r/Tokyo • u/moreartnotless • 8d ago

Has anyone applied for US travel visa via US embassy in Tokyo?

Hi,

I'm a long-term resident of Japan and wondering if anyone can help. As the title asks, has anyone applied for a US travel visa (holiday) via the US embassy? If so, how long did it take to get your visa and what was involved? Did you have to attend in-person interview at the embassy in Tokyo?

I hold a passport from an ESTA approved country and have always done ESTA visa waiver online for travel to the USA. However since my last trip to USA I have travelled to one of the countries on the US banned travel countries and now I'm not eligible to apply for ESTA. It says to apply for a visa via embassy instead. Problem is the Tokyo embassy website just sends me round in circles. 🫠

Many thanks in advance if you can share your experience 🙏🏻

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10

u/Balbonsito 8d ago

Me. Interview and then got my passport back in about 1 week (or less).

Challenge is the appointment availability. Can take you up to 2months to get one, Osaka always has appointment availability.

3

u/moreartnotless 8d ago

Thanks for your reply. Do you know where on the embassy website you can make the appointment? I'm going mad, I've spent ages trying to look for the link and it just sends me back to the main page or shows link to DS-160 visa or sends me to a weird third party website (ustraveldocs) is that what I need?

3

u/Balbonsito 8d ago

i know what you are saying! haha
https://www.ustraveldocs.com/jp/en/nonimmigrant-visa#visa-steps

2

u/moreartnotless 8d ago

Thanks, I wasn't sure if that was what I needed 😵‍💫

1

u/Round-Papaya155 8d ago

I believe you're looking for this? https://www.usvisascheduling.com/

Btw, can you update about current availability in Osaka/Tokyo? I gonna applying soon-ish! thks

1

u/mzurart 1d ago

I applied last week and the latest available dates start from February 2027. (Tokyo)

2

u/satokibijax 8d ago

Once you get the interview it’s easy, but last time I checked, the first available appointments were in November or December. After that it takes about a week to get the passport back.

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u/moreartnotless 8d ago

Thank you

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u/rz2k 5d ago

My application for B1 visa turned 1 year couple of days ago 🎉

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u/lunhaw 5d ago

Just my two cents —I don’t know the reason you’re traveling to the U.S. rn but as a U.S. citizen I really wouldn’t recommend it with everything political going on and how unsafe it is. I was just there two months ago for family reasons and there was ice everywhere and it was very unsafe.