Saudi Arabia to United States visa requirements

Saudi ordinary passport holders need a U.S. visitor visa for tourism or short business visits. Saudi Arabia is not a Visa Waiver Program country, so Saudi travelers cannot use ESTA and should apply in advance for a B-1/B-2 visa. A Saudi Arabian citizen holding an ordinary passport must obtain a B-1/B-2 nonimmigrant visitor visa before traveling to the United States for tourism, vacation, visiting family or friends, medical treatment, or ordinary short business activities. Saudi Arabia is not on the U.S. Visa Waiver Program country list, so ESTA is not available. The standard route is to complete Form DS-160, pay the non-refundable USD 185 MRV application fee, schedule a visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate location where eligible, and attend the interview with fingerprints and supporting evidence. As of the Department of State wait-time update dated 2026-06-18, next-available B1/B2 interview appointments were listed at about 2 months in Riyadh and about 3 months in Jeddah or Dhahran, but these estimates change and do not guarantee appointment availability. If issued, the Saudi reciprocity schedule lists B-1, B-2 and B-1/B-2 visas with no separate issuance fee, multiple entries, and 120 months of validity. The visa lets the traveler request admission at a U.S. port of entry; CBP decides whether to admit the traveler and records the authorized stay on the admission stamp or I-94. Saudi Arabia appears on CBP's six-month passport-validity exemption list, so Saudi passport holders need a passport valid for the intended U.S. stay rather than six months beyond it, though renewal is prudent if the passport is close to expiry. A statutory Visa Integrity Fee exists in U.S. law for nonimmigrant visas issued in the future, but DHS stated it requires cross-agency coordination and will be implemented by a future publication; it is not listed in the current State visa fee table as a collected B-1/B-2 charge on this check date.