US Visa WatchWhat Is Visa Foil Number
What is a visa foil number?
The visa foil number is the red, eight-digit number printed on a U.S. visa in your passport. It identifies the visa foil—the physical U.S. visa stamp issued by a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad and placed in your passport.
You may also see this called the visa number. In the available guidance, “visa foil number” and “visa number” refer to the same number.
If you’re filling out a travel, school, work, or immigration form, look for:
- Color: Red
- Length: Eight digits
- Position: Lower-right area of the U.S. visa foil
The number belongs to the visa stamp, not to the passport itself. A visa foil can remain valid through the expiration date printed on it unless it has been canceled or revoked.
Where to find the visa foil number on a U.S. visa
Open your passport to the page with your U.S. visa. This page may contain your photo, personal details, visa category, dates, and several other numbers or codes.
Focus on the visa image, also called the visa foil. It’s the large visa document attached to or placed in your passport. Don’t search the passport’s cover, the passport number page, or another page with entry stamps.
Now look toward the lower-right portion of the visa foil. The visa foil number should appear there in red ink. It is made up of eight digits.
A quick way to check the location:
- Find the U.S. visa page in your passport.
- Identify the full visa foil, including the photo and printed visa details.
- Move your eyes to the lower-right area of that foil.
- Find the red number with eight digits.
- Enter that number exactly as shown, unless the form gives different instructions.
The number may be small, so use good lighting or zoom in with your phone camera. Be careful when reading similar-looking digits. If the form rejects the number, check the number again against the visa instead of trying a different identifier at random.
How to identify the red eight-digit number
The easiest way to spot the correct number is to use all three clues together:
red + eight digits + lower-right position.
One clue by itself may not be enough. Your visa can contain other printed information, and some of it may also look like a number or code. The correct visa foil number is the one that matches the color, digit count, and location.
Here’s the practical test:
> Is it a red number, does it have eight digits, and is it in the lower-right area of the visa foil?
If yes, you have likely found the visa foil number.
Don’t count letters, spaces, punctuation, or nearby text as part of the number. Enter the digits in the same order they appear. If a form asks for only the visa number, it normally does not call for the entire line of information around it.
A visual check before you type
Before submitting a form, pause and compare your entry with the visa:
- Did you copy eight digits?
- Did you use the red number?
- Did you take it from the lower-right area?
- Did you avoid copying the passport number or another printed identifier?
This small check can prevent a simple number mix-up.
What the B1/B2 visa foil number refers to
A B1/B2 visa is a U.S. visa with the B1 and B2 classifications. The foil number on that visa is found in the same way as the number on other U.S. visa foils.
Look at the B1/B2 visa in your passport and find the red, eight-digit number in the lower-right area. That is the B1/B2 visa foil number.
The “B1/B2” label describes the visa classification. It does not change the basic way you identify the visa number. If a form asks for the visa number connected to your B1/B2 visa, use the red eight-digit number printed on that visa foil.
This is useful when a form shows several possible number fields. Start with the wording of the form, then match the number to the physical visa in your passport. The B1/B2 label and the visa foil number serve different purposes: one identifies the visa category, while the other is the number you are being asked to copy.
Visa foil number versus other numbers on the visa or passport
A passport and visa foil can show several numbers. They are not automatically interchangeable.
The visa foil number is the red, eight-digit number in the lower-right area of the U.S. visa foil. The passport number belongs to the passport document. If a form asks for your passport number, that is a separate field and should be taken from the passport identification page.
You may also see questions about a control number or a US visa control number. The supplied information does not establish that the control number is the same as the visa foil number. It also does not provide a confirmed format or location for the control number. For that reason, don’t replace the red eight-digit visa number with another number just because it appears on the same visa page.
The same caution applies to an alien number, sometimes called an A-number. The supplied information does not identify the location or format of a nine-digit alien number. It does establish that the visa foil number is the separate red, eight-digit number in the lower-right area of the visa foil.
A simple comparison looks like this:
| Number or term | What to check |
|---|---|
| Visa foil number | Red, eight digits, lower-right area of the U.S. visa foil |
| Visa number | Used interchangeably with visa foil number in the supplied guidance |
| Passport number | Number belonging to the passport, not the visa foil |
| Control number | Do not assume it is the visa foil number |
| Alien number | A separate identifier; do not substitute it for the visa foil number |
This distinction matters most when a form lists several number fields. Match the label on the form to the right document. Use the visa foil for a visa number request and the passport identification page for a passport number request.
Is the visa foil number the same as the visa number?
In this context, yes. Visa foil number and visa number are used to describe the same red, eight-digit number printed in the lower-right area of the U.S. visa foil.
That means the visa number on your passport is the number printed on the visa page, not the passport number printed elsewhere in the document.
The wording can still cause confusion because forms may use only one version of the term. A form might say:
- Visa number
- Visa foil number
- U.S. visa number
When the form is asking about the number on the U.S. visa, use the red eight-digit number on the foil.
Do not assume that “control number” or “alien number” means the same thing. The available information separates those terms from the visa foil number. It confirms the visa foil number by its color, length, and position, but it does not define every other number that may appear on a visa or in an immigration record.
If a form asks for your visa number
First, check whether the form means the number on your U.S. visa foil. If it does, copy the red eight-digit number in the lower-right area of the visa.
Use this short process:
- Have the passport open to the page with the U.S. visa.
- Find the foil with the visa photo and visa details.
- Locate the red number near the lower-right area.
- Count the digits to confirm there are eight.
- Type the number into the form without adding unrelated numbers.
If the form has separate boxes for a passport number, control number, or alien number, don’t fill those boxes with the visa foil number unless the form specifically tells you to. Each field may ask for a different identifier.
If you’re unsure what a separate field means, the information provided here does not establish its format or location. Avoid guessing based only on where a number appears on the page. The reliable identification for the visa foil number is the red, eight-digit number in the lower-right area.
Common mistakes when locating the number
Most errors happen because people search the whole passport instead of the visa foil. These checks can help:
Choosing the passport number
The passport number is not the visa foil number. Find the visa page first, then look inside the visa itself.
Picking a nearby number
Several numbers may appear on or near a visa. A nearby number is not automatically the right one. Confirm the red color, eight-digit length, and lower-right position.
Confusing the control number with the visa number
Searches for “visa number vs control number” often come from seeing more than one number on the visa. Don’t assume the control number is the visa number. The confirmed visa foil number is the red eight-digit number in the lower-right area.
Looking for a nine-digit alien number
The supplied information does not identify where a nine-digit alien number appears or confirm its format. It does identify the visa foil number separately. For a visa-number field, use the red eight-digit number on the foil.
Copying the wrong visa
If your passport contains more than one U.S. visa foil, check which one the form is asking about. Use the number from the visa connected to the application or travel information you are entering.
Before you submit, compare the number one last time with the visa: red ink, eight digits, lower-right area. Those three details are the quickest way to confirm you have entered the visa foil number rather than another number from your passport.