You're staring at that glossy piece of paper stuck inside your passport, probably feeling a mix of relief and confusion. Getting the visa was the hard part, right? The interviews, the paperwork, the waiting—it's over. But then you sit down to fill out a Form I-9, or maybe you're checking in for a flight, and the screen demands your visa number on american visa. Suddenly, you realize there are about five different strings of numbers and letters scattered across that small sticker.
It’s annoying.
Most people look at the big, bold "Control Number" at the top and assume that’s it. Wrong. Others see the passport number printed on there and think that must be the one. Also wrong. If you input the wrong digits into a government portal or an airline API, you’re looking at a world of "Data Not Found" errors that can actually ruin a travel day. Honestly, the U.S. Department of State doesn't make it easy. They use a design that looks like it hasn't changed much since the 90s, and the most important piece of information—the actual visa number—isn't even labeled as a "number."
Where Exactly Is the Visa Number on American Visa?
Stop looking for a label that says "Visa Number." You won't find it.
Instead, look at the bottom right-hand corner of the visa foil. You’ll see a string of digits printed in a distinct red ink. This is almost always an eight-digit number, though in some older cases or specific types, it might contain a letter followed by seven digits. While everything else on the visa is printed in standard black ink, this specific identifier stands out because of that blood-red color.
It’s usually located just below the expiration date.
Why is it red? It’s a security feature. The Department of State uses that specific ink to make it harder to forge and easier for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to spot at a glance. If you’re looking at a "foil" (that’s the official term for the sticker), and you see a long string of black numbers at the top right, that’s your Control Number. Do not use that. The control number is for internal tracking within the consulate. The red number is your actual visa number, also known as the visa foil number.
Common Mistakes When Identifying Your Visa Foil
It happens all the time. People get confused between the Visa Number, the Control Number, and the SEVIS number (if you're a student).
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Let’s talk about the Control Number for a second. It's huge. It's at the top. It looks important. Because of its prominence, travelers frequently plug this into their EVUS (Electronic Visa Update System) or DS-160 forms. If you do this, the system will reject your application. The control number is essentially a serial number for the physical sticker itself, not your legal authorization number.
Then there’s the "Annotation" section. Sometimes, there are numbers buried in there related to your employer or your school. For example, if you're on an F-1 visa, your SEVIS ID (which starts with an 'N') will be printed there. While that’s a vital number for your legal status, it is not your visa number.
Wait.
There is one more spot where the visa number hides: the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ). That’s the mess of carats (<<<) and letters at the very bottom of the visa. If you look closely at the first line of the MRZ, you’ll actually see those same red digits repeated. This is what the kiosks at the airport scan. If the red ink has faded—which happens sometimes if your passport gets sweaty or wet—you can usually reconstruct the number by looking at the MRZ.
Different Visas, Different Rules?
Whether you have a B1/B2 tourist visa, an H-1B work visa, or a J-1 exchange visa, the location of the visa number on american visa remains consistent. The Department of State likes standardization. However, the format changed slightly over the years.
Back in the day, some visas had shorter numbers. Now, the eight-digit standard is the norm. If you have an older visa that is still valid (some are issued for 10 years), and the number looks weirdly short, don't panic. As long as it’s in that bottom-right corner in red, you’ve got the right target.
If you are a Canadian citizen, you might not even have a visa foil. Canadians often enter the U.S. under different rules, and if you entered with just a Form I-94, you don't have a visa number. You have an Admission Record number. It’s a completely different system. This causes a lot of headaches for Canadian students who are asked for a "visa number" on forms when they technically don't have one. In that case, you usually leave it blank or use the I-94 number if specifically instructed.
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What Happens if the Number is Blurry?
This is a real issue. Passports go through a lot. They get shoved into pockets, spilled on, and tossed into bags. Because the visa number is printed in red ink, it is sometimes more prone to fading than the black text.
If you can't read the red digits, check your original approval notice (like the I-797 for work visas). Often, the number is referenced there. If not, the MRZ at the bottom is your best friend. Look for the string of characters. The visa number usually starts around the 13th character of the second line of the MRZ, but that can vary based on the visa type.
