To contact a customer service representative, please visit the GSS Contact Us page for full information or use contact information below:

• Telephone: For Visa Interview Appointments and Visa Information, call 03 17 800 260 (from Romania) or 703 988 7105 (from the United States).
  

Check the location of the U.S. Embassy on Google Maps.

Public Transportation Information – Bus lines from Bucharest to the Embassy:

• Drumul Matasii lines: 301, 148, 149, 449;
• Baneasa Shopping City lines : 131, 335, 605, 261;
• Weather Forecast Institute lines: 148, 149, 301, 304, 449, 476, 783;
• Aleea Privighetorilor lines: 148, 301;
• Baneasa Restaurant lines: 148, 301.

Embassy Working hours: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Closed on American and Romanian holidays.

Important Message

If you have particular concerns, complaints or comments about customer service or a visa issue, please feel free to contact the Consul General at VisasBucharest@state.gov. The Consul General reviews all such correspondence and will respond within two to three business days.

New Procedure for Processing 221(g) Visa Cases Effective July 5th, 2016

• If the consular officer requested additional documents, please send them along with your passport by TNT courier, following the instructions on http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ro/ under the “Application Pending Further Action” Section.
• If your presence is requested, please appear at the Consular Section Monday through Thursday, between 09:00 am – 10:00 am.

The Bureau of Consular Affairs launched a redesigned website

The Bureau of Consular Affairs of the Department of State launched a redesigned website, http://travel.state.gov/. Whether you are inquiring about an immigrant visa or a temporary visa, the new design features a Visa Wizard designed to guide prospective applicants to the appropriate visa category webpage, fee and wait time widgets that display information by type of visa, improved search functionality, as well as a step-by-step immigrant visa processing section.

New I-94 Automation Program

To increase efficiency, reduce operating costs and streamline the admission process, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has automated CBP Form I-94. Travelers will be provided with a CBP admission stamp on their travel document. If a traveler needs a copy of their I-94 for verification of alien registration, immigration status or employment authorization, it can be obtained from www.cbp.gov/I94.

To qualify for a diplomatic/official visa, applicants must be traveling to the United States on behalf of their national government to engage in official activities for that government. Applicants may submit their documents to the Consular Section by courier, Monday through Friday between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Processing time is 48 hours.

Necessary Documents for:

A1/A2 Visas (Diplomats and Foreign Government Officials)

• Confirmation page of the DS-160 application
• Valid passport
• Recent photo
• Verbal Note from the Ministry/government agency listing the name of the official travelers and specify their title or official status. It should also specify the date of departure from Romania, and the purpose of the trip and length of stay in the United States.

NATO 1-6 Visas (Foreign Military Personnel) – Applicants may submit their documents to the Consular Section by courier, Monday through Friday between 2:00p.m. and 3:00 p.m. The necessary processing time is 48 hours.

• Confirmation page of the DS-160 application
• Valid passport
• Recent photo
• Verbal Note from the Ministry of National Defense listing the name of the official travelers and specify their title or official status. It should also specify the date of departure from Romania, and the purpose of the trip and length of stay in the United States.

G Visas (International Organization Employees) – Applicants may submit their documents to the Consular Section by courier, Monday through Friday between 2:00p.m. and 3:00 p.m. The necessary processing time is 48 hours..

G1 – Members of a permanent mission of a recognized government to an international organization.

G2 – Representatives of a recognized government traveling to the United States temporarily to attend meetings of a designated international organization.

G4 – Individual personnel who are proceeding to the United States to take up an appointment at a designated international organization, including the United Nations.

• Confirmation page of the DS-160 application
• Valid passport
• Recent photo
• Official request from the appropriate international organization.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at:visasbucharest@state.gov

An employer may take an alien domestic worker to the U. S. on a nonimmigrant visa if the meet the following conditions:

• U.S. Citizens who reside permanently abroad and are visiting the U.S. temporarily, or who habitually reside abroad in foreign service but are assigned to the U.S. temporarily and returning for a stay of no more than four years.
• Nonimmigrant aliens (bearers of B, E, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, P, or Q visas) who apply for temporary admission to the United States.
• PLEASE NOTE: Legal permanent residents of the U.S. (“Green Card” holders) are not entitled to bring or employ nonimmigrant alien domestic employees to the United States.

