Applying for a UK visa from the United States

UK visa from the U.S.
No British consulate in the U.S. takes visa applications: every office page on gov.uk says «Visa enquiries: service not offered at this location». You apply online to UK Visas and Immigration and give fingerprints at a VFS Global center.

Americans visiting for up to six months use an ETA, not a visa. This guide is for everyone else: U.S. residents whose passport needs a visa, and U.S. citizens going to work, study for longer or join family.

The Embassy still has two older office pages on gov.uk, “British Consular Services” (updated July 2025) and “Passport enquiries”, that send visa questions to the UK Border Agency and its “Worldbridge” portal.

That agency closed in 2013, gov.uk says; visas are now handled by UK Visas and Immigration, which is where the Embassy’s main page sends you. (sources on gov.uk: 1, 2)

The steps, in order

Start with the Home Office's how to apply page, which sends you to the eligibility checker. You fill out the form online and pay the fee as part of the application; if the visa is for more than six months you may also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.

UK visa from the U.S.

Then you give your biometrics, fingerprints and a photo, usually at a visa application center run by an outside company. In the U.S. that company is VFS Global. Some applicants can prove their identity with the UK Immigration: ID Check app instead, and the application tells you if you can.

You must book and attend the biometrics appointment within 240 days of submitting, or the application lapses. gov.uk adds that most centers offer free appointments within 5 working days, and that some locations charge £76.50 for a standard one.

Visit visa Fee
Up to 6 months (Standard Visitor) £135
Long-term, up to 2 years £506
Long-term, up to 5 years £903
Long-term, up to 10 years £1,128

Those are the fees in force since 8 April 2026, unchanged in the table that takes effect on 8 October 2026.

Where to give biometrics in the U.S.

The VFS Global list for the U.S. has centers open Monday to Friday in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, New York, Houston and Seattle, and many more that open on scheduled days, from Phoenix to Milwaukee.

Premium centers in places like Edison, Bellevue and Orlando have their own schedules.

 The consulate cannot speed up, check or decide a visa: only UKVI can, and the visa center only takes your biometrics. 

Waiting for the decision

Processing starts once you have submitted, given biometrics and uploaded your documents. A Standard Visitor visa decision usually comes within 3 weeks, according to the Standard Visitor page, and the earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel. Across visa types, gov.uk gives 3 to 12 weeks.

If the visa is granted you get an eVisa, a digital record you view through a UKVI account, rather than a sticker.

Before you start
  • Check which visa fits the trip in the eligibility checker
  • Have your passport, valid for the whole stay
  • Budget the fee, plus the health surcharge for stays over six months
  • Pick a VFS center and look at its schedule
  • Do not book non-refundable travel until the decision arrives
    • Applying for a child

    Children under 16 go to the appointment with an adult over 18. Children under 5 have a photo taken but do not give fingerprints.

    Applying for someone else

    You can fill out the form for someone else with their permission, or with written permission from a parent or guardian if they are under 18. They still attend the biometrics appointment themselves.

    If the visa is refused

    The refusal letter or email explains the reasons and whether you can ask for an administrative review or appeal. Your passport is returned if it was kept.

    Paying for optional services at the visa center, such as having documents scanned for you, does not make the application more likely to succeed, gov.uk says.

    To change something after applying, you contact UK Visas and Immigration; you can also withdraw, and the fee is refunded only if UKVI has not started processing the application.

    All the procedures
    Fees and requirements
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