Moving to the USA from the Philippines: Visas, Green Cards and Where to Apply

No. The Philippines is not among the 39 countries restricted by Proclamation 10998 (effective January 1, 2026), and it was not on the 75-country immigrant visa pause from January 2026.

The change that matters most for Filipinos is worldwide: Since August 25, 2026, the State Department has paused immigrant visa interviews at US embassies and consulates worldwide while consular officers are trained on public charge reviews. Scheduled interviews were moved to later dates, and no restart date has been announced as of September 2026. Visitor, student, and temporary work visas are not part of this pause. Details: immigrant visa pause.

Manila runs one of the largest immigrant visa operations in the world, so many Filipino families and nurses with approved petitions are affected by this freeze. Keep your National Visa Center (NVC) documents current so your case is ready when interviews restart.

For an overview of every route, see our guide to US immigration and how US immigration works.

Yes. The Philippines is not in the Visa Waiver Program, so you need a B-2 tourist or B-1 business visa. Complete the DS-160, pay the fee, and attend an interview at the embassy in Manila. Show proof of a stable job, family ties, and funds. Visitors cannot work or look for work in the US. The State Department's guidance is to apply for a visitor or other temporary visa at the US embassy or consulate in the country where you live. Applying elsewhere is possible but can make it harder to show you qualify.

Nurses (EB-3). Filipino nurses are one of the largest groups of foreign-educated nurses in the US. The usual path is: pass the NCLEX-RN, get a credentials review (such as a VisaScreen certificate), find a US employer that files an I-140 petition, then wait for your priority date and interview in Manila. Registered nurses are on the Department of Labor's Schedule A list, so employers do not need a full PERM labor certification. Because the final step is an immigrant visa interview, the worldwide freeze applies to nurses too.

Teachers. US school districts recruit Filipino teachers on J-1 and H-1B visas, especially for special education, math, and science.

E-1 and E-2. The Philippines has had E-1 and E-2 treaty status since 1955. The State Department charges Filipino nationals a reciprocity (visa issuance) fee for E visas; check the current amount on the Philippines reciprocity page.

H-1B. Since February 27, 2026, the H-1B lottery gives more entries to higher wage levels. A separate $100,000 fee on some new H-1B petitions (from a September 2025 proclamation) is being fought in court, with judges split as of September 2026. See H-1B $100k fee.

The Philippines has its own column in the Visa Bulletin because demand is so high.

• Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of US citizens: no annual cap, so no wait for a visa number (processing still takes time).
• F1 and F2B (adult unmarried children): waits for Filipinos are longer than for most countries, often a decade or more.
• F3 (married children) and F4 (siblings of US citizens): among the longest queues in the Visa Bulletin, commonly around two decades for Filipinos.
• Employment (EB-2 and EB-3): Filipino dates are often close to rest-of-world dates, though they can fall behind.

Check priority dates to see where your case stands. Filipinos are not eligible for the Diversity Visa lottery because of high immigration numbers, and the lottery is paused anyway (see DV lottery paused).

The US Embassy in Manila is the only US visa post in the Philippines, and it handles all visa categories. It also serves applicants from the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. Book appointments through the embassy's website. Immigrant visa applicants also need a medical exam with an embassy-approved panel physician. See our consular processing guide.

The State Department's Philippines page requires documents issued by the national agencies:

• Police certificate: an NBI Clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation. Philippine-born immigrant visa applicants aged 16 and over need one. If you live abroad, you can apply by mail, through a Philippine embassy, or through an authorized relative.
• Birth certificate: issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) (called NSO before 2013), not a local civil registrar copy.
• Marriage certificate: also from the PSA. If a record was amended by court order or administrative correction, it needs the proper PSA annotation.
• Divorce or annulment: a court decision with the certificate of finality, annotated on the PSA marriage record.

Start early: missing or mismatched PSA records are a common reason for delays.

Filipino Americans are one of the largest Asian American groups. The biggest communities are in California (Los Angeles, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area, including Daly City), Hawaii, Las Vegas in Nevada, Seattle, the New York and New Jersey area (Woodside in Queens and Jersey City), Chicago, and Houston. Filipino churches, nurses' associations, and regional associations offer strong support to newcomers.