fee for each application processed. These fees are earmarked to pay for security improvements in the United States' visa and entry control system.

All non-immigrant visa applicants must pay a nonrefundable $100 visa application fee, payable in Japanese Yen. The yen-dollar exchange rate used to calculate this fee changes monthly. For the month of June 2004, the visa application fee is 11,300 Yen.

The only applicants exempt from this fee are those who are applying for A (diplomatic), G (international organization), C-3 (diplomatic/official transit) visas, and J-1 (exchange visitor program) applicants participating in certain programs funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the State Department or USAID.

Each applicant may pay the fee using an ATM with no processing fee at any branch of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in Japan. You will need to enter your passport and phone numbers. The payment should be made to:

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
Toranomon Branch
Touza account 1882541
"U.S. Embassy Visa Application Fee"

The original bank receipt should be attached to the third page of Nonimmigrant Visa Application Form DS-156 (tape or glue the fee receipt above the barcode. Please do not cover the barcode.)

NOTE:
We cannot accept Internet banking payments.

New Fee Structure for Immigrant Visa Applications
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have announced that effective April 30, 2004, the I-130 filing fee is increased to $185.

USCIS ANNOUNCES FEE ADJUSTMENTS TO ENHANCE SERVICE

Washington, D.C.– U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will announce tomorrow in the Federal

Register a revised fee structure for immigration benefits. The new fee structure will become effective on April 30,

2004; 15 days after publication. The new fees add an average of $55 to the current cost of immigration benefit

applications, and increases the biometrics fee by $20 for certain applications.

"USCIS is committed to delivering immigration services and benefits in a compassionate, effective and secure

manner," said USCIS Director Eduardo Aguirre. "The new fee structure will allow us to enhance service without

compromising our commitment to national security."

Federal guidelines require that USCIS collect fees, rather than using tax dollars, to recover the full costs

associated with providing immigration services, and conduct a review every two years to ensure that adequate

revenue is received. The proposed adjustment will recover costs associated with comprehensive security

enhancements instituted after September 11, 2001, and enhance customer service by contributing to improved

application processing times. The FY 2005 Budget requests an increase of $60 million in appropriated funds to

support backlog uction efforts (for a total of $160 million for this effort). USCIS plans to achieve the

President’s goal to eliminate the application backlog and achieve a six-month processing time standard for all

immigration benefit applications by FY 2006.

In its first year, USCIS prioritized the integrity of the legal immigration system, conducting 35 million national

security checks to make certain that the right applicant receives the right benefit in the right amount of time, and

to prevent the wrong applicant from accessing our benefits. In the area of customer service, USCIS eliminated the

lines at many of its highest volume offices, introduced on-line options for certain application filings and case

status updates, and established a bilingual, toll-free customer help-line.

– USCIS –

On March 1, 2003, U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services became one of three legacy INS components to join the U.S. Department of Homeland

Security. USCIS is charged with fundamentally transforming and improving the delivery of immigration and citizenship services, while enhancing

the integrity of our nation's security.

visa requirements (if possible).  

Persons in transiting through the United States to another country may also use the Visa Waiver Program. To enter the U.S. on this Visa Waiver Program, travelers from participating countries must:

• The traveler is a citizen of one of the countries named above, traveling on an unexpi passport. Passport holders from Andorra, Belgium, Brunei, Liechtenstein and Slovenia must be in possession of individual machine readable passports in order to travel visa free. For citizens of the other 22 visa free countries, including Japan, this requirement has been postponed until October 26, 2004.
   

• Traveling for business, pleasure or transit only;
   

• Staying in the United States for 90 days or less;
  
  Plus, if entering the United States by air or sea is,

• Holding a return or onward ticket. If traveling on an electronic ticket, a copy of the itinery must be carried for presentation to the immigration inspector.
  
  Note
  Travelers with onward tickets terminating in Mexico, Canada, Bermuda or the Caribbean Islands must be legal permanent residents of these areas;
   

• Entering the United States aboard an air or sea carrier that has agreed to participate in the program. This includes aircraft of a U.S. corporation that has ente into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to carry passengers under the Visa Waiver Program. Note: other private or official aircraft or vessels do not meet this requirement; and

• In possession of a completed form I-94W, obtainable from airline and shipping companies;
  
  Or, if entering the United States by land from Canada or Mexico,

• Is in possession of a completed form I-94W, issued by the immigration authorities at the port of entry, and a $7.00 fee, payable only in U.S. dollars.

Important:
Some travelers may not be eligible to enter the United States visa free under the VWP. These include people who have been arrested, even if the arrest did not result in a criminal conviction, those with criminal records (even if subject of a pardon, amnesty, or other act of clemency) , certain serious communicable illnesses, those who have been refused admission into, or have been deported from, the United States, or have previously overstayed on the visa waiver program. Such travelers must apply for a visa. If they attempt to travel without a visa, they may be refused entry into the United States.

Note:
Travelers with minor traffic offenses which did not result in an arrest and/or conviction for the offense may travel visa free, provided they are otherwise qualified. If the traffic offense occur while you were in the United States, and you have an outstanding fine against you or your did not attend your court hearing, it is possible there may be a warrant out for your arrest, and you will experience problems when applying for admission into the U.S. Therefore you should resolve the issue before traveling by contacting the court where you were to appear. If you do not know the address of the court then information is available from the Internet at: