FILIPINOS applying or renewing for United States visas will notice something new on the sticker foil on their passport pages.

The United States Embassy in Manila announced that visas for both immigrant and non-immigrant applicants would have a makeover, and they will stamp the latest version starting this month.

“The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines will begin issuing the new Bridge visa starting March 2023. Some visa applicants will have visas with a different look,” the Embassy said on their website.

What is a visa foil

Governments have been issuing visas to allow foreigners to enter their countries for leisure, work or study for a limited period. Some countries use a stamp; others have stickers attached to the passport of foreigners.

In the case of the US, their visas are specially designed “foils” machine-readable with biometric identifiers.

The US State Department periodically reviews the visa foil designs to make it more tamper-resistant, reducing US immigration fraud.

In 2006, a total of 2,865 cases of counterfeit US visas were detected at the US port of entry.

Bridge foil visa

The Bridge visa features the iconic San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge and the US flag at the background.

According to the US Customs and Border Protection, the Bridge visa is a “redesigned visa foil” that will replace the Lincoln visa.

“As each Consular Post depletes Lincoln Visa stock, they will begin to issue the Bridge Visa,” the US customs agency explained.

Lincoln foil visas

The Lincoln foil visa depicts President Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Capitol building. It has improved security features in the foil, such as security fibers, detailed printing, and biometric details.

The US has been using this since 2002.

The validity of Lincoln foil visas will remain with the issuance of Bridge foil visas.

The US Embassy said the validity of all Bridge and Lincoln visas is still based on the printed expiration date “unless they have been revoked or canceled.”