N NATO Visas, NATO-1 through NATO-7
The NATO visa series covers people travelling to the United States under the NATO Status of Forces Agreement or the Protocol on the Status of International Military Headquarters. It runs from national representatives and international staff down to their families and their personal domestic staff. These are official visas: no fee, no petition, and for most of the series no interview.
- Срок
- Tied to the assignment rather than a fixed statutory period. The diplomatic note or travel orders state the anticipated length of stay, and admission is normally for duration of status while the assignment continues.
- Продление
- NATO-1 through NATO-6 holders already in the United States on assignment renew using Form DS-1648 rather than Form DS-160, without leaving the country. NATO-7 holders, like G-5 holders, must reapply outside the United States. Form I-539 filed into or out of A, G or NATO status carries no fee.
- Работа
- Yes for the principal, in the official NATO role only. NATO-7 holders may work only for the specific employer named on the contract. NATO-2, NATO-4 and NATO-6 dependants who want outside employment must request authorisation through Form I-566 with Form I-765, relying on a bilateral work agreement or a de facto arrangement between the United States and the sending state.
- Двойное намерение
- false - these are official visas premised on an official assignment. A NATO nonimmigrant who wants permanent residence generally must first execute Form I-508, waiving certain rights, privileges, exemptions and immunities.
- Члены семьи
- NATO-2 for NATO-1 families, NATO-4 for NATO-3 families, NATO-6 for NATO-5 families. Dependants may study. They may only work with employment authorisation obtained on Form I-566 and Form I-765. NATO-7 domestic staff are not dependants; they hold their own classification and their own contract.
- Путь к грин-карте
- No direct route, and there is a specific obstacle. A NATO nonimmigrant who has enjoyed privileges and immunities normally has to file Form I-508 waiving them before adjusting status. Some long-serving NATO civilian employees and their family members qualify as special immigrants under INA 101(a)(27)(C)(ii), which is a narrow and separate path.
- Срок рассмотрения
- Usually fast, since NATO-1 through NATO-6 applicants are normally exempt from interview and the visas are handled as official cases. NATO-7 applicants queue for an interview like other personal-employee applicants and take substantially longer. Dependent Form I-765 employment authorisation runs months at USCIS.
Кто подходит
- NATO-1: national representatives travelling under the NATO Status of Forces Agreement or the Protocol on the Status of International Military Headquarters
- NATO-2: immediate family members of a NATO-1 holder, and family of foreign military personnel stationed in the United States who themselves travel visa-exempt on military orders
- NATO-3: international staff travelling under the same agreements
- NATO-4: immediate family members of a NATO-3 holder
- NATO-5: individuals travelling under the same agreements outside the NATO-1 and NATO-3 groups
- NATO-6: immediate family members of a NATO-5 holder
- NATO-7: personal employees, attendants, domestic workers and servants of a NATO-1 through NATO-6 holder
Требования
- Travel must be under the applicable provision of the NATO Status of Forces Agreement or the Protocol on the Status of International Military Headquarters
- A diplomatic note or NATO travel orders setting out the assignment, the position and the anticipated length of stay
- For NATO-2, NATO-4 and NATO-6, the family member must be a spouse or a child dependent on the principal for support
- NATO-7 applicants need a written employment contract, proof the employer will pay at least the minimum wage and provide lawful working conditions, and must interview
- NATO officials and employees on official duty cannot enter on any other visa class or under the Visa Waiver Program, with very limited exceptions
- Immediate family members are not covered by the passport and visa exemption for military personnel travelling on orders; each needs a passport and a NATO-2 visa
Как подать
- 1
The sending government or NATO body issues a diplomatic note or travel orders naming the post, the purpose and the anticipated length of stay
- 2
Complete Form DS-160 outside the United States, or Form DS-1648 if renewing a NATO-1 through NATO-6 visa while on assignment inside the United States
- 3
No MRV fee is payable
- 4
NATO-1 through NATO-6 applicants are generally not interviewed, though a consular officer may require one
- 5
NATO-7 applicants must interview and must present a written contract and proof of minimum wage and lawful conditions
- 6
