The 4 Best Travel Visa Services in the United States

Here is my quick list of the top visa services in the U.S based on my experience of having traveled to 50+ countries (and received countless visas along the way). I’ll go into more detail later in this post.

1. VisaHQ
2. TravelVisaPro
3. PassportVisasExpress
4. TraVisa

Although I’m normally a do-it-yourself kind of guy, I sometimes get a travel visa service to take care of all the visa formalities for me. The best travel visa services in the United States (I’ll discuss 4 in total) often have knowledge and connections that the average person simply won’t have.

Getting experts to do the tedious work of getting the visa for you on your behalf can make a lot of sense and relieve you of future headache if you’re trying to secure a visa for a particular country.

Even for seasoned travelers like yours truly, visas can be incredibly frustrating. You have to get this document and that document; and often, despite having all of the necessary documents and fees in place, the consulate or government agency never fails to find a reason why they cannot process your visa.

If you have any questions on visas, good luck getting anyone to answer the phone….consulates and embassies are notorious for not picking up the phone. Many consulates would rather provide you with an e-mail address that gets you a short, uninformative response in three business days or more (and sometimes they don’t even respond).

So when the going gets tough, go ahead and get a good visa service to get your visa for you. Sure, the commission they get for doing this service is often quite high, but these guys do this stuff for a living and have the relationships and knowledge to help you save time and avoid future hassle.

Most visa services works as follows:

• You fill out a form.
• You gather the required documents.
• You send the visa service your required documents.
• Visa service takes care of everything and mails you your visa!

So, without further ado, check out the reviews below of the best travel visa services in the United States based on feedback from my readers and my personal experience. In order to evaluate the services, I took into account criteria such as responsiveness, website design, cost, professionalism, phone demeanor, and attention to detail.

As a side note, if you’re a U.S. citizen and don’t have a passport, all of the agencies below can also assist you with getting a passport. Service fees for both visas and passports vary between the companies, so be sure to check each website for their latest fees so that you can get the best rate.

1. VisaHQ

With U.S.-based offices in Washington, DC and New York City, a U.K.-based office in London and a Canadian office in Ontario, VisaHQ is a heavyweight in the world of visa agencies. Even though they’ve been around in the online travel visa business since just 2003, they have grown rapidly and have the cleanest, most user-friendly website that you will find. If you go to the bottom of their home page to where it says “VisaHQ widgets”, you will find a cool tool that quickly shows you if you need a visa for pretty much any country in the world.

Using Visa HQ is as easy as:

1. Completing the secure online application.
2. Mailing the documents necessary to prove one’s identity
3. Sit back, relax and wait for your passport or visa to arrive in the mail.

It is that simple.

When applying for a visa, customers can choose from a long line of countries. Also, anyone who orders a new U.S. passport from Visa HQ receives a free passport cover. In addition to issuing new passports, Visa HQ also lets people add pages to their passport, change their name on their passport and report a lost or stolen passport.

Prices for passports start at $59.00, and the company promises that there are no hidden or cancellation fees. When it comes to visas, VisaHQ is definitely the more expensive of the visa agencies listed here. With that said though, they are often worth every penny; but, nevertheless, be sure to shop around all these sites before settling on a travel visa service.

 

2. TravelVisaPro

With offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Seattle, Travel Visa Pro is superb. I’m a big fan of these guys. I did business with them in the past when I had to get a document legalized at a consulate in Washington D.C. They were super responsive and got back to me on any query I had in well under 24 hours (normally within the hour). If you are trying to get a document (such as a transcript or proof of employment) legalized, these guys are the ones to go with.

For passports only, customers can choose urgent shipping to have their passport delivered to them within two days of their application. For both passports and visas, customers can also get rush delivery, which is anywhere from one to three days for a visa and four days for a passport. The budget delivery option can allow customers to obtain their visa within three or more days and their passport within two to three weeks.

