United States visa for Egyptian passport holders

Yes. Egyptian citizens need a B1/B2 visitor visa for the United States. Egypt is not in the Visa Waiver Program, so ESTA is not an option at any price, and there is no visa on arrival. You apply online, pay the 185 dollar fee and attend an interview at the US Embassy in Cairo. Egypt is not on the visa bond list and not named in the entry restrictions that took effect on 1 January 2026.

Quick facts

Visa required

Visa required: Yes, a B1/B2 visitor visa
ESTA: Not available. Egypt is not in the Visa Waiver Program
Application fee: 185 US dollars, payable before the interview
Interview: In person at the US Embassy in Cairo
Visa bond: Not applicable to Egyptian passport holders
Entry restrictions: Egypt is not named in the January 2026 proclamation
If you also hold US citizenship: You must enter on your US passport

Entry requirements

An Egyptian passport valid for at least six months beyond your intended stay, unless a country-specific agreement says otherwise.
A completed DS-160 and the 185 dollar application fee, paid before booking the interview.
An interview appointment at the US Embassy in Cairo, attended in person.
Evidence of the purpose of the trip, of how it is funded, and of your ties to Egypt. The visitor-visa test is whether you intend to return, and it is on you to show it.
A US passport instead of all of the above if you are also a US citizen. Dual nationals cannot enter the United States on an Egyptian passport.

How to apply for a US visitor visa from Egypt

Complete the DS-160 online and pay the 185 dollar fee. Keep the confirmation barcode; you cannot book an interview without it.

Book the interview at the US Embassy in Cairo. Availability moves with embassy staffing and the season rather than being a fixed queue, so check dates before committing to travel plans instead of assuming a typical wait applies.

Attend in person. Egyptian applicants are generally interviewed rather than processed on paper, including many who have held US visas before.

If approved, the visa is normally issued within about two weeks. Some cases go into administrative processing under section 221(g), which is not a refusal but has no published timeline, so do not book non-refundable travel against an interview date.

Good to know

If you hold both Egyptian and US citizenship, the US visa question does not apply to you and you must not try to answer it. United States law requires US citizens to enter and leave the country on a US passport, so a dual national travels to Egypt on whichever document suits and comes back into the United States on the American one. This catches people who have let a US passport lapse and assume the Egyptian one plus a visa will do instead: it will not, and the fix is renewing the US passport, not applying for a visa you are not eligible for.
We could not confirm how long an Egyptian B1/B2 is issued for, and neither can most of the sites telling you. Validity and number of entries are set by the State Department’s reciprocity schedule for Egypt, which is the only authority on it; figures circulating online disagree with each other, and the official page blocks automated access so we could not read it directly. Check travel.state.gov’s Egypt reciprocity page yourself rather than planning around a number from a blog.
The 185 dollars buys the application, not the visa. It is charged for processing and is not refunded if you are refused, and it does not carry over to a second attempt. Reapplying after a refusal means paying it again and taking another appointment slot, which is why the first application is worth preparing properly rather than treating as a trial run.
Being outside the restricted lists is not the same as being waved through. Egypt is not bonded and not in the January 2026 proclamation, so an Egyptian applicant is assessed on the ordinary visitor-visa test and nothing else. That test is strict on its own terms: the officer starts from the presumption that you intend to immigrate, and it is the applicant who has to displace it.

Frequently asked questions

Do Egyptian citizens need a visa for the United States?

Yes, a B1/B2 visitor visa. Egypt is not in the Visa Waiver Program, so ESTA is not available and there is no visa on arrival.

Can Egyptians apply for an ESTA?

No. ESTA exists only for Visa Waiver Program nationalities and Egypt is not one. Any site offering an Egyptian an ESTA is selling something that cannot be issued.

How much does a US visitor visa cost from Egypt?

One hundred and eighty-five US dollars for the application, paid before the interview. It is not refunded if the visa is refused.

Do Egyptians have to pay a US visa bond?

No. Egypt is not on the B1/B2 visa bond list, so no bond is required of Egyptian passport holders.

I hold Egyptian and US citizenship. Which passport do I use?

Your US one. United States law requires US citizens to enter and depart on a US passport, so you do not apply for a visa at all. If your US passport has expired, renew it rather than applying for a visa.

Related pages

Other passports for the United States

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on 25 August 2026.

Fragomen — B-1/B-2 visa bond pilot program country list; Egypt is not among the fifty countries subject to it (fragomen.com)
NAFSA — Proclamation 10998 effective 1 January 2026, full-ban and partial-restriction country lists; Egypt appears on neither (nafsa.org)
US Embassy in Egypt — visitor visa information and Cairo interview process (eg.usembassy.gov)
US Department of State reciprocity schedule for Egypt — the authority on B-1/B-2 validity and entries; not readable by automated request at the time of writing, so no validity figure is stated here (travel.state.gov)

Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.

Do Egyptian passport holders need a visa for the United States?