Arrival paperwork

The Italian Embassy in Washington: Consular Services for Americans (2026)

By Vincenzo GrecoFacts checked October 24, 2026

Who it serves

DC; Montgomery and Prince George's counties (MD); Arlington and Fairfax counties, Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax city (VA)

Address

3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Visits

By appointment only; visas and passports booked on Prenot@mi

National visa fee

$133.60 (€116), October 1 to December 31, 2026

Visa office

Monday to Thursday, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.; visti.washington@esteri.it

Consular phone lines

+1 (202) 612-4421 or 612-4423, weekdays 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Apostilles

Issued by US authorities, not the embassy

What the embassy does, and what its consular office does

Most of the Embassy of Italy's offices in Washington do diplomatic work, from security policy and trade to press and defense.

Services for the public sit in one part of the building, the Consular Office. It handles visas, documents and records for people who live in its district. The embassy states that consular services are provided exclusively on the basis of residence, so your home address decides which office you use.

Who the consular office serves

As the embassy lists it (updated October 14, 2026), the Washington consular office covers:

• the District of Columbia
• Maryland: only Montgomery and Prince George's counties
• Virginia: only Arlington and Fairfax counties and the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax

The rest of Maryland and Virginia belongs to the Consulate General in Philadelphia. Philadelphia's older jurisdiction map (January 2025) shades the city of Alexandria as its own, so Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax city residents should email the consular office to confirm before booking. Elsewhere, one of the other 9 offices serves you: see Italian consulates in the US.

National visas

US citizens need no visa for stays in Italy of up to 90 days. Longer stays need a national (type D) visa; the check on vistoperitalia.esteri.it shows which type.

1. Book on Prenot@mi, the Foreign Ministry's booking portal, between 6 months and 15 days before departure.
2. Email first for some visas. Elective residence and digital nomad applicants must contact visti.washington@esteri.it before booking.
3. Confirm the booking on Prenot@mi. The booking page asks you to confirm at least 10 days, and no later than 3 days, before your scheduled departure date.
4. Apply in person with every document on your visa's checklist. Incomplete files are refused, and you must book again.
5. Give fingerprints. National visa applicants have been fingerprinted since January 11, 2025. A Foreign Ministry decree of May 8, 2025 exempts G7 citizens, Americans included, applying for study visas. The embassy's visas page still says all national visa applicants are fingerprinted, so study applicants should ask the visa office how to file.
6. Collect the passport in person. The visa office does not mail passports back; a third party with legal authority may collect it.

The visa FAQ gives 7 to 15 days of processing in general, with no rush service. The elective residence checklist says up to 90 days. After arrival, you have 8 working days to apply for your permesso di soggiorno (residence permit) at the questura (state police immigration office).

The visa office receives the public Monday to Thursday, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., by appointment. One FAQ answer says until noon, so go by your appointment time. For booking across all offices, see Italy visa appointments.

Codice fiscale for non-Italians

The codice fiscale (Italian tax code) identifies you in dealings with Italian offices. The embassy issues one to district residents who need it for the Italian government or for taxes. The condition: the activity must not require you to be in Italy.

You send:

1. Form AA4/8 and the embassy's application form for non-Italian citizens
2. A copy of your birth certificate, with a certified translation if it is not in English or Italian
3. A copy of your passport's photo page
4. Current proof of residence in the district
5. A prepaid, self-addressed USPS Priority Mail envelope, addressed as on your proof of residence, plus a photocopy of it

Requests go through the FAST IT portal, by email, or by mail. If you are moving to Italy on a visa, it sends you to the questura or the Sportello Unico per l'Immigrazione (prefecture immigration desk). The codice fiscale guide covers every route.

Translations, legalization and apostilles

Italy and the US both belong to the Hague Apostille Convention of October 5, 1961. The embassy says documents moving between the two countries no longer need embassy legalization. An apostille replaces it.

US authorities issue apostilles, not the embassy:

• DC documents: the DC Government Notarial Section
• Maryland documents: the Office of the Secretary of State, in Annapolis
• Virginia documents: the Secretary of the Commonwealth, in Richmond
• Federal documents, such as FBI background checks: the US Department of State's Office of Authentications

The consular office does not translate documents. It certifies that a translation matches the original, for US documents issued in its district or by a federal institution. Translate only after the apostille is attached; the apostille itself needs no translation. Translations you make yourself are refused.

Certification takes 2 steps: an emailed PDF pre-check, then the originals by mail. The instructions, updated June 26, 2026, are written for citizenship-by-marriage files. See apostilles for Italy and translating documents.

What it costs

Fees are set in euros and charged in dollars at a quarterly exchange rate. For October 1 to December 31, 2026, the rate is €1 = $1.1516:

Make money orders and cashier's checks out to "Embassy of Italy, Washington DC". For visas, exact cash also works; personal checks and cards do not. For other services, debit cards work only from the 1st to the 25th of each month.

How to reach the consular office

These numbers come from the offices page (updated October 6, 2026), the only one that gives calling hours. The newer consular network page (updated October 14, 2026) lists +1 (202) 612-4450 instead. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but consular visits are by appointment only. There is no parking on site. The embassy is closed November 26 and December 25 and 26, 2026.

What the embassy does not do

• Serve other districts. The visa office may cancel appointments booked by residents of other districts.
• Issue apostilles. US documents for Italy no longer need embassy legalization; the apostille replaces it.
• Offer notary services to non-Italians. The notary office serves Italian citizens living abroad only.
• Take walk-ins. Urgent passport cases are scheduled by email.

Services for Italian citizens

Italian citizens living abroad for more than 12 months must register with AIRE (Anagrafe degli Italiani Residenti all'Estero, the registry of Italians abroad). The deadline is 90 days after moving. Registration is free and done online through FAST IT, without a visit. Since a law of December 30, 2023, the penalty for not registering is up to €1,000 per year, for up to 5 years. Passports require AIRE registration and a Prenot@mi appointment.

Common problems and fixes

Prenot@mi errors or a locked account. The embassy's portal FAQ advises a desktop or laptop, Chrome or Edge, and no web translator. A locked account unlocks after 24 hours. That FAQ (updated June 16, 2026) also says only citizenship-by-descent applications must be booked there; the visa and passport pages still send you to Prenot@mi, so follow them.

No reply to an email. Applicants in this district report slow or automated replies. As the embassy asks, write to one office only, include your full personal details, and do not resend.

AIRE status unclear. Italian citizens in the district report confusion over whether they are registered. Log in to FAST IT to check; creating an account alone does not register you.

An apostille sent to the embassy. The embassy cannot issue it. Send the document to the US authority listed above.

Do you need help with this?

Most people in the district can book a visa or request a codice fiscale on their own. It gets harder when several family members need appointments, or when documents must be apostilled, translated and certified by a fixed date.