Updated November 12, 2026

How to schedule an appointment at the US Embassy in Manila

To schedule a US visa appointment in Manila, you must book two separate appointments on ustraveldocs.com, according to the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines. Your first visit is at the Visa Application Center in Parqal, Parañaque City for photo and fingerprint collection, and your second is your consular interview at the U.S. Embassy at 1201 Roxas Boulevard in Manila. Before the appointment calendar opens, you complete your visa form and pay the non-refundable visa fee online in the portal or with cash at an RCBC branch.

How the two-appointment system works in Manila

Since September 28, 2024, both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants interviewing in Manila must book two separate appointments instead of doing everything at the embassy on one morning. You complete photo capture and fingerprint scanning at the Visa Application Center (VAC) in Parañaque City before you attend your consular interview on Roxas Boulevard.

The two locations handle different tasks and run on different schedules. By our calculation from the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines VAC announcement, Parqal offers 49 hours of booked biometric slots per week across six days, compared with 45 hours across five weekdays for walk-in passport pickup and interview waiver drop-off. Saturday mornings at Parqal are open only for booked biometrics, not for walk-in drop-off or passport collection.

Use the comparison table below to keep the addresses, appointment requirements, and operating windows straight when you plan your trip into Metro Manila.

Manila US visa locations and operating hours

Step-by-step: how to book your Manila visa appointments

Nonimmigrant visa applicants should book at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence or nationality. Work through these five steps in order so your profile, receipt, and barcode match before you lock in dates.

If you are applying for an immigrant visa, your case starts through USCIS and the National Visa Center on travel.state.gov, and you still schedule a separate VAC biometric appointment in Parqal ahead of your Roxas Boulevard interview.

• 1. Complete your visa application form. For short-term visits such as tourism, business, or study, fill out Form DS-160 online and save the confirmation page with the barcode.
• 2. Sign in or retrieve your profile on ustraveldocs.com. Select the Philippines portal and create an account with an email address you control.
• 3. Pay the visa application (MRV) fee. Generate your payment instruction inside your portal account and pay either online within the portal or in cash at any RCBC branch. Visa application fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.
• 4. Book your VAC biometric appointment first. Once your receipt is active on your profile, pick a date and time at Parqal Building 8, Level 3 in Parañaque City for your photo and fingerprints.
• 5. Book your U.S. Embassy interview second. Select an interview slot at 1201 Roxas Boulevard on a date after your Parqal VAC appointment, then save and print your confirmation.

What you need ready before you open the scheduler

The scheduling system asks for specific identification and receipt details before it shows open slots. Having every item verified in advance keeps you from locking in a mismatched DS-160 number or burning one of your allowed reschedules later.

USTravelDocs lists five items you must have available to schedule a nonimmigrant visa appointment:

• A passport valid for travel to the United States for at least six months beyond your intended period of stay, unless a country-specific agreement exempts your nationality. If more than one person is included in one passport, each person seeking a visa must submit a separate application.
• Your visa application (MRV) fee payment receipt.
• Your Form DS-160 confirmation page.
• Your personal email address.
• Any required documents for your specific visa class, such as a petition approval for petition-based work visas.

Manila rules on original documents and social media settings

Beyond the standard booking list, the U.S. Embassy in Manila enforces two local requirements on ph.usembassy.gov that catch unprepared applicants off guard.

First, if you are attending an immigrant visa interview, check your document folder twice before leaving home. Starting May 19, 2025, immigrant visa applicants who arrive at the U.S. Embassy in Manila without all required original documents will not be interviewed and must schedule a new appointment.

Second, if you are applying for an A-3, C-3 (if a domestic worker), G-5, H-1B, H-3, H-4 dependent of H-1B and H-3, F, I, J, M, K-1, K-2, K-3, Q, R-1, R-2, S, T, TN, TD, or U nonimmigrant visa, the embassy instructs you to set the privacy setting on all of your social media accounts to public or open. Consular vetting uses those accounts to establish identity and admissibility under US law.

How to pay the visa fee in the Philippines and avoid scams

In its January 24, 2025 Visa Fraud Alert, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines warned that scammers pose as US government staff to trick applicants into sending money outside the legitimate portals.

Follow only the payment and communication channels the embassy authorizes:

• Nonimmigrant visa fees start only on ustraveldocs.com after you create an account. You pay either online inside the portal or with cash at any RCBC branch.
• Immigrant visa fee payments start only on travel.state.gov.
• Immigrant visa medical examination fees are paid only at St. Luke's Medical Center Extension Clinic (SLEC) at the time of your medical appointment or online through slec.ph. Never pay a third party for a medical slot or fee.
• The embassy never asks for a visa payment by email, phone call, social media, or messaging apps such as Facebook, Viber, or WhatsApp.
• Legitimate case emails come only from addresses ending in @state.gov or from support-philippines@usvisascheduling.com. If someone tries to collect money from another address or messaging account, report it to FPMManila@state.gov.

