Application Requirements
Interview Scheduling
Before scheduling your appointment, make sure you have reviewed the checklist below. The minimum requirements for conducting the interview are:
- passport
- electronic visa application form (DS-156)
- receipt for the visa application fee
- photograph (5 cm x 5 cm)
If you don't have these documents with you at the Embassy gate, you will be asked to reschedule your appointment. If you do not present the supporting documentation listed below, it will cause a delay in processing your visa.
You are required to bring a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the interview so that your passport can be mailed back to you. Personal pick-ups are not allowed. It is your responsibility to affix sufficient postage to the envelope so that your passport and other documents can be mailed back to you. We require that you use registered mail (kirjattu kirjelähetys).
Personal interviews are required for all US visa applicants, with exceptions usually granted for the following individuals:
- Government and Official applicants
- Persons under 14 years old
- Persons over 79 years old
Information for Applicants Arriving Late
The Consular Section is unable to permit visa applicants who arrive late from attending their visa interviews. This policy applies to all applicants who arrive 15 or more minutes after their scheduled appointment time. This policy has been developed out of consideration to our many visa applicants who arrive on-time for their appointments.
As you will not be interviewed today, you must reschedule your interview by identifying the next available interview session.
We cannot schedule expedited appointments for applicants who are late to their appointments and turned away from the Embassy unless your tardiness has been caused by: (a) a documented medical or family emergency; or (b) a documented delay in your ability to reach the Embassy (e.g. your train to Helsinki was delayed). If you experienced one of these events, please send an e-mail to the following address and we will evaluate your request and attempt to identify an alternate appointment date on an expedited basis: helsinkiNIV@state.gov
Individuals who make more than one appointment in our reservation system may have both appointments cancelled out of courtesy to our other applicants. If you must reschedule an appointment, please remember to cancel your original appointment and reschedule.
When you have prepared all of the required and supplementary documentation, you are ready to schedule an appointment. Be prepared to spend at least one hour at the Embassy on the day of your interview. Do not arrive at the Embassy (Gate B) until the time of your appointment.
Please note that it will take us 24 to 48 hours to process your visa after a successful interview. Individual appointment times must be scheduled for each visa applicant, i.e. spouses and family members 14 years and above.
CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE YOUR INTERVIEW