United States visa requirements for Turkish citizens
Turkish citizens need a visa for the United States and must apply for it before the trip at a consulate or embassy.
- Consular fee
- 185 USD
- Minimum passport validity
- 6 months beyond the stay, with exemptions
Why is this passport validity required? →
Last verified: 18 September 2026
How this visa is processed
U.S. Embassy in Ankara and Consulate General in Istanbul (the only nonimmigrant visa posts in Türkiye), with appointments at ustraveldocs.com/tr
Türkiye has three U.S. consular posts, but only two process nonimmigrant visas: the embassy in Ankara and the consulate general in Istanbul. Anyone living in the south and counting on Adana gets a surprise when booking. Between the two, the mission itself notes that Ankara usually has the soonest in-person appointments, and its consular section interviews in Turkish, Farsi, Arabic and English, a detail that matters to people resident in Türkiye who are not Turkish citizens. The order of steps allows no shortcuts: first the DS-160 form, then payment of the application fee, USD 185 for a B1/B2 and tied to that DS-160, and only then the appointment. The fee is neither refundable nor transferable, including when the visa is refused. Since 30 May 2025 appointments are handled on the ustraveldocs.com platform, with an account of your own; appointments from the previous platform do not carry over by themselves. To the interview you bring the passport, the printed DS-160 confirmation page and a colour photograph 5 x 5 cm taken within the last six months.
Official application site →Application details verified on 18 September 2026. Sources: tr.usembassy.gov, U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Türkiye (the pages "NIV: How do I apply?", "Transition to New Visa Appointment Platform" and the interview guidelines: Ankara and Istanbul as the only nonimmigrant visa posts, account and appointment at ustraveldocs.com/tr since 30 May 2025, the interview languages of the Ankara consular section, the soonest appointments being in Ankara, and the documents to bring on the interview day) and travel.state.gov, "Fees for Visa Services" (the USD 185 application fee for non-petition-based visas, the B1/B2 among them). Checked 18 September 2026.
Verified practical details
You'll need to apply for a visa at a consulate or embassy before travelling. Here are the practical details we've verified:
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands: different entry rules
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands have their own visa waiver programme, the G-CNMI VWP, with a list of eligible nationalities that is not the ESTA list. Since 30 November 2024, anyone travelling under that programme needs its own electronic authorisation, the G-CNMI-eTA, which replaced the paper form I-736 and is checked before boarding. Travellers entering under the general visa waiver programme still use their ESTA.
Source: cbp.gov, Carrier Liaison Program, publicación 3923-1124 de 25/11/2024 (comprobado 18/09/2026)
Fee
185 USD
Application (MRV) fee for the B1/B2 nonimmigrant tourist or business visa, according to the Department of State. Depending on nationality, a reciprocity issuance fee may be added, and the July 2025 budget law added a USD 250 visa integrity fee on issuance, still unevenly applied.
Required documents
- A passport valid for at least six months beyond your intended period of stay. If your nationality is on CBP's exemption list, it need only cover the stay itself (CBP, Carrier Liaison Program, 18 December 2025)
- A valid nonimmigrant visa or, if your country takes part in the Visa Waiver Program, an approved ESTA authorisation before you board
- To travel under the Visa Waiver Program your passport must be an e-Passport: embedded chip, machine-readable zone and a printed digital photograph. The programme covers stays of up to 90 days for tourism or business (DHS)
- An approved ESTA does not guarantee you entry: CBP states plainly that the authorisation does not determine admissibility, which the officer decides at the port of entry
Health insurance
Not mandatory for this destination.
When travel insurance is mandatory → Travel insurance policies ↓Transit rules
The United States has no visa-free transit, and it is the misunderstanding that costs travellers most: there is no international transit zone where you can wait without entering the country. Since 2 August 2003, anyone transiting the United States needs a C-category nonimmigrant visa. Nationals of Visa Waiver Program countries need an ESTA or a visa to transit as well. In practice, even if you are only changing planes you must clear immigration and customs, and collect and re-check your baggage.
More United States rules
They don't depend on your passport, so they are on the United States page:
Official portal: https://travel.state.gov. Destination data verified on 10 August 2026. Sources: usa.gov/visa-waiver-esta and esta.cbp.dhs.gov (ESTA); dhs.gov/visa-waiver-program (list of the 42 programme countries); Federal Register 2025-20304, 19 November 2025 (ESTA fee of 40.27 USD from 1 January 2026); usa.gov/visa-waiver-esta (up to 72 hours to learn the outcome); cbp.gov press release "CBP Reminds Travelers to Allow 72 Hours for ESTA" (apply at least 72 hours before the flight); cbp.gov, "Money and Other Monetary Instruments" (cash declaration); 19 CFR 148.43 (alcohol and tobacco exemptions for non-residents); 8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(7), on govinfo.gov (exclusion from the programme after breaching a previous admission); uscis.gov, "Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility" (3-year, 10-year and permanent bars) (checked 29 September 2026).
Travel insurance for the United States
It isn't listed as mandatory for this entry, but without insurance, medical care during the trip can get expensive.
See IATI's international site →IATI sells its policies according to the country you live in. Where do you live?
If your country isn't listed, try IATI's international site.
This is an affiliate link: if you buy through it, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Things to see and do in the United States
Tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips, most with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Seeing the featured activities here needs advertising cookies. In the meantime, you can open them directly:
Browse activities on GetYourGuide →This is an affiliate link: if you buy through it, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
This pair in context
In the other direction, citizens of the United States can enter Turkey visa-free. See the United States → Turkey page.
Of the 18 passports from Western Asia that VisaRadar tracks, for travel to the United States 2 need a prior authorisation or a visa on arrival, 13 need a visa and 3 cannot enter. Same result as Turkey: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia and Iraq.
A passport from Turkey ranks 90 of 199 in the VisaRadar passport ranking and reaches 106 of 198 destinations without applying for a visa in advance.
Counts from the same requirements matrix behind this page's verdict, using the UN M49 subregions.
Frequently asked questions
Do Turkish citizens need a visa for the United States?
Yes. You must apply for the visa in advance at the relevant consulate or embassy.
What minimum passport validity is required?
A passport valid for at least six months beyond your intended period of stay. If your nationality is on CBP's exemption list, it need only cover the stay itself (CBP, Carrier Liaison Program, 18 December 2025)
What currency is used in the United States?
US Dollar (USD).
Can I interview at the consulate in Adana?
No. The mission's nonimmigrant visa posts in Türkiye are the embassy in Ankara and the consulate general in Istanbul.
Where are appointments sooner, Ankara or Istanbul?
The mission itself states that the embassy in Ankara usually has the soonest in-person appointments in Türkiye.
What language is the interview in?
The consular section in Ankara interviews in Turkish, Farsi, Arabic and English.
What does it cost and in what order do I pay?
USD 185 for a B1/B2. You submit the DS-160 first, then pay the fee tied to that form, and only then book the appointment. It is neither refunded nor transferred.
Related pages
See United States requirements for other passports →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.