Interview waiver drop-off and passport pickup at Parqal VAC

Not every trip to Parqal requires a booked slot. While applicants who need in-person interviews must book both a VAC biometric time and a Roxas Boulevard interview, the Parqal center also runs a walk-in counter on weekdays.

You do not need an appointment to drop off an interview waiver renewal application, submit requested follow-up documents, or pick up your passport once your visa is ready. Walk-in hours at Parqal Building 8, Level 3 run from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

When you answer the eligibility questions inside your portal profile, the system tells you whether your renewal qualifies for interview waiver drop-off or requires an in-person interview and VAC biometrics. Do not travel to Parqal on a Saturday for drop-off or passport collection, because Saturday morning hours (7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.) are strictly for scheduled biometric appointments.

Rescheduling limits and our pre-appointment checklist

USTravelDocs caps the number of times you can reschedule your appointment. If you reschedule past the portal's allowed limit, you have to pay a brand-new visa application fee to book again, and your earlier fee is neither refundable nor transferable.

Applicants who hold nationality from one of the 39 countries covered by Presidential Proclamation 10998 (effective January 1, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time), or who apply with travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority, may still submit applications and attend scheduled interviews, though visa issuance or admission may be suspended or limited.

Work through our seven-point readiness plan before you confirm your dates and head to Parañaque or Manila:

• Confirm your DS-160 confirmation number on your portal profile matches the printed DS-160 barcode page in your folder.
• Verify that every family member traveling, including children listed on a parent's passport, has their own separate application and fee receipt.
• Check that your Parqal VAC biometric date comes before your Roxas Boulevard interview date and allows enough travel buffer if you live outside Metro Manila.
• Switch all social media profiles to public or open if you are applying in the F, J, M, H-1B, K-1, or other listed nonimmigrant categories.
• Gather every required original civil and financial record if you are an immigrant visa applicant, since missing originals mean your interview will be canceled at the window.
• Check the security rules printed on your appointment confirmation letter and on ph.usembassy.gov before you leave home so you do not bring prohibited items to Parqal or Roxas Boulevard.
• Wait until your passport is back in your hands with the printed visa before locking in non-refundable travel plans.

How to contact Manila visa support when the portal has issues

The U.S. Embassy in Manila notes that its online visa inquiry forms have experienced technical difficulties that can block submissions. If you run into an accountretrieval snag, a locked profile, or an urgent scheduling question, reach the Customer Service Center directly through the channels below.

Inquiries are answered in the order received. Sending duplicate messages slows down your ticket, so wait at least two weeks before sending a status follow-up.

• Email for general or urgent visa questions: support-philippines@usvisascheduling.com
• Phone from the Philippines: (+632) 8548-8223 or (02) 8548-8223, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Manila time, except on Philippine and US holidays
• Phone from the United States: (703) 991-7619 during the Eastern Standard Time equivalent of Manila operating hours
• U.S. Embassy Manila main switchboard (1201 Roxas Boulevard): (+63) 2 5301-2000

Where to go for I-130 petitions, lost Green Cards, or US citizen services

Some travelers search for a Manila embassy appointment when they actually need a USCIS filing or an American Citizen Services slot. USCIS permanently closed its Manila Field Office on July 5, 2019, and effective February 1, 2020, routine family petitions are no longer accepted over the counter overseas.

Check the table below so you use the right filing path or hotline for non-visa requests in the Philippines.

Where Manila USCIS and US citizen requests are handled

Practice example

What is the purpose of your trip to the United States, and what ties bring you back to the Philippines?

Open with one clear sentence that states your exact reason for traveling, the US city you plan to visit, and your planned dates so they match your Form DS-160 confirmation page. Next, name who is paying for the trip and be ready to state your current job title, employer, or business in the Philippines, along with how your travel dates fit your approved leave or schedule. Finish by naming one or two concrete anchors at home, such as immediate family members staying in the Philippines, ongoing coursework, or property and work responsibilities you return to on a specific date. Keep your valid passport, your DS-160 confirmation page, your MRV fee receipt, and any visa-class records such as a petition approval in a slim folder so you can hand a document over only if the consular officer asks to see it. Keep your spoken explanation to two or three direct sentences rather than a memorized speech.

The consular officer checks whether your trip fits the visa category, matches what you submitted on Form DS-160, and leaves you with clear reasons to return home on time. Specific dates and real commitments in the Philippines answer those checks right away.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.