- Home
- About us
- Visas and migration
- Travelling to Australia
- Services for Australians
- Doing business with Australia
- Passports
- Study in Australia
- Media
- About Australia
- Events
- Australia-United States of America relationship
Lodging your Application in Washington
You may lodge your application in the following ways:
1. In person. Please consult our hours of operations and holiday schedule.
2. By mail. Our address is:
Immigration Office, Embassy of Australia
1601 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
We strongly recommend that you choose a delivery service that enables you to track the arrival of your package, such as FedEx, UPS, US Express Mail, etc. This will allow you to confirm the delivery of your application to our office.
Likewise, you must include a return self-addressed pre-paid envelope for the safe return of your documents from this office when your visa is finalised.
In order to ensure the timely delivery of your application to this office, please adhere to the following guidelines:
♦ Please address all correspondance to the "Immigration Office". This facilitates the internal delivery of our mail.
♦ Please do not enclose a Registered Mail envelope for the return of your documents as this office does not have the facilities to use this mailing method.
♦ Please note that we are unable to accept overnight return airbills (FedEx) with your credit card number as payment - you must open an account with the overnight company to have your shipment billed.
♦ Please do NOT send Electronic / Musical cards should with applications as this will delay the delivery of your appliction to this office.
Important notes regarding permanent migration applicants:
While we understand that you will be submitting a large amount of documents in support of your application for migration, please do not place them in binders or plastic sleeve folders. Keep all doucuments clipped in a single envelope. Please also do not send video tapes or photo albums but rather make a small selection of photographs.
Payment of Visa Fees
Most visa applications bear a visa application charge. Please refer to the current charges and fees and the Currency Converter to determine the fee associated with your visa application.
Please note the following:
• Payment must submitted in US dollars only.
• Payment must be in the form of a certified cheque, money order or international bank draft (bankable in the USA) or by credit card. We accept VISA, Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club. We do not accept personal cheques.
• Payment must be made payable to the Australian Government.
• Payment must be in the correct amount (eg current applicable charge at the time the application is received in the office).
• Payment is non-refundable regardless of the outcome of the application.
NOTE: If your payment does not meet ALL of the above conditions, we will contact you (by telephone or email in the first instance) with instructions on how to make an acceptable payment. Your application cannot be considered valid for assessment and processing until payment issues are resolved.
Processing Times
Our aim is to finalise your visa applications as soon as we can. We therefore prioritise applications that are complete and urge you to carefully review your application and documents before you send them to this office.
The following link provides you with our approximate target processing times for different visa classes. Please bear in mind that applications may take less or more time depending on the workload, demand and travel season:
Processing time service standards