US visa wait times in Colombia
Colombia has one US post that issues visas — the embassy in Bogotá — and that single post carries an unusual double load: all of Colombia’s demand plus the Venezuela Affairs Unit, which has processed Venezuelan visa cases since the Caracas embassy closed in 2019 (and continues to while Caracas’s consular section is rebuilt). That double duty is the structural reason Bogotá’s visitor-visa queue is one of the longest in the hemisphere.
The table below refreshes automatically from the State Department’s official report.
Current wait times at Embassy Bogotá
| U.S. post | Visitor B1/B2 — interview wait | B1/B2 — next appointment | Students (F, M, J) | Work petition (H, L, O, P, Q) | Crew / transit (C, D) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bogota | 11 Month | 9 Months | 2.5 Months | < 0.5 Month | < 0.5 Month |
Source: U.S. State Department Global Visa Wait Times (source last updated 2026-06-18; retrieved 2026-07-13). Waits are estimates and change without notice — verify at travel.state.gov.
The interview-wait column is what recently interviewed applicants experienced; the next-appointment column is the first open slot today. Note the contrast between the visitor queue and the student/work columns — they are effectively different lines with different lengths.
How Colombians (and Venezuelans) should read this
- Visitor-visa applicants: the long queue is structural, not seasonal. Book the moment your plans firm up — the line moves in months, not weeks. Documented emergencies can justify an expedited appointment through the scheduling system.
- Students and petition-based workers: your columns run dramatically shorter. The headline B1/B2 number is not your number.
- Renewals: check the interview-waiver questionnaire before joining the interview line — qualifying renewals skip it.
- Venezuelan applicants: your case interviews here too. See the Venezuela page for the state of the Caracas transition.
Related information
- Colombian consulates in the US — procedures in the other direction
- US visa wait times for Venezuela — the Bogotá connection explained
- Paths to legal status
- Wait times in other countries
Last verified: 2026-06-11.
General procedural information for educational purposes. Not legal, tax, or immigration advice. Laws and fees change — verify with the issuing agency before taking action. For case-specific guidance, consult a licensed immigration attorney or other appropriate professional.