NIV Visa Processing in Paris
Comprehensive information about our services can be found on the embassy website at http://www.amb-usa.fr or, in France, at the user-pays telephone number: 08 36 70 14 88. Due to security requirements our procedures may change with little notice. Please check our website often for up-to-date information.
As of 01 January 2002, the all Consular fees must be paid for in dollars or Euros. We will not be able to accept French Francs as payment. We accept payment in cash in either currency, traveler's checks, French postal mandat cash, or credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express). Please note that after 01 January 2002, we will not be able to accept mandat cash denominated in French francs.
Effective 01 January 2002, the Consular Rate of Exchange will be €1.20/$ for all consular fees.
As of 01 October 2001, due to security considerations, we will only accept applications by mail. (A mail applicant may be asked to present himself or herself for
a personal interview at a specified time and date at the discretion of the Consular officer)
We continue to have significant problem with passports stolen from the regular French mail system. The Embassy is also instituting new procedures to screen all incoming mail. Therefore, as of 01 December 2001, we require all applicants to send their applications by courier (Chronopost, FedEX, DHL) envelope and provide a courier envelope (Chronopost, FedEX, DHL) for the return of the passport and visa. The applicant is responsible for recording the envelope's tracking number and contacting the delivery company if the envelope does not arrive. Applications received by other means will be returned to the sender.
Beneficiaries of approved petitions must include with their application evidence that the petition has been approved. We accept faxes or cable notification from the INS Service centers or the original I-797. We return the original I-797 to the applicant.
Refused applicants may reapply at any time and any number of times.
All applicants must pay a nonimmigrant visa application. This fee must be paid at any French post office. Applicants deposit the money in the Mandat Compte account 5013E. They receive a receipt that they must present in order to enter the Visa Section. The fee is the equivalent of $45 at our exchange rate (currently 360 FF. @ 8 FF./$; after 01 Jan 2002, €54 @ €1.2/$)
For certain nationalities, there may be an additional visa fee based reciprocally on what the applicant's government charges American citizens. For French citizens, B, E, H, I, J, L, O, P, Q and R visas are $75. (Visas based on petitions valid less than 90 days are free). C1/D, F and M visas are free. For the following countries, there is no fee for any visa (this is not an exhaustive list): Andorra, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Haiti, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Portugal, Senegal, Spain, Tunisia. To check a specific visa category for a specific nationality please go to http://travel.state.gov/reciprocity/index.htm.
We accept payment of reciprocity fees French postal money orders (mandats cash) or by credit cards (download the authorization form from our website: http://www.amb-usa.fr/consul/niv_costcb.htm) Please do not confuse the mandats cash used of these fees with the mandats compte used exclusively for the application fee that all applicants must pay regardless of nationality. Any visa fees deposited in the Mandat Compte cannot be refunded and are lost. The applicant still has to pay the visa fee.
- France falls under the Visa Waiver Program (http://travel.state.gov/vwp.html) and therefore most French citizens traveling to the United States for tourism or business do not need visas at all. Briefly, the visa waiver program requires: stay of less than 90 days, no work/study, a round trip ticket, and entry on signatory carrier. Those who do need visas would include: those traveling on private plane or boat (so far we have not had anyone traveling by balloon but we are open to that possibility), those requiring annotated visas (prospective students, voluntary workers, etc).
- Per the law, we accept applications from anyone who is physically present in our Consular district (which is now all of France since Marseilles ceased visa operations in Oct 1999). Of course, application does not equate to an issuance.
- We have a 100% mail back policy. Applicants cannot pick up their visa'd passports at the Embassy.
- Processing time is four working days. We guarantee that an application received and favorably adjudicated on Monday will go in the mail by Thursday evening at 6:00 PM. Holidays will of course affect this time frame.
- Children born in the United States to B, C, D, E, F, H, I, J, L, M, N, O, P, Q or R visa holders or Legal permanent Residents (green card holders) are American citizens. Therefore, if the family goes for a vacation to France, the U.S.-born child needs an AMERICAN passport to return to the United States. Citizenship is a matter of law (actually the Constitution - 14th amendment) and does not depend on the wishes of the parents. Parents may not renounce the American citizenship of their children. Some children born to A and G visa holders may qualify for American citizenship. These parents should check with the Department of State.
- The Public Inquiry Unit fax number is [33](1) 42 86 82 91.