A domestic employee applying for a nonimmigrant visa must meet the following conditions:

• The employee has a residence abroad which he or she has no intention of abandoning;
• The employee can demonstrate at least one year’s experience as a personal or domestic employee;
• The employee has been employed abroad by the employer as a personal or domestic employee, for at least one year prior to the date of the employer’s admission to the United States; OR the employer can demonstrate that he or she has regularly employed personal or domestic employees for several years preceding the employee’s application for a B-1 visa;
• The employer and the employee have signed an employment contract (in both English and the language in which the domestic employee is able to read), which guarantees: payment of the minimum or prevailing wages, whichever is greater; free room and board; that the employer will be the only provider of employment to the employee; and that the employer will pay the domestic’s initial travel expenses to the United States, and subsequently to the employer’s onward assignment, or to the employee’s country of normal residence at the termination of the assignment.

For a sample contract, click here. (PDF 284 KB)

How do I determine the prevailing wage and other employment requirements?

For information regarding prevailing wages in the United States, you can log on to http://www.flcdatacenter.com/ and go through the OES SEARCH WIZARD. Choose the state(s) where you will be, and continue the search by choosing the kind of job. The following codes are the most used: 37-2012 Maids & Housekeeping Cleaners; 39-9011 Child Care Workers; 39-9021 Personal & Home Care Aides.

In addition to including the correct wage in the contract, employers are expected to understand and comply with all local employment laws that are in effect in any city/state they might visit (for example, some city/states require the payment of overtime when employees work more than 40 hours/week). To learn what these requirements are, employers should contact the appropriate state Department of Labor.

Mission

The Fraud Prevention Unit’s (FPU) principal mission is to safeguard the U.S. borders by detecting and stopping fraud in applications for U.S. passports, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, immigrant visas, and non-immigrant visas. FPU accomplishes this critical goal by training Consular Section staff on fraud detection, maintaining close cooperation with U.S. and Romanian law enforcement agencies and deploying our staff of highly trained investigators to conduct interviews and investigations.

The consequences of fraud are extremely serious, to include imprisonment, fines, and loss of the benefit being sought. FPU works closely with the American Citizens Services Unit, the Immigrant Visa Unit, the Non-immigrant Visa Unit, the Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively pursue fraud cases. FPU refers individuals as appropriate for prosecution under U.S. and/or Romanian law.

For more information about visa website fraud, please visit the Website Fraud Warning page

Contact Information

If you have a tip or information concerning fraud that you wish to share with the embassy, you may contact the Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU) by email at BCHFPM@state.gov. Additionally, you may fax FPU at (4021)200-3381. If you wish to keep your identity confidential, be sure to tell the FPU that this is your wish when you contact the embassy.

All documents should be submitted electronically to the Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest via the following email address: BCHFPM@state.gov. You will receive an email response acknowledging receipt of your submission within 2 business days.

After receiving your electronic files, the Consular Section will review the application. This process may take up to 15 business days. At the end of the review process, you will be contacted to schedule your interview at the Consular Section.

Applying for the E2 Treaty Investor visa has three stages:

1. Apply and pay for the visas; create a profile through www.ustraveldocs.com/ro and select a TNT location for passport delivery. Instructions here.
2. Electronically submit business documents for review as described in these instructions.
3. Consular interview. This will be scheduled by the Consular Section.

Applications should be submitted in a .pdf file format, divided as follows:

Tab A (Table of Contents)

Cover letter describing the enterprise and the beneficiary. This letter should address all the requirements for E-2 visa eligibility. These, which are described in depth in U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual (9 FAM 41.51 N1.2) require the applicant to show:

• the applicant has invested or is in the process of investing (see N4);
• the enterprise is a real and operating commercial enterprise (see N9);
• the applicant’s investment is substantial (see N10);
• the investment is more than a marginal one solely for earning a living (see N11);
• the applicant is in a position to develop and direct the enterprise (see N12);
• the applicant, if an employee, is destined to an executive/supervisory position or possess skills essential to the firm’s operations in the United States (see N14); and
• the applicant intends to depart the United States when the E-2 status terminates (see N15).

