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, a travel document issued by the traveler’s country of citizenship or nationality.
Certain international travelers may be eligible to travel to the United States without a visa if they meet the requirements for visa-free travel under the Visa Waiver Program. The Visa section of this website is all about U.S. visas for foreign citizens to travel to the United States. If you cannot find what you are looking for here, please visit Travel.State.gov for additional information.
Note: U.S. citizens do not need a U.S. visa for travel to the United States, but 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.
Do You Already Know What Type of Visa You Need?
For nonimmigrant visas, you can go directly to the online application for the DS-160; or for immigrant visas, directly to the USCIS site for the relevant forms. If you are unsure, please use the Visa Wizard below to help you determine your visa type.
Please Note
Please visit our Global Support Services (GSS) website for complete information on applying for a nonimmigrant U.S. visa, including a directory of nonimmigrant visa categories.
Due to the global pandemic, the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Panama is able to process B1/B2 visa renewals via authorized courier through the Interview Waiver Program only.
Additionally, we are scheduling limited in-person appointments for certain non-immigrant visa services, including the following categories: A, G, C3 (diplomatic), C1/D (crew member), E2 (investor), I (media), P (athletes), O (extraordinary abilities), F and M (students), J (students), H and L (work visas).
All visa services are subject to relevant Presidential Proclamations and U.S. court orders as noted at this link: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news.html. While the U.S. Embassy Panama aims to process cases as soon as possible, there may be increased wait times due to staffing limitations.
If you have an urgent need to travel – such as an emergency affecting the health or welfare of a visa applicant or immediate family member– please email Panama-Visas@state.gov and explain your emergency.
The U.S. Embassy in Panama will extend the validity of your payment (known as the MRV fee) until September 30, 2022, to allow all applicants who were unable to schedule a visa appointment as a result of the suspension of routine consular operations an opportunity to schedule and/or attend a visa appointment with the already paid fee.
