Overview
The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu handles a substantial consular caseload anchored by Nepal's distinctive position as one of the highest per-capita Diversity Visa source countries in the world — Nepal consistently ranks among the top DV-source countries on a per-capita basis, with the DV lottery generating very high annual applicant volumes from Nepal — combined with substantial F-1 student-visa flow into U.S. universities (Nepal is consistently among the top 10 source countries of international students in the United States, with the Nepali-to-U.S. higher-education pipeline being one of the most distinctive in South Asia per capita) and the heavy U.S.-tourist mountaineering-and-trekking ACS workload generated by the country's role as the global home of Himalayan high-altitude mountaineering. Nepal is not in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program; all NIV travel requires a B-1/B-2 visa. The consular caseload is volume-heavy across the categories: F-1 student visas (Nepali students reach U.S. universities through Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, the Nepali private-college network, and via the substantial scholarship-mediated and family-funded undergraduate-and-graduate flow — Nepal sends roughly 10,000-15,000 students per year to U.S. higher education making it one of the highest per-capita international-student source countries to the U.S.), B-1/B-2 visitor cases (very heavy on family-visit travel to the substantial Nepali-American diaspora in the U.S. — concentrated in Texas, Maryland-Virginia-D.C., New York, Massachusetts and California, business travel, and U.S. tourism into Nepal's Himalayan trekking circuit and Buddhist heritage circuit), J-1 exchange (Fulbright Nepal through the U.S. Educational Foundation in Nepal — USEF, established in 1948 making Nepal one of the older bilateral Fulbright relationships in Asia; the IVLP; the Humphrey Fellowship; the Critical Language Scholarship for U.S. students of Nepali; the Boren Awards), H-1B and L-1 work visas (anchored by the U.S. tech-and-finance corporate-rotator flow with substantial Nepali-engineer placement in U.S. tech firms, plus the broader U.S. corporate footprint), and a substantial immigrant-visa pipeline (IR/CR family preference, F-1 to F-4, EB-1 to EB-5). Nepal is consistently among the highest per-capita DV source countries — DV demand is enormous. The American Citizen Services workload is anchored by the U.S.-citizen mountaineering-and-trekking flow (Mount Everest expeditions including the Khumbu trail through Lukla, the Annapurna circuit, the Manaslu circuit, the Langtang and broader trekking system) which generates a steady stream of medical evacuations, altitude-sickness incidents, climbing accidents and the standard high-altitude-tourism consular workload. The compound at Maharajgunj sits in the diplomatic district of north Kathmandu.
Visa Services
Nepal is not in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program; all short-stay travel requires a B-1/B-2 visa. The NIV docket is volume-heavy. F-1 (students) is one of the strongest single bilateral lines in the world per capita — Nepal sends roughly 10,000-15,000 students per year to U.S. higher education, making it consistently one of the top 10 source countries of international students in the U.S. and the highest per-capita international-student source from South Asia. Nepali students reach U.S. universities through Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, the Institute of Engineering, the Pulchowk Engineering Campus, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, and the substantial Nepali private-college network (Kathmandu College of Management, Ace Institute of Management, Apex College and others), with strong flow into U.S. STEM, business, public-health and humanities programmes. The EducationUSA Advising Center in Kathmandu is one of the highest-volume EducationUSA centres globally per capita. M-1 vocational volume is moderate. B-1/B-2 visitor cases run very heavy on family-visit travel to the substantial Nepali-American diaspora in the U.S. (concentrated in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia metro, Texas — particularly Dallas-Fort Worth — New York, Massachusetts and California, with smaller communities in Ohio, Minnesota, Tennessee and Georgia), business travel, and U.S. tourism. J-1 covers Fulbright Nepal (administered by USEF — the U.S. Educational Foundation in Nepal, established in 1948 and one of the older bilateral Fulbright commissions in Asia), the IVLP, the Humphrey Fellowship, the Critical Language Scholarship for U.S. students of Nepali, the Boren Awards and the Gilman International Scholarship. H-1B and L-1 demand is substantial — Nepali engineers and IT professionals are well-represented in U.S. tech-corporate rotations. The immigrant-visa pipeline (IR/CR family preference, F-1 to F-4, EB-1 to EB-5) is processed solely from Kathmandu. Nepal is consistently among the highest per-capita DV source countries with very high annual applicant volumes.
Consular Services
American Citizen Services in Kathmandu covers a substantial U.S.-citizen and dual-national community across Nepal — concentrated in Kathmandu (the U.S. business community attached to the development sector, the U.S. NGO and aid community attached to USAID Nepal, the academic and research community, the substantial Christian missionary community — Nepal hosts a substantial post-2008 Christian missionary engagement following the secular constitution shift), in Pokhara (the gateway to the Annapurna trekking circuit and the popular U.S.-tourist resort city), in the Khumbu region around Mount Everest (the Sherpa heartland and the staging area for Everest expeditions), in the Annapurna and Manaslu trekking regions, and in Lumbini (the birthplace of the Buddha and the substantial U.S.-Buddhist-pilgrimage destination). Routine workload: passport renewal at high volume, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, federal-benefits coordination, notarials and emergency assistance — including the very high U.S.-tourist-incident workload from the mountaineering-and-trekking circuits. The ACS unit handles a steady stream of medical evacuations from high-altitude trekking and climbing, altitude-sickness cases, climbing accidents on Everest and the other 8000m peaks (Annapurna, Manaslu, Dhaulagiri, Cho Oyu, Lhotse, Makalu, Kanchenjunga), and the routine consular response to the broader Himalayan-tourism caseload.
