Apply for a U.S. Visa

All receipts for payment of Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fees issued before October 1, 2022, will expire September 30, 2023. There will be no extensions of fee validity. Applicants must schedule an appointment or submit an interview waiver application before September 30, 2023 to avoid paying a new fee. Please note that the interview itself does not need to take place before September 30, 2023, but an interview appointment needs to be made in the system, even if it is scheduled months into the future. Furthermore, applicants using MRV fees paid before October 1, 2022 to book an appointment are cautioned not to attempt to change their appointment dates on or after October 1, 2023. Doing so will result in forfeiture of both the original appointment slot and the MRV fee receipt. The applicant will be required to pay a new fee and submit a new application package.

Select here to learn more about certain individual petition-based visa applicants who are now eligible for waiver of interview.

Secretary Blinken, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, has temporarily expanded the ability of consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for individuals renewing their non-immigrant visas in the same classification. Previously, only those applicants whose non-immigrant visas are still valid or expired within 24 months could apply without an in-person interview. The Secretary has temporarily extended the expiration period to 48 months. Under certain conditions, processing without an in-person interview is also available to first-time non-immigrant visa applicants in categories F, M, academic J, H, non-blanket L, O, P, and Q. This policy is in effect until December 31, 2023 and allows consular sections to review larger numbers of visa requests and cope with post-pandemic backlogs.

Non-immigrant visa applicants who are residents of Latvia and meet the requirements for application without an in-person interview are urged to follow the guidance on interview waiver processing and NOT schedule a visa interview. Note: Application without an in-person interview is only available to residents in the Embassy’s consular district of Latvia (holders of Latvian passports, Latvian residency permits, and Latvian long stay D visas).

All nonimmigrant visa application fee (also known as the MRV fee) payments made on or after October 1, 2022, are valid for 365 days from the date a receipt is issued for payment of the MRV fee. Applicants must schedule an interview appointment or submit an interview waiver application during this 365-day period. Please note applicants must only schedule their interview or submit their waiver application within the 365-day period. There is no requirement the interview must occur during the 365-day period. All receipts for payment of MRV fees issued before October 1, 2022, were extended until September 30, 2023, and remain valid until this date..

The United States Embassy in Riga has resumed normal visa operations for visa applicants who are residents in the Embassy’s consular district of Latvia (holders of Latvian passports, Latvian residency permits, and Latvian long stay D visas).

Nonimmigrant Visas

Due to a limited interviewing capacity the United States Embassy in Riga, Latvia is only able to provide a limited 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 or consider group interview requests from non-resident visa applicants. Please click here for information on visa interview wait times for non-resident applicants.

Non-immigrant visa applicants who are residents of Latvia and renewing their visas and certain first time student and temporary work visa applicants 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.

Emergency appointment requests by nonimmigrant visa applicants not residents 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 be well justified and are reviewed on a case by case bases by the consular section chief.

Immigrant Visas

The United States Embassy in Riga is providing all immigrant visa services for applicants who are residents in the Embassy’s consular district of Latvia (holders of Latvian passports, Latvian residency permits, and Latvian long stay D visas). We have a limited capacity for non-resident interview appointments. If you are not a resident in Latvia and prefer that your interview appointment is transferred from another embassy or consulate to Riga, please send an e-mail to Askconsular-Riga@state.gov and briefly describe case specific circumstances that warrant your case transfer. These requests need be well justified and are reviewed on a case by case bases by the consular section chief. While we are doing our best to accommodate these requests, for workload concerns, we are not able to approve them all.