Tab B (Forms)

1) The confirmation page of the DS-160 (applicants are required to complete the online electronic visa application form DS-160 and submit the confirmation sheet with their application) and form DS-156E (parts 1, 2, and 3). Contact information provided on the DS-160 must include an e-mail address.

2) MRV fee proof of payment from BRD ($205.00).

3) Please submit a letter of agreement between the investor and the representative signed by both parties and include contact email address and phone number;

If the applicant is not an investor but an employee, please include a job letter from the company. This letter should describe:

• the business;
• the job the applicant will do;
• his or her qualifications for that job.

Tab C (Applicant Information)

• A scan of the bio data page of the principal applicant’s passport;
• A copy of any changes or extensions of status granted by USCIS (Form I-797);
• A resume or curriculum vitae of the principal applicant;
• Signed statement of intent to depart the US upon termination of status.

Tab D (Ownership)

1) Articles of Incorporation (for corporations) or Organization (for LLC’s) for US business.

2) Share certificates and/or operating agreement (as applicable) to verify ownership.

1. a) If you have a large company with several owners or subsidiaries or if the chain of ownership includes intermediary entities, please also submit the following:

• An organogram of the full ownership structure;
• Legal evidence of instances of ownership within that chain;
• Color photocopies of the bio data pages of the passports of the owners of the ultimate parent company.

1. b) If the investor is a public company with many shareholders, none of whom owns more than 50%, please also include:

• A copy of the most recent Annual Report;
• The Companies House Report;
• A copy of the most recent trading information on the stock.

Tab E (Investment)

1) A complete money trail of the funds invested, including:

• Documentation of the original source of the funds (sale of property, inheritance, loans, earnings, sale of business, etc.)
• Movement of these funds to a U.S. account;
• Use of these funds for qualifying business expenses. Please include invoices, cancelled checks, and bank statements showing matching debits (highlighted).

2) If you are buying an existing business, please provide all of the following that apply in your case:

• A signed, dated, valid purchase agreement
• A binding escrow agreement (see 9 FAM 41.51 N8.103 for guidelines) that explicitly says where the money goes if the visa is issued, what happens when it does not, and is signed and dated by all parties. Please cross-reference exactly any relevant purchase agreement.
• Signed, dated, valid lease for business premises, including evidence of payments.
• Evidence of any other funds spent to acquire and set up the business

3) If you are establishing a start-up, please provide all of the following that apply:

• Signed, dated, valid lease for business premises, including evidence of payments;
• Evidence of equipment and/or inventory purchases.

4) If you are purchasing a franchise, please provide:

• a signed and dated franchise agreement;
• evidence of payment of the franchise fee;
• evidence of any employees already or to be hired.

5) Investment spreadsheet. Evidence of investment is required, e.g., copies of debits from bank accounts, checks, invoices.

Tab F (Real and Operating)

• Relevant local, state and/or federal licenses
• Monthly bank statements for current calendar year.

Tab G (Marginality – if existing business)

• US tax returns for business for the past three years. Taxes must include all statements and schedules. These must be copies of the signed and dated forms actually submitted to the IRS.
• All W-2 and/or 1099s for the last two tax years.
• Profit and loss statements for the current and previous calendar years.

Start-up business should also provide:

• A business plan that analyzes the local market and competition and gives a 5-year projection of profit and loss. Projections must be backed up by external sources;
• A breakdown of start-up costs necessary for the business to become operational.

Family Members

Spouses and unmarried minor children of the principal applicant may apply for accompanying visas. Each family member must meet all other visa eligibility requirements, including evidence that they will have sufficient funds for their support. The spouse of an E visa holder may apply to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for work authorization. Children of E visa holders may not accept employment. School-age minor children may attend public schools on accompanying status.

Children under the age of 14 are NOT required to be present for the interview.

For more information about treaty investor visas, please visit the Treaty Investor page.

Documents for the day of the interview

• Valid Passport of Applicant and all Dependents
• DS-160 Confirmation Pages for E2 visas
• Interview Fee Bank Receipt(s)

For any visa-related question not answered on the consular section’s website, applicants may refer to the A-Z Subject Index or send a message to the following email address: BCHFPM@state.gov. In most cases, the message will be answered within 3 business days.