US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will hold talks with members of Egypt's military-backed government on Monday, as rival protesters vowed to stage mass rallies, dpa reported.
Burns becomes the first US official to visit Cairo since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
"In all these meetings, he will underscore US support for the Egyptian people, an end to all violence, and a transition leading to an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government," the US State Department said.
Burns, who will be in Cairo until Tuesday, will also meet civil society and business leaders.
Backers and opponents of Morsi plan mass rallies coinciding with the visit.
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sissi has defended his decision to remove Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, saying the military heeded the will of millions of people who took to the streets in early July to demand he step down.
Morsi remains in detention at a secret location. His Muslim Brotherhood group has vowed not to cooperate with the new government and wants Morsi reinstated.
Egypt's prosecutors have frozen the assets of leading members of the Brotherhood, whose leaders also face charges of inciting violence. Dozens have been killed in clashes since the army's overthrow of Morsi on July 3.
There has also been a rise in violence in the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
Gunmen attacked a bus carrying workers in Sinai's town of al-Arish, killing two people and injuring 17, security and medical officials said.
A security official said a rocket-propelled grenade fired by the gunmen missed a military vehicle guarding the bus.