The State Department provides a tool for non-immigrant visa applicants to check how long it might take to schedule a visa interview at their respective U.S. Consulate or Embassy. In order to use this tool, applicants can relocate to the State Department website and scroll to the “U.S Visas” tab on the top half of the website. From here, users can scroll down the page and Visa Appointment Wait Time tool.
In this blog, we will cover some of the interview wait times from different U.S. Consulates in different regions of the world. As Omicron begins to level out, but in some cases is still spiking in countries around the world, consular operations are absolutely effected in their ability and speed at which they can interview applicants safely while following U.S. Department of State protocols.
For more information, please see details below:
Mexico
Trying to receive a visitor visa to the United States right now in Mexico City will be extremely difficult. The current wait time spans 500 days for an interview, noting the high quantity of visitor visa applications that go through this consulate. Applicants waiting for a student/exchange visa interview have an approximate wait time of 10 days, while all other non-immigrant visa applicants (H1-B) have an expected wait time of 37 days for a visa interview.
Canada
Canada has varying non-immigrant visa appointment wait times depending on where residents are living in the country. For example, Montreal is only processing non-immigrant visa applications if they are “Emergencies Only” and don’t provide wait times at all. Filing in Quebec, students/exchange applicants and H1-B applicants have a visa appointment wait time of 77 days. And in Vancouver, all other types of non-immigrant visa applicants have the highest appointment wait time of 408 days for a visa appointment.
United Kingdom
The U.S. Embassy in London is processing non-immigrant visas at a fairly quick pace amid the spread of Omicron. Students/exchange applicants only have to wait approximately 4 days for a visa interview appointment, while all other types of non-immigrant applicants have an appointment wait time of at least 60 days.
Thailand
The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok is currently processing non-immigrant visas to the United States. Those applying for a visitor visa (Thailand is not a member of the VWP) have an average appointment wait time of 100 days, or just over 3 months. Student/exchange appointment wait times and other non-immigrant appointment wait times are scheduled within 3 days.
Brazil
For Brazilian citizens, there are two major consulates in both Rio de Janeiro and also in Sao Paulo. The Consulate General in Sao Paulo only processes non-immigrant visa applications while the one in Rio processes immigrant visa applications as well. Therefore, wait times are slightly longer in Sao Paulo for a non-immigrant visa appointment. Currently, student/exchange visa applicants have to wait 13 days for an appointment in Rio, and 57 days for the same type of appointment in Sao Paulo. In addition, H1-B applicants will have a longer visa appointment wait time in Sao Paulo.
Colombia
The U.S. Embassy in Bogota is backlogged currently and not operating at full capacity. As such, students/exchange applicants seeking a visa appointment have an estimated wait time of 110 days for a visa interview, while all other non-immigrant visa applicants have an approximate wait time of 76 days.
India
India has five different U.S. Consulates or Embassies. Indian citizens generally apply at the U.S. Consulate based on their state of residence. For this reason, it is important to check the appropriate consulate that will pertain to your case. Currently, New Delhi is only issuing visitor visas to the U.S. on an emergency basis, and has a fairly fast visa interview wait time for students/exchange interview applicants at 57 days. In addition, H1-B applicants have an interview wait time of 26 days. Hyderabad has a much slower interview wait time period for both H1-B applicants and students/exchange visa applicants. The current wait time is 150 days for both categories.
To see more country details, please visit the State Department website and follow the above instructions to see different Visa Appointment Wait Times.
