A passport from Bosnia and Herzegovina does not qualify its holder for ESTA. For a temporary U.S. holiday, visiting relatives or qualifying business travel, the usual route is a B-1/B-2 visa. Three things deserve separate attention: the passport you hold, the country where you live, and whether you are visiting temporarily or seeking permanent residence.
Sources checked on September 10, 2026. This article focuses on visitor applications, including Sarajevo and applicants resident abroad. The featured cover is AI-generated illustrative artwork.
Choose the route using your citizenship and residence
Bosnia and Herzegovina is absent from the U.S. Visa Waiver Program list. Holding a European residence permit does not make a Bosnian passport eligible. A dual citizen with a qualifying passport, such as a Croatian passport, may have a different option, but must meet every program condition.
For example, a Bosnian citizen employed in Germany and holding only a Bosnian passport should examine the visitor-visa route. A Bosnian-Croatian dual citizen should first assess the qualifying passport, the purpose and duration of the visit, and any individual ESTA restrictions. These examples explain the distinction; neither residence nor a second passport guarantees U.S. entry. USAGov’s ESTA guidance provides the official starting point.
Does the immigrant-visa pause affect a tourist application?
Bosnia and Herzegovina appears in the Department of State’s immigrant-visa issuance pause notice. That notice expressly separates immigrant applications from tourist visas: the stated pause does not apply to tourist visas.
This matters when reading headlines. An immigrant visa is for moving permanently; a B visa is for an eligible temporary visit. The exception for tourist visas does not promise that a particular B application will succeed, and it does not authorize using a visitor visa to bypass permanent-residence rules. Reopen the official notice if your travel purpose changes or if a family immigration case is also pending.
The visa-bond list reviewed for this guide does not name Bosnia and Herzegovina. That is a statement about the published list checked today, not a permanent exemption from future policy changes.
Sarajevo or your country of residence?
The Department’s visa-issuing post directory lists Sarajevo for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Begin with the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo when arranging an application there. Check its current visa-service instructions rather than relying on an old appointment-provider link.
Applicants settled abroad should read the nationality-or-residence scheduling policy. It directs interviews to the country of nationality or residence and requires applicants using the residence option to demonstrate residence. Fees for applications outside those locations are not refundable or transferable, and appointments can take longer.
A useful decision exercise is to write down where you legally live, which post handles that location, and where you can realistically remain while a passport is retained. Someone working abroad may also need the passport for their return journey. Ask the receiving post about case handling before arranging cross-border travel; a cheaper flight is only one part of choosing an interview location.
Visa duration, entries and charges for Bosnian citizens
Under the
Official U.S. visitor visa information: Department of State visitor visa guidance.