Press Release
December 15th, 2020
The U.S. Embassy suspended routine visa services on March 18 of this year due to Covid-19 and, at this time, there is no specific date to resume appointments to obtain a visa.
This means that those who wish to apply for a visa for the first time will not be able to make an appointment for the visa application interview.
Those who have a valid visa that expired less than 24 months ago can go through the application process (fill out the DS-160 form online, pay the $160 and request the appointment) and submit all the documents, including the passport or passports with expired visas, via the Costa Rica Post Office.
As of January, only those whose visa is less than 12 months expired will be able to use this service.
Minors of 14 years or younger whose parents have a valid visa or one recently expired, can also use the service of mailing documents via the Costa Rica Post Office without having to appear at the Consular Section for an interview, even if it is the first time applying for a visa.
Also, those who have urgent matters and must travel immediately, can request an emergency appointment. Instructions for requesting this appointment are at: https://www.ustraveldocs.com/cr/cr-niv-expeditedappointment.asp. Detailed information about the purpose of the trip and the reasons why the request is considered an emergency is required.