Honestly, if it's so faded that you're guessing, you might want to contact the embassy that issued it before you head to the airport. CBP officers can be sticklers. If they can’t scan it and they can’t read it, you’re going to spend a very long and uncomfortable two hours in "Secondary Inspection" while they manually pull up your records in the Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS).
Why This Number Actually Matters
The visa number on american visa is the primary key that links your physical passport to the Department of State’s "Consular Consolidated Database" (CCD).
When you land in New York or LAX, the officer swipes your passport. The computer immediately looks for that red number. It pulls up your photo, the notes the consular officer made during your interview, and any "hits" on your name in security databases. If you're applying for a Social Security Number or a Driver’s License in the U.S., the DMV or SSA will use that number to verify your legal presence via the SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) program.
If you give them the Control Number instead of the Visa Number, the SAVE system will return a "No Match" result. This can delay your Social Security card by weeks. It’s a tiny mistake with a massive domino effect.
Digital Visas and the Future
There’s a lot of talk about "paperless visas." The U.S. is slowly moving toward a digital-first approach, similar to the Australian ETA or the British EVisa system. Some U.S. consulates have already experimented with "digitally monitored" entries where no physical foil is placed in the passport.
But we aren't there yet.
For the vast majority of travelers, that physical sticker is your lifeblood. And as long as that sticker exists, the red number in the corner remains the king of the document. Even as we move toward 2026 and beyond, the legacy systems used by the U.S. government still rely on that eight-digit foil number for cross-referencing.
Let's Clear Up the "Foil Number" vs. "Visa Number" Debate
You might hear an immigration lawyer call it a "foil number." You might hear a travel agent call it a "visa number."
They are the same thing.
The term "foil" is just the technical word for the sticker. Because it has holographic images and security fibers embedded in it, it’s not just a "sticker"—it’s a highly engineered piece of security paper. In the official "Foreign Affairs Manual" (FAM) used by embassy staff, they refer to it as the "Visa Foil Number." When you're filling out a form for a bank or a job, they’ll just ask for the "Visa Number." Don't let the terminology trip you up.
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Actionable Steps for Your Next Trip
Knowing where the number is is only half the battle. You need to be smart about how you use it.
First, take a high-quality photo of your visa the moment you get your passport back from the consulate. Use your phone's "document scan" mode to ensure the red ink is legible. Red doesn't always photograph well under yellow light; use natural light if you can.
Second, save that number in a secure password manager or a cloud-based note. You will be asked for it at the most inconvenient times—like when you’re standing in a crowded line at the airport and your passport is buried at the bottom of your carry-on.
Third, if you’re filling out a DS-160 for a renewal, make sure you’re looking at your most recent visa. People often accidentally pull the number from an expired visa because they have multiple ones in an old passport. The red number changes every single time you get a new visa. It is not a permanent ID number like a Social Security Number or an Alien Registration Number (A-Number).
Finally, if you’re ever in doubt, remember: Red is right. If you're looking at black ink, you're looking at the wrong data point. Whether it’s the expiration date, the issue date, or the control number, the black ink is secondary. That little cluster of red digits is your ticket into the United States. Keep it handy, keep it legible, and stop confusing it with the Control Number.
Immediate Checklist for Visa Holders
- Locate the Red Number: Open your passport now and find the red digits in the bottom-right. If they are eight digits long, you've found your visa number.
- Verify the MRZ: Look at the bottom of the visa. Find the same number at the end of the first line or middle of the second line to ensure it matches.
- Check for "A-Numbers": If you have an immigrant visa, look for an "A-Number" (Registration Number) usually located in the annotations. This is different from your visa number and stays with you for life.
- Update your Records: If you are a student or worker, ensure your HR department or International Student Office has the visa number, not the control number, on file for your I-9 or SEVIS record.
- Monitor Expiration: The visa number is only valid as long as the visa itself is. Check the "Expiration Date" (in black) immediately to the left of the red number.
The process of navigating U.S. immigration is notoriously pedantic. Small errors lead to big delays. By isolating those red digits and ignoring the noise of the rest of the document, you bypass the most common filing error made by foreign nationals today. Keep a scan of the visa in your digital files, and you'll never have to dig through your luggage at a check-in counter again.