Hamilton was fastest in all three practice sessions and duly put his Mercedes on pole, two tenths quicker than title rival Sebastian Vettel.
If the Brit wins at the Circuit of the Americas today, Vettel must finish at least fifth to keep the championship fight alive.
Elsewhere, Max Verstappen was one of four drivers who were hit with grid penalties after exceeding engine component allowances.
The Dutchman picks up a 15-place penalty but will only lose 11 spots and start 17th due to the penalties of others.
McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne has received a five-place drop while Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg takes a 20-place penalty and the Toro Rosso of Brendan Hartley will start dead last after a 25-place drop on his debut.
Meanwhile, Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen both received three-place penalties for blocking other cars in qualifying – Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez the respective victims.
With so many penalties applied, the grid will be very different to the initial qualifying results.
Scroll through the gallery above to see how the revised starting grid looks ahead of the US Grand Prix.