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Worldwide Caution: The Department of State advises Americans worldwide to exercise increased caution.

U.S. Visa Services
Visit the United States

NOTICE

Applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas should schedule their visa interview appointments at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence or nationality.  Visa application fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. For more information, visit travel.state.gov.

All individuals applying for an A-3, C-3 (if a domestic worker), G-5, H1-B, H-3, H-4 dependent of H-1B and H-3, F, M, J, K-1, K-2, K-3, Q, R-1, R-2, S, T, or U nonimmigrant visa are instructed to adjust the privacy setting on all social media accounts to “public” or “open” to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under U.S. law. More information is available at travel.state.gov.

Pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 10998 on Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States, which takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 1, 2026, the United States is suspending or limiting entry and visa issuance to nationals of 39 countries as well as individuals applying using travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority.  Applicants who are subject to Presidential Proclamation 10998 may still submit visa applications and attend scheduled interviews, but they may be ineligible for visa issuance or admission to the United States. For additional details, visit travel.state.gov.

Effective immediately, the Department of State has paused all visa issuances to diversity immigrant visa applicants. For additional details, visit travel.state.gov here.

Notice

Ukrainians in Latvia seeking travel to the U.S.

From the Embassy

Nonimmigrant Visas

Due to a limited interviewing capacity the United States Embassy in Riga, Latvia is only able to provide a small number of nonimmigrant visa services to people who are not resident in Latvia. We are not able to serve non-resident applicants for exchange visitor, student and temporary work visas (including treaty traders/investors requesting E visas) or consider group interview requests from non-resident visa applicants. Please check our website for information on visa interview wait times for non-resident applicants.

Non-immigrant visa applicants renewing their visas are urged to follow the guidance on applying without an interview and NOT schedule a visa interview. Note: Application without an interview is only available to residents in the Embassy’s consular district of Latvia. We strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to select visa processing without an interview. For clearly approved applicants, this is the fastest way to receive a visa without a personal visit to the Embassy.

Emergency appointment requests by nonimmigrant visa applicants not resident in Latvia:

We are generally not able to consider emergency (expedited) appointment requests from non-resident visa applicants who are not living in Latvia. We have limited capacity to assist Ukrainian, Belarussian, and Russian applicants who need to travel immediately. In this case, please follow the guidance at ustraveldocs.com or contact the call center at +371-6609-2000 for information on how to request an emergency appointment. These requests need to be well justified and are reviewed on a case by case basis by the consular section chief.

What is a Visa?

A citizen of a foreign country who seeks to enter the United States generally must first obtain a U.S. visa, which is placed in the traveler’s passport.

Certain international travelers may be eligible to travel to the United States without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program, which is administered by the Department of Homeland Security DHS. 

The Visa section of this website is about U.S. visas for foreign citizens and nationals to travel to the United States.

Visit Travel.State.gov for additional information.

Note: U.S. citizens do not need a U.S. visa for travel to the United States. When planning travel abroad a U.S. citizen may need a visa issued by the embassy or consulate of the country they wish to visit.

What Type of Visa Do You Need?

For short-term visits to the United States (for tourism, business, education, and more), you can go directly to the online application (form DS-160) for nonimmigrant visas. For immigrant visas,  which are issued to foreign nationals who intend to live and work permanently in the United States, you can visit the U.S. citizenship and Immigration Services site for the relevant forms.  If you are unsure what type of visa you need, please use the Visa Wizard below. 

Our Location
The map below shows where we provide consular services.

Contact Us

The Contact Center is operated under contract with the U.S. Department of State by Stanley Associates Inc. (CGI Federal).

  • Telephone in Latvia: +371-6609-2000, Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. local time, except holidays
  • Telephone in the United States: +1-703-520-2565, Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, except holidays
  • E-mail: support-latvia@usvisascheduling.com
  • Skype and online chat is accessible from the website: www.ustraveldocs.com

E-mail: askconsular-riga@state.gov (For case-specific visa inquiries only. Visa applicants should use above Contact Center assistance for routine visa processing questions.)

VISA INTERVIEWS (by appointments only)

  • Nonimmigrant visa interviews are conducted by appointments only Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8:45 am – 11:30 am, except Latvian and U.S. public holidays.

 

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