The United States Embassy in the Philippines announced on Friday that it will open a new visa application center (VAC) in the country, as well as establish an updated visa appointment system.

According to the embassy, they have also expanded their call center services to American citizens in the Philippines, which they can avail of starting on 28 September.

The new VAC will be located at Parqal Building 8, Level 3, Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City. It will offer appointment slots from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday, and from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Saturdays.

“Immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants seeking interview appointments starting 28 September will be required to schedule a separate appointment at the VAC for photo capture and fingerprint scanning prior to their interview at the US Embassy on Roxas Boulevard,” the embassy said.

“Scheduling will be done through the new and redesigned online appointment system,” it added.

For applicants who have scheduled a visa interview before 28 September, the Embassy said they will not be affected by the changes and should proceed directly to their appointment at the embassy.

No appointment is needed for applicants who would like to pick up their passports or drop off interview waiver visa applications and other required documents from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Meanwhile, the embassy said the new online appointment system will feature a secure and user-friendly interface for visa applicants and will be available on 28 September on ustraveldocs.com/ph.

“Applicants who have existing accounts in the current visa appointment system will be required to sign in to the new system using their already-registered email address to retrieve their user profile, which includes payment receipts and appointment information,” it said.

To cater to the needs of its citizens in the country, the U.S. Embassy will also launch a call center for customers with general, non-emergency American Citizen Services (ACS) inquiries.

U.S. citizens may call consular hotlines at (+632) 7792-8988 or (+632) 8548-8223, or (703) 520-2235 for callers in the United States, with passport, citizenship, and notarial service questions.

The embassy also said that it will launch a new and dedicated website (ustraveldocs.com/ph/en/american-citizens-services) and email (support-acs-philippines@usvisascheduling.com) for these ACS services on 28 September.

“Inquiries not related to passport, citizenship, or notarials should still be sent to the embassy’s ACS unit directly via ACSInfoManila@state.gov,” it said.

“Updates regarding these changes will be posted on the U.S. Embassy website (ph.usembassy.gov) and on the Embassy’s Facebook (facebook.com/USEmbassyPH/) and X account (@USEmbassyPH),” it added.