Family members travelling with military personnel on orders still need their own passports and NATO-2 visas
- 7
A dependant who wants outside employment files Form I-566 with Form I-765
- 8
Renewals for NATO-7 must be done outside the United States
Сборы и формы
| MRV nonimmigrant visa application fee | No fee. NATO applicants, like A, G, C-2, C-3 and diplomatic visa applicants, are exempt |
| Visa issuance (reciprocity) fee | No fee for official representatives of a foreign government or an international organisation of which the United States is a member |
| Form I-539 filed into or out of A, G or NATO status | $0 |
| Form I-566, interagency record of request for NATO dependent employment authorisation | $0 |
| Form I-765 for a dependant's employment authorisation | $520 paper, $470 online |
| Form I-102 for an initial Form I-94 as a participant in NATO armed forces or a civil component | $0 filing fee, plus the $24 Public Law 119-21 I-94 fee |
Что изменилось в 2025 и 2026 годах
- Oct. 1, 2025: the interview waiver rollback announced Sept. 18, 2025 took effect and superseded the July 25, 2025 guidance. Almost every nonimmigrant applicant now needs an in-person interview. The standing carve-outs are A-1, A-2, C-3 other than personal staff, G-1 through G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-6, TECRO E-1, diplomatic and official visas, and 12-month renewals of B-1/B-2, Mexican border crossing cards and H-2A. Waiver-eligible applicants must also apply in their country of nationality or residence, must never have been refused a visa unless overcome or waived, and must have no apparent ineligibility. The old under-14 and over-79 age exemptions were abolished. No further update has issued as of September 2026. NATO-1 through NATO-6 are among the few classifications that keep interview waiver eligibility, so the rollback largely spared them. NATO-7 was never eligible.
- July 15, 2026: State told nonimmigrant applicants to interview in their country of nationality or residence, or at the designated processing post if their country has no routine operations. Applying elsewhere is allowed but harder to qualify, the MRV fee is non-refundable and non-transferable, and waits are much longer. A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO and diplomatic applicants are exempt. NATO applicants and applicants for diplomatic or official type visas are expressly exempt from the country-of-residence rule.
- Jan. 1, 2026: Presidential Proclamation 10998, signed Dec. 16, 2025, took effect at 12:01 a.m. EST and replaced Proclamation 10949 (signed June 4, 2025, effective June 9, 2025). It fully suspends visa issuance to nationals of 19 countries - Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - plus holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents, across every nonimmigrant and immigrant category. It only reaches people who were outside the United States and held no valid visa at 12:01 a.m. EST on Jan. 1, 2026; no earlier-issued visa was revoked under it. Certain diplomatic and official visas are excepted from the full suspension, which shelters most NATO travel.
- July 4, 2025: Public Law 119-21 added non-waivable immigration surcharges on top of normal filing fees. The ones that touch nonimmigrants are the Form I-94 fee, held at $24 for FY 2026, the parole fee, adjusted to $1,020 for FY 2026, parolee EAD surcharges of $560 initial and $280 renewal, and a statutory visa integrity fee of at least $250 on nonimmigrant visa issuance. The $250 visa integrity fee is enacted but unverified as collected: it appears nowhere on the State Department fee schedule as of September 2026 and no implementing rule has published. The Public Law 119-21 Form I-94 fee of $24 applies even where the Form I-102 filing fee is $0 for NATO armed forces and civil component participants.
- Current USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055 edition 05/29/26: Form I-539 into or out of A, G or NATO status is $0, and Form I-566 is $0.
Где чаще всего ошибаются
- Confusing this NATO series with the separate N-8 and N-9 classifications, which are for the parent and children of certain special immigrants and have nothing to do with NATO.
- Assuming family members are covered by the military passport and visa exemption. They are not; each needs a passport and a NATO-2 visa.
- Dependants working without going through Form I-566 and Form I-765, which is unauthorised employment.
- NATO-7 domestic staff renewing inside the United States. They must reapply abroad.
- Using Form DS-160 instead of Form DS-1648 for an in-country NATO-1 through NATO-6 renewal.
- Adjusting status without filing Form I-508 to waive privileges and immunities.
- Trying to travel for official NATO duties on B-1/B-2 or under the Visa Waiver Program.
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