Changes in Visa Services due to Covid-19

For non inmigrant applicants (updated on April 22, 2022):

Notice: Information Regarding Health Protocols at U.S. Embassy Guatemala

The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City requires all visitors to the Embassy to wear a mask that covers the mouth and nose while inside Embassy installations. Please note that for security and identification purposes, Embassy staff may ask visitors to briefly lower their mask. Visitors are also requested to follow all other instructions during their visit. Any visitor who does not follow health protocols may be asked to reschedule their appointment.

To protect the health of all embassy staff and visitors, it is asked that if you feel sick, you should send an email the day prior to your interview to the following address Support-guatemala@ustraveldocs.com with the subject “rescheduling appointment due to sickness.” You may also contact the Embassy by telephone at 2376 1978 to reschedule your appointment for health reasons. Your new appointment will be scheduled soon, thus it is asked that you monitor your email for messages from the Embassy.

Overview

Due to the ongoing pandemic and for the safety of our customers and staff, the United States Embassy in Guatemala City remains unable to resume all routine nonimmigrant visa services at this time. We will resume routine visa services as soon as possible but are unable to provide a specific date.

The U.S. Mission to Guatemala understands that many visa applicants have paid the visa application processing fee and are still waiting to schedule a visa appointment. We are working diligently to restore all routine visa operations as quickly and safely as possible. In the meantime, rest assured that the U.S. Mission will extend the validity of your payment (known as the MRV fee) until September 30, 2023, to allow all applicants who were unable to schedule a visa appointment as a result of the suspension of routine consular operations an opportunity to schedule and/or attend a visa appointment with the already paid fee. Please continue to monitor www.ustraveldocs.com/gt for information on when we will return to routine visa operations.

For applicants who have yet to pay their application fee and will require a routine visa interview, your wait for an appointment may well be one year or more into the future. As well, applicants using our interview waiver program will also see substantial wait times to schedule their drop off appointment at a Cargo Expreso location. You may not be able to submit your application for four months or more from the date you pay your fee. As these timelines are apt to change, please continue to check back at this website for updates.

As always, if you have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately, please follow the guidance provided at http://cdn.ustraveldocs.com/gt/gt-niv-expeditedappointment.asp to request an emergency appointment.

Specifics

The Embassy continues to process applications for the following visa categories for:

For more information please visit www.ustraveldocs.com/gt or contact our call center at 2376-1978 (from Guatemala) or (703) 745-5477 (from the United States). You can also email your inquiries to support-guatemala@ustraveldocs.com.

Please note that effective November 1, 2021, all documents sent or received at most Cargo Expreso branches will be charged a fee that is currently USD $10.40 (Q81.64) per applicant/shipment, which will be paid directly to Cargo Expreso. This will apply to any new or already in-process visa applications. If you wish to process your documents at no cost, you must return to your profile and update the document delivery location to Agencia Zona 10, which is marked as “free of charge.”

For more information and details about these new services, please click here .

For immigrant visa applicants:

The U.S. Embassy is currently processing immigrant visa cases as efficiently as possible following State Department and local health and safety guidelines. The safety of our applicants and staff remains our top priority. We ask for your continued patience as we work as quickly as possible under the present extraordinary conditions to resolve our existing backlog of cases. For an explanation of how cases are being prioritized, please visit: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/immigrant-visa-prioritization.html

If your case involves an emergency situation, then the processing of your case may be expedited. To request an expedited appointment, please email a scanned letter or statement and proof of the emergency circumstances, where applicable, to GuatemalaIV@state.gov.

The Embassy also continues to process I-131A (Application for Travel Document), for those permanent legal residents whose card was lost, stolen, or destroyed. For further information, email GuatemalaIV@state.gov.

If your appointment has been rescheduled or cancelled and you have already paid an immigrant visa application fee, this fee is valid for one year after the first interview.

For more information please visit www.ustraveldocs.com/gt or contact our call center at 2376-1978 (if calling from Guatemala) or (703) 745-5477 (if calling from the U.S.) You can also email your inquiries to support-guatemala@ustraveldocs.com