Application Process

How to Apply

1. Check your passport.
2. Make an appointment for an interview.
3. Pay the application fee at Banco Uno.
4. Fill out the application forms.
5. Come to your interview.
6. Visa Renewal.

1. Check your passport to make sure it is current and valid for at least six months beyond the date you plan to enter the United States.

2. Make an appointment for an interview. Our call center is open from 7 am to 9 pm Monday through Friday and from 9 am to 3 pm on Saturdays. To make an appointment from within Guatemala, please follow the instructions below:

Go to a BANRURAL branch and purchase a Personal Identification Number (“PIN”), which currently costs Q96 for 12 minutes of calling time. Your BANRURAL PIN is valid immediately after purchase. You may then use your PIN to call 1-800-300-0023 to schedule your appointment for a visa interview. If you use this option and you are in the middle of scheduling your appointment when your time runs out, you will not be disconnected. You will be allowed to remain on the line until your appointment is made. This option might be best if you have a large family (yourself and up to 5 family members), are applying for a special type of visa (like a student visa or a work visa), or have numerous questions about the visa application process.

NOTICE: TelePunto (TELEFÓNICA) Phone Cards Will No Longer Be Used to Access Visa Information Service

If you are currently in the U.S. and you would like to make an appointment for a visa interview at the embassy in Guatemala City, you may use your credit card to pay for your call to our appointment call center.  You should:

• Dial 1-866-730-2088.
• Press 1 to be transferred to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala.
• Select the type of credit card you are using (1=Visa, 2=Mastercard).
• Enter the 16 digits of your credit card.
• Enter the 4 digits of your credit card’s expiration date.
• The charge of approximately US$5.00, depending on the current exchange rate of the Mexican peso, will appear on your next credit card statement.
• Your call will be transferred to an agent who can make your appointment and give you information about the non-immigrant visa application process.

3. Go to Banco Uno and pay the MRV application fee, which is currently US$131 (effective January 1, 2008). This payment covers the cost of processing your application. The Bank will print your name on the receipt. You must bring the receipt to your visa interview. The receipt is good for one year from the date of purchase, and it is non-refundable in the event of loss, theft, or destruction. (NOTICE: The cost to apply for a visa is US$131. However, if you pay in Quetzales, please note that the exchange rate on any given day may vary and may result in a slightly higher cost.)

4. Complete the necessary application forms. All applicants for non-immigrant visas must complete a DS-156, the basic application form for all categories of non-immigrant visas. The form must be filled out completely, and applicants must attach a recent photo. The photo can be color or black and white. It must be 2 inches by 2 inches with a white background. The face must take up 50% of the photo, ears and forehead must be uncovered, and the photo should be taken without earrings or a hat.

 

Some of the items listed below are in (PDF) format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to be viewed. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, you must download the version that is suitable for your system from the Adobe website.

Get Adobe Reader

 

 

The electronic visa application form DS-156 is available online:

in English at http://evisaforms.state.gov
in Spanish at http://evisaforms.state.gov/instructions_spanish.asp.

You should use these websites to complete your form before printing it out.  Your application information will be stored in a 2-D barcode, which will print out as the third page of your application. You should bring all three printed pages of the application form to the interview. When you arrive at the embassy with the printed form and barcode, your processing time will be much shorter.

Following is a list of USAID-sponsored Internet cafes throughout Guatemala.  These centers have Internet access, computers, and printers that you can use to complete your electronic visa application form.

Additionally, all male non-immigrant visa applicants between the ages of 16 and 45 must complete a form DS-157. This form can be filled out online at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/79964.pdf.

5. Come to your interview.

6. Expedited Visa Renewal. We would like to facilitate more rapid visa processing for those applicants who have previously been issued B-1/B-2 visas which were valid for 5 or 10 years. If you possess such a visa and it expired within one year of your planned reapplication date, please advise the Call Center and ask them to schedule your visa appointment within the time block set aside each day for prior visa holders. Similarly, if your B-1/B-2 visa will expire within 6 months, you should ask the Call Center to schedule your appointment for this same time block. Finally, you also may use this time block if your passport has expired, the old passport contains a valid visa, and you wish to have the visa in your new passport.

In all cases, without exception, you must present your valid or recently expired visa at the time of your interview, as well as fully document your strong ties to Guatemala to demonstrate that you qualify for a visa at this time. If you do not have the previously issued visa, you cannot use this time block.