Non-Immigrant Visas

Who Needs a Visa?

Everyone traveling to the U.S. as temporary workers, students, exchange visitors, religious workers, performers and artists, crew, or journalist/media representatives needs visas. Nationals of many countries require visas for tourist or business trips as well.

Portuguese citizens traveling for business or pleasure for visits up to 90 days may do so without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) as long as they meet the requirements of the program. Portuguese citizens who will travel in possession of a machine-readable passport, who have round-trip tickets on a commercial airline and who would otherwise qualify for a visitor (B1/2) visa can generally take advantage of the VWP. More information regarding this program, including detailed requirements and a list of other participating countries, is available on the State Department WebPage.

All nationals of VWP countries traveling to the US must use either a machine-readable passport or a machine-readable US visa. All travelers on the VWP must travel on Machine Readable Passports. Additionally, any passport issued after October 26, 2005 must be machine-readable and contain a digital photo in order to qualify for the Visa Waiver Program. The new Portuguese electronic passport qualifies for the Visa Waiver Program. If you are a national of a Visa Waiver Program country and you have questions about whether your passport qualifies for the Visa Waiver Program, please visit the following website: http://travel.state.gov/