Do you currently have a US visa and are also acquiring a new passport? How can I transfer the US visa to a new passport? If your answer is yes, you have ended up at the right place!
The article shares whether or not you can transfer your US visa to a new passport and, if you can, what the procedure is.
Why Would Someone Want to Transfer Their Visa to a New Passport?
Suppose you have a valid visa. However, you recently had to change your name. You may have married and would like to change your maiden name now. Or you could have gotten your name changed through a legal process due to marriage, divorce, or some other reason, and you even have the name change document to prove the modification, such as the marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order.
However, if you did change your name, you will be required to apply for a new passport. It would be best if you got a new passport to travel anywhere without restrictions. A change in the name will not in any way affect the visa validity.
Apart from that, sometimes individuals' old passports may have expired, but they have a valid visa, which they would like to transfer into their new passport.
Can you Transfer your US Visa to a New Passport?
The answer is no. You cannot transfer your US visa to a new passport. By standard, it is not possible to transfer US visas to another current valid passport. Therefore, if you thought transferring your US visa was possible; unfortunately, it is not.
If you have changed your name, applied for a new passport, and acquired one, it is advised that despite having a valid visa, you should apply for a new one. Applying for a new visa will make the process of travel to the United States more simplified and easy.
If you have a valid US visa on your old passport and get a new one in your changed name and do not wish to get a new one, then you must carry your old passport with the valid visa, new passport, and your original document for the name change. This visa could be a tourist visa or a business visa.
Expired Passport with Valid Visa
If your passport has expired, but your visa is valid, then you cannot transfer your visa, but you can carry both your old and new passport with you and travel with the US visa until the visa expires. In this case, you do not need to get a new visa. However, once the visa expires, you must get a new visa to extend the same visa.
Nevertheless, you must remember that your nonimmigrant visa will be valid and allow you to travel only if your renewed passport is of the same nationality. Additionally, the previous passport should not be torn or extremely damaged; otherwise, the authorities will not accept it, nor will the US visa in it. However, if you do not want to bring your old passport everywhere, you must apply for a new visa. You will be required to go through the entire process of getting a visa again. You will be supposed to complete the whole visa application process again. A valid passport is needed at all costs to travel around the world!
If you apply for a different nationality passport, then your US visa from your old visa will not be applicable to use, and you must get a new valid visa. Moreover, if, along with the new valid passport, you were not given the old passport with the US visa back, you also have to apply for the new visa.
If you belong to the Visa Waiver Program, you can conveniently travel without worrying about acquiring a valid passport.
Applying for a US Visa
As you cannot transfer the US visa to a new passport, if you wish to apply for a new visa, you can visit the US Embassy or Consulate after scheduling an appointment, gather all the required documents, and apply for the visa.
You could also use the help of great third-party facilities such as VisaHQ. VisaHQ is an online service provider for passports and visas. You can acquire any visa you want to and gain all information you need. Therefore, you can easily apply for a US visa and see your nationality requirements. You can complete the visa application process online, gather all documents and mail them.
Moreover, through VisaHQ, you can also apply for passport renewal services and get a valid passport mailed to you if you are eligible to apply by mail.