The B1/B2 visa number is the red eight-digit sequence printed near the lower right corner of the visa foil glued into your passport. Older visas may show a letter followed by seven digits instead. Whichever format yours takes, the color is the giveaway: most other text on the foil is black, and the visa number stands out in red.
Finding the Number on the Visa Foil
The visa foil is the full-page sticker in your passport that carries your photo, name, visa category, and issuing post. Look at the lower right area of that sticker. The red digits printed there are what U.S. immigration forms, airline check-in systems, and government websites mean when they ask for your “visa number.”
Not to Be Confused With the Other Numbers on the Sticker
The foil carries several numbers, and mixing them up is the most common mistake people make on forms.
- The visa number is the red number at the lower right. This is the one nearly every form wants.
- The control number is a separate code printed in black, usually near the bottom left of the foil. Consulates use it for internal tracking. You will rarely need it.
- The passport number also appears on the foil for cross-reference, but it belongs to your passport, not your visa. When a form asks for a passport number, it wants the one from your passport’s biographical page.
Where You’ll Actually Need This Number
Before the Visa Exists: the DS-160
The DS-160 confirmation page you print for your interview has a barcode and an alphanumeric code that starts with “AA.” That is not your visa number. Your visa number does not exist until a consular officer approves the application and the foil is printed, so no document created before that approval contains it.
At the Border: the I-94
Your I-94 arrival record carries its own 11-character admission number. It is linked to your visa in government systems but is a different number. When you retrieve your electronic I-94 from the CBP website, you may be prompted for your visa number as a verification step, and that is where the red number on the foil comes in.
EVUS for Chinese Passport Holders
If you hold a passport from the People’s Republic of China and have a ten-year B1, B2, or B1/B2 visa, you must enroll in the Electronic Visa Update System before traveling to the United States. Enrollment asks for your visa number from the foil. Enter it incorrectly and your authorization will not go through. Enrollment has to be refreshed every two years, and again whenever you get a new passport or visa.
If You Can’t Read the Number or No Longer Have the Passport
Foils get worn, and sometimes the number you need is in an expired passport you don’t have anymore. A few routes exist, none of them instant.
- Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate that issued the visa. Have your full name, date of birth, passport number, and approximate issuance date ready. Response times vary by post.
- Check your own records. If you ever typed the number into a DS-160, an EVUS enrollment, or an I-94 lookup, a screenshot, printout, or email confirmation may still have it.
- File a Freedom of Information Act request for your visa records. It has to be in writing and describe what you’re looking for. Expect weeks or months, so this is not the route if you’re traveling soon.
Before You Report a Passport Lost or Stolen
One warning worth taking seriously. If the passport with your visa is lost or stolen, reporting it to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate permanently cancels the visa. Even if the passport surfaces later in a coat pocket or a lost-and-found, the visa cannot be reinstated. You would have to apply for a new one before your next trip.
So if you simply can’t find your passport but think it’s somewhere at home, search thoroughly before making the report. Once the embassy records the visa as lost or stolen, both the visa and the passport are done for U.S. travel.