Trade & Export Support
U.S.-Nepal trade is small in absolute terms but distinctive. U.S. exports to Nepal include machinery, vehicles, ICT equipment, agricultural products and pharmaceuticals. Nepali exports to the U.S. include carpets and rugs (Nepal's hand-knotted Tibetan-style carpet industry has substantial U.S. retail integration), pashmina and cashmere products (Nepal is a major pashmina source for U.S. premium-apparel retailers), garments and textiles, handicrafts, and tea and coffee. Nepal's modest manufacturing base limits the bilateral trade volume, though U.S.-Nepal trade is structurally important for niche Nepali export sectors. The U.S. Foreign Commercial Service maintains coverage of Nepal from FCS New Delhi with regular Kathmandu engagement.
Investment Opportunities
U.S. investor focus on Nepal centres on the hydropower sector (Nepal has approximately 80,000 MW of theoretical hydropower potential — among the highest hydropower potentials in the world per capita — and U.S. and international investor interest in build-own-operate hydropower projects is substantial, with potential cross-border export to the Indian and South Asian electricity grid), the tourism sector (Himalayan mountaineering-and-trekking, Buddhist pilgrimage to Lumbini, cultural-heritage tourism in Kathmandu Valley), the IT-and-business-process-outsourcing sector (Kathmandu has emerged as a small but growing BPO and software-development hub serving U.S. clients), and emerging fintech investment. SelectUSA programming for outbound Nepali investment into the U.S. is light given the modest private-sector base.
Business Support
The Economic Section at the embassy is the primary U.S. counterpart for U.S. firms operating in Nepal. AmCham Nepal is the standard private-sector counterpart. Coordination runs with EXIM Bank, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the Millennium Challenge Corporation Nepal Compact (the MCC Nepal Compact covers electricity-transmission and roads — a major bilateral commercial vehicle) and the regional FCS office in New Delhi.
Cultural & Educational Programs
EducationUSA at the embassy operates one of the highest-volume EducationUSA centres globally per capita — Nepal's flow of students to U.S. universities is consistently in the top 10 of international source countries despite the country's small population. Fulbright Nepal is administered through USEF (the U.S. Educational Foundation in Nepal, established in 1948 and one of the older bilateral Fulbright commissions in Asia), with strong bidirectional scholar flow. The IVLP, Humphrey Fellowship, Critical Language Scholarship for U.S. students of Nepali, the Boren Awards, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and the broader U.S. exchange portfolio operate at substantial scale. Public-affairs programming includes the American Library and the broader American Spaces network in Nepal, English-language access programming, and substantial youth-engagement work. The historical and people-to-people ties between the U.S. and Nepal date to the 1947 establishment of bilateral relations — the U.S. was one of the earliest non-South-Asian countries to formally recognize Nepal.
Appointment Information
Appointments are mandatory for all visa categories and routine ACS services and are booked through the U.S. consular appointment portal at usvisa-info.com. Wait times can be substantial given the high-volume nature of the post — F-1 student-visa peaks correspond to the U.S. academic calendar (with very heavy May-July demand for fall U.S. start dates), and applicants targeting U.S. fall start dates should book well in advance. The embassy is at Maharajgunj in north Kathmandu — accessible by taxi, approximately 30-45 minutes from Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) depending on traffic, which can be heavy in central Kathmandu.
Special Notes
Nepal uses the Nepali rupee (NPR), pegged to the Indian rupee (INR) at a fixed rate of 1.6 NPR per INR. ATM, contactless and card-payment infrastructure is universal in Kathmandu and Pokhara, with growing adoption in the regional centres. Mobile-payment platforms (eSewa, Khalti, IME Pay, ConnectIPS and the broader Nepali fintech ecosystem) are deeply embedded in the urban economy. Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) is the principal international gateway with extensive U.S.-relevant connectivity through Asian and Middle Eastern hubs (Qatar Airways via Doha, Emirates via Dubai, Etihad via Abu Dhabi, Turkish Airlines via Istanbul, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines via Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong, Korean Air via Seoul, ANA seasonal via Tokyo, plus extensive India connectivity through Air India, IndiGo, Vistara and the Nepali flag carrier Nepal Airlines). There are no nonstop KTM-U.S. mainland routes; U.S. travellers route through Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul or Delhi-Mumbai. The new Pokhara International Airport (PKR) and Gautam Buddha International Airport in Lumbini (BWA) provide additional Nepali international gateways. Nepali (in Devanagari script) is the official language; the embassy operates in English alongside Nepali. The compound at Maharajgunj is in the diplomatic district of north Kathmandu. Documents in Nepali must be accompanied by certified English translations for U.S. visa purposes.