The United States Embassy in Ecuador resumed its interview program for the issuance of visas.
In a statement, the entity indicated that maintaining biosafety measures, users of consular services will be asked to present the certificate of vaccination against Covid-19 before entering the facilities of the Embassy or Consulate General.
The Embassy said that the availability of future visa interview appointments and the ability of consular officials to process them safely are subject to the epidemiological situation in Ecuador. This, because the potential effect of the new Omicron variant is evaluated.
Both the Embassy in Quito and the Consulate General in Guayaquil will begin to accept a controlled number of new requests for the Interview Waiver Program (IWP), as conditions allow before Covid-19, in the first months of this year.
Consular officials temporarily suspended the acceptance of visa renewal applications in June 2021.
Despite this suspension, the entity pointed out that, since March 2020 (the beginning of the pandemic), more than 150,000 non-immigrant visas have been granted to Ecuadorians. This figure is higher than the number of visas processed by almost all other US embassies and consulates around the world.
The institution added that the current demand for visas is extremely high and the waiting time for a routine interview for tourist visas is more than a year.
Student, work and exchange visitor visas, as well as humanitarian emergencies, continue to be a priority for the Embassy and Consulate. These applicants are eligible for expedited interview appointments.
The Embassy suggested to those interested
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