Applicants are encouraged to avail of the system immediately. On May 1, this will be a requirement for all visa applicants.

This is the latest in a number of steps the US mission in the UAE has taken to further expedite visa processing for travel to the US with a more streamlined and user-friendly visa process and it follows the implementation of the Electronic Visa Application Form and the Empost Courier Service last October.

Hilary Olsin-Windecker, Press and Public Affairs Officer at the American Embassy in Abu Dhabi, said, “In the past, there have been numerous issues with travel agents booking multiple appointment times on behalf of their clients, making it take longer for individuals applying for their visas. Now that each person is required to apply for his/her own appointment time, we hope that this will free up spaces and speed up the process.”

“Previously, waiting for an appointment time in Dubai would have taken up to a few weeks. We now expect it to take a week or less,” she added.

Scheduling visa appointment

The Non-immigrant Visa Appointment System is an Internet site allowing visa applicants to schedule a visa interview appointment directly online.

The system allows easy viewing of available appointments, and scheduling, changing, and cancelling of interview dates.

For visa application instructions and access to the Non-immigrant Visa Appointment System for Abu Dhabi and Dubai, visit http://uae.usembassy.gov and http://dubai.usconsulate.gov respectively and click on “Visas to the US”

Completing your application

To make an appointment using the online Non-immigrant Visa Appointment System, applicants first will be required to fill in the Electronic Visa Application Form (EVAF).

Upon completion and printing of the EVAF, applicants will receive an automatically generated BARCODE NUMBER, which needs to be entered for an appointment time.

Filling out the EVAF and making an interview appointment online does NOT mean the visa application has been transmitted to the Embassy or Consulate.

For further queries, contact the Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General in Dubai by email, abudhabiniv@state.gov or dubaivisaenquiry@state.gov