One of the most worrisome issues for those interested in traveling to the United States is long wait times. This means making an appointment to access the interview required to obtain the visa of the particular country.
This is the longest and most important part of the process as it is the moment when the North American country decides whether the applicant is accepted or not.
read more: US Visa: Severe reduction in time for renewal appointment
An issue that has faded from public opinion in recent months has forced the national government to hold talks with the country to find a solution to reducing service hours.
also, In October of this year, President Pedro submitted a request to the United States to waive tourist visas for Colombians wishing to travel to the territory.
Under these circumstances, the U.S. Embassy recognizes that applicants may face long waits for nonimmigrant visas in Bogotá, particularly tourist and business visas, although they said they have taken steps to expedite the process.
Therefore, the US government regularly updates the average wait time for scheduling an appointment. In this way, the following are the current hours for accessing the visa application interview at the embassy of this country in Colombia located in Bogotá:
read more: Visa to USA: Steps to Apply for First Time or Renewal
In the case of the most common visas, they For B1 (business visitors to the US) and B2 (tourists), the wait time for an interview appointment at the country’s embassy in Colombia is currently 799 days.
In other words, US visa applicants will have to wait Average 2.19 years.
However, as noted above, the waiting time has gradually reduced, with an average of 880 days a few months ago.
However, if the applicant requests a different type of visa, the time is much shorter. In the case of students or visitors who are part of an exchange programme (F, M and J visas) and for temporary petition-based workers (Type H, L, O, P, Q visas), The waiting time for an appointment is only 13 calendar days.
The average waiting time for any type of visa is 23 calendar days if the individual is eligible for an interview waiver (see the US Embassy website).
Please note that the estimated wait time for an interview appointment at a US Embassy or Consulate may change weekly and is based on actual incoming workload and staffing.
The above, the US Government clarifies, are merely estimates and do not guarantee availability of an appointment. Interview Waiver Request Wait Times refers to the average number of days between acceptance of an interview waiver request and a decision by the consular officer. It does not take into account the time it takes to send passports or other documents.
Consular units abroad If there is an urgent and unexpected situation, such as a funeral, medical emergency, or school start date, they may expedite your interview date.
read more: The government will propose to the United States to eliminate the visa requirement for Colombians
The update process is accelerated
The embassy in Colombia explains that they prioritize trips of national interest and continuing trips (for applicants who already have a US visa), “which means that some travelers applying for a first-time visitor visa may have to wait longer. Appointment in some countries”.
As part of the solution, the embassy described that they are working to improve response times in the processing of nonimmigrant visa renewal applications.
In this way, “as permitted by law, we have expanded the types of visa renewal applications that can be processed without an interview. In the last month alone, we have reduced the waiting time for renewal applications from 2.5 years to about a month.”
For people requiring an interview, we can expedite appointments for visas based on “(employment) petitions, students traveling to graduate programs and genuine and documented medical emergencies requiring immediate travel,” the embassy says.
It added: “Non-urgent tourist visa applicants wishing to make an earlier appointment should check our appointment web page to see if earlier appointments are available.”
Mateo Sacon
“Music ninja. Analyst. Typical coffee lover. Travel evangelist. Proud explorer.”
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