Travel Visa Pro also offers a concierge service where customers can have an employee fill out their application. There are many benefits to using the company’s concierge service, including but not limited to being entered into their VIP Program, free insurance coverage on one’s passport and free printing of electronic photos at Travel Visa Pro’s office. Many of my readers who have used the services of this company report that their service was fast, friendly and efficient.

I would say that the one downside to Travel Visa Pro is their overly busy, text-filled website. It is not as user-friendly as the VisaHQ website, meaning you have to hunt around a bit to find out what you are looking for. In order to get a visa, when you go to their homepage, choose the country where you want to go in the small drop-down list under the “Visa Services” heading. You will then need to follow the steps listed on the website in order to apply.

 

3. PassportVisasExpress

With more than 15 years’ experience issuing passports and visas, PassportVisasExpress has been around longer than some of the other travel visa services out there. I’ve heard from a lot of satisfied readers who have used their services to obtain a passport and/or visa without any hassle.

Passport Visas Express specializes in expediting passport applications in as little as 24 hours, but they have a pretty decent visa service as well. I do find their claim to issue “expedited” visas to more than 150 countries a bit misleading though (not that many countries offer expedited visas). In most situations, visa processing speeds will be at the whim of the consulate (which is beyond their control).

With that said, the user interface is superb, and the site is chock full of visa information. I love it how you just click on the visa button, enter your zip code, and you go right to the appropriate visa information for the consulate of your jurisdiction. I know this must have taken a TON of work to implement, so I give a strong Bravo to these guys for putting this functionality on their website.

PassportVisasExpress also offers a live online chat. They issue new and replacement passports, as well as passports for children and updated passports for a person who has changed their name, lost their passport or needs to obtain a second one.

 

4. TraVisa

TraVisa is a company that specializes in issuing passports and visas to travelers quickly and easily. A service they offer that many other similar companies don’t is the ability to save an electronic version of one’s passport or visa on your smartphone. They have a mobile application that for Androids, iPhones and iPads let people get all the necessary information about their passport or visa. The company also allows its customers to register their travel with the U.S. Embassy. They even have an instructional video on their website that tells people everything they need to know about how to use their services.

TraVisa has offices in Atlanta, Washington DC, New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Houston, Ottawa and London. The countries they offer visas to include China, Brazil, Russia, India, Australia, Vietnam, Kenya, Tanzania and many more. This company also specializes in the legalization of documents.

The company’s website also includes a travel store where customers can purchase items such as phone cards, passport covers, maps and medicine to prevent jet lag.

The majority of customers that use TraVisa are applying for a visa to travel to Brazil, China, India, Russia and Vietnam (i.e. the countries that require U.S. citizens to get a visa).

Also, a cool feature of TraVisa is their visa “pre-check.” A visa pre-check is when a TraVisa Visa employee reviews a customer’s visa application to be sure that it was filled out properly, and the customer has all the necessary documents in place to get the visa approved. Once customers have ordered their visa they can keep track of their application by logging onto the TraVisa website and getting updates on their application status.

My readers report that TraVisa provides decent service (but not above and beyond like some of the others in this list…but still do give them a try if you are price shopping) when it comes to applying for or renewing a passport or visa.

 

So there you have it folks, the best travel visa services in the United States. Be sure to visit each website and check prices before deciding on a visa service. Service fees can vary quite considerably. Anyways, good luck on your visa hunt and safe travels!

Further Reading

• Want Professional Visa Help? If you are a U.S. citizen and want professional help with getting a visa, check out my post on the 4 Best Travel Visa Services in the United States.

• Worldwide Moving Guide: Everything you need to know in order to plan your move to 65+ countries around the world.

• Find an Embassy or Consulate: Check my Worldwide Embassy and Consulate Finder to find the diplomatic representation nearest you.

• Worldwide Jobs Guide: Be sure to check out my posts on how to find jobs in any country in the world.

• Worldwide Dating Guide: Also, check out my posts on the best online dating sites in 60+ countries around the world.

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