How to Book a U.S. Embassy Dhaka Visa Appointment

You book a U.S. Embassy Dhaka visa appointment on the official portal at ustraveldocs.com/bd, but only after you’ve completed the DS-160 application online and paid the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee. Start early: as of early 2026, the next available B-1/B-2 visitor visa interview in Dhaka was roughly eight and a half months out.¹

Step 1: Complete the DS-160 First

You cannot schedule an interview until your DS-160 is submitted. Fill it out online at ceac.state.gov.² The form asks for personal details, travel plans, employment history, family information, and security-related questions, and it takes most people around 90 minutes. When you finish, the system generates a confirmation page with a unique barcode. Print it. You’ll need that barcode number at almost every step from here on.

One rule specific to Dhaka catches applicants off guard. Your DS-160 must be submitted, and the barcode updated in your ustraveldocs profile, more than seven calendar days before your interview date. Submit or update inside that seven-day window and the embassy will not accept it.³ You also can’t edit a submitted DS-160. If you spot a mistake, you have to fill out a new form entirely and update the barcode in your profile before that seven-day cutoff.

Pick the right visa category before you start. B-1 is for business, B-2 for tourism or medical treatment, F-1 for academic study, J-1 for exchange programs. Petition-based work visas like H-1B or L-1 require your U.S. employer to have an approved Form I-129 petition with USCIS before you apply.⁴ If you’re not sure which category fits, the embassy’s Visa Wizard tool at bd.usembassy.gov walks you through it.

Step 2: Pay the Visa Application Fee

The MRV fee is $185 for B, F, J, and M visas and $205 for petition-based categories such as H, L, O, and P.⁵ You pay in the Bangladeshi Taka equivalent based on the daily exchange rate. It’s non-refundable whether or not your visa is approved.

From Bangladesh you have three payment options:³

Cash at any Eastern Bank Limited (EBL) branch. Keep the cashier receipt.
Electronic transfer through BEFTN or the EBL Skybanking app. Save the confirmation screenshot.
Online card payment through Elavon, in U.S. dollars, using a credit or debit card.

Mobile wallets like bKash, Nagad, and Rocket are not accepted. Whichever method you use, keep your proof of payment. You’ll enter the receipt details when you book the appointment, and the fee is valid for 365 days from the payment date. If you don’t schedule within that year, you pay again.

Bangladeshi nationals do not owe an additional reciprocity fee for most visa categories.⁶ Students and exchange visitors have a separate SEVIS I-901 fee ($350 for F/M, $220 for most J-1, $35 for certain government-sponsored J categories) paid at fmjfee.com; that’s a Department of Homeland Security fee, not part of the MRV process, and it doesn’t affect scheduling.⁷

Step 3: Book on ustraveldocs.com/bd

Go to ustraveldocs.com/bd and create an account.³ Enter your personal information, your DS-160 confirmation barcode, and the receipt number from your MRV payment. The system then shows the interview dates that are open. Choose one and print the appointment confirmation letter.

The scheduling system usually activates about one business day after your fee payment clears. If nothing appears at first, check back. New slots open regularly. You can reschedule from inside your ustraveldocs profile as long as the new date still falls within the 365-day validity of your fee payment.

While setting up the profile, you’ll also select the location where you want your passport returned after the interview. Saimon Global Ltd. handles delivery, with pickup locations in Dhaka, Chattogram, and Sylhet.⁸

How Long Is the Wait in Dhaka?

Wait times swing hard by visa category. In early 2026, the picture in Dhaka was:¹

B-1/B-2 visitor visas: about eight and a half months.
Student and exchange visas (F, M, J): about two weeks.
Petition-based work visas (H, L, O, P, Q): about two months.

These numbers shift constantly. Check the State Department’s Global Visa Wait Times page before you plan travel around a specific date, and if you’re going as a tourist or on business, don’t buy tickets before you have the visa in hand.

Can You Get an Earlier Appointment?

If you have a genuine emergency, such as a medical crisis, a death in the family, or urgent business that cannot wait, you can request an expedited appointment. The process is to book the earliest regular slot on the website first, then email the consular section explaining the emergency and asking for an earlier date. The embassy decides case by case, and not every request is granted. Wanting to travel sooner for convenience is not a qualifying reason.

Do You Need to Attend in Person?

Not always. The Interview Waiver Program lets some applicants mail in their passport and documents instead of coming to the embassy. The ustraveldocs portal tells you whether you qualify while you’re filling out the application.⁹

Two groups most often qualify. Children under 14 may be eligible; if the child qualifies, parents send in the package with the child’s birth certificate and copies of the parents’ passports and valid U.S. visas. If the child doesn’t qualify, a parent or legal guardian must go to an in-person interview with them.

Applicants renewing a visa in the same category may also qualify, especially if the prior visa is still valid or recently expired. A waiver package includes the current passport (with at least six months validity), the previous passport containing the old visa, two photos, and any category forms such as an I-20 or I-797. Even if you qualify, the consular section can still call you in for an interview if they want more information.

Watch for Appointment Scams

The U.S. Embassy has warned about scams aimed at visa applicants in Bangladesh, and some of them target the booking process directly.¹⁰ A few things to keep straight:

The embassy will never call or email you to demand a visa payment.
Fees can only be paid at EBL or through the official online channels listed above. Mobile wallets are not accepted, no matter what a caller tells you.
Official embassy emails end in “.gov.” Anything else is suspect.
Phone numbers can be spoofed. If someone calls demanding payment, hang up.
Visa interviews always happen in person at the embassy, never by phone.

Third-party agents in Dhaka sometimes promise to “get” you an appointment for a fee. Ignore them. The scheduling system on ustraveldocs.com is open to everyone at no extra cost beyond the MRV fee. Paying someone for a slot is either a straight scam or a manipulation of the booking system that can put your application at risk.

What to Have Ready for Interview Day

Once your appointment is booked, bring the following:

Your passport, valid for at least six months beyond your intended stay in the United States.¹¹
The printed DS-160 confirmation page with your barcode.
The appointment confirmation letter printed from your ustraveldocs profile.
Two 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) passport photos on a white background.¹²
Your MRV fee receipt.
For F/M students: the I-20 and SEVIS fee receipt. For J exchange visitors: the DS-2019 and SEVIS receipt. For petition-based work visas: the I-797 approval notice.

Also bring supporting evidence of your ties to Bangladesh and the purpose of your trip: bank statements, property documents, an employment letter confirming your position and approved leave, and a clear travel itinerary. The consular officer may not look at every document, but not having them when asked can sink an otherwise strong application. Leave phones, cameras, laptops, smart watches, and any device with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or recording capability at home. The embassy has no storage, and luggage is also prohibited.¹³

1
U.S. Department of State. Global Visa Wait Times
2
U.S. Department of State. Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application (DS-160)
3
U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh. Nonimmigrant Visas
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
5
U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services
6
U.S. Department of State. Bangladesh Reciprocity Schedule
7
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I-901 SEVIS Fee
8
U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh. Passport Delivery or Pick Up
9
U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh. Visas
10
U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh. Fraud Prevention Warning
11
U.S. Department of State. Visitor Visa
12
U.S. Department of State. Digital Image Requirements
13
U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh. Visiting the Embassy – Section: What to Expect When You Visit the Embassy