Tourism and vaccines: everything you need to know to obtain or renew a visa to travel to the United States

Since some air routes were reestablished to destinations such as Miami, New York, Los Angeles, among others, many Argentines have started planning their trip to the United States, both for tourism and to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. In view of the restrictions adopted by the government of this country due to the pandemic, A key point is what happens to those who do not have an entry visa and to those who have it but need to renew it. The procedure has not changed substantially since, Last March, the US Embassy resumed processing applications; the difference lies mainly in the granting periods.

To apply for the visa, the first step is to complete the DS-160 Affidavit, a procedure that can be done online at the official US government website, and takes about half an hour. the second step This will involve entering the Visa Information Service where you will need to register with an email, and create a username and password. Once you have registered, you must choose the category of visa requested.

The most common is category B. For professional or tourist reasons corresponds to B1; while for medical reasons, B2. But the country also offers a combination of the two called B1 / B2. To obtain these visas, a payment of $ 160 is also required. The latter, B1 / B2 is the most convenient for those who wish to travel to the United States to be vaccinated.

In 2020, the total number of visas granted to Argentinian citizens was 91,094, less than half of that of 2019, when a total of 222,043 were processed. The bottom answers that in March of last year, at the start of the pandemic, the US State Department has suspended the issuance of routine visas worldwide as health prevention. Since then, American embassies around the world have maintained a reduced service for emergencies or extraordinary.

It was not until March 2021 that the consular section in Argentina gradually and on a limited basis resumed non-maintenance visa applications. The latter case is that of people who have already had a visa and whose expiry date does not exceed 48 months, those under 14 years old and those over 80 years old.

People who have never had a visa for the United States will be able to start the process, pay the fees and even coordinate an appointment, but The latter will be subject to the decision of the US government to lift the restriction on the granting of new visas, and to authorize its consular sections to reprocess these requests. There is no date set for this.

If the restriction is not lifted, the appointment requested by a person applying for the visa for the first time will be canceled as the date approaches.

On the other hand, due to the limited staff currently available to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, very few visa renewals or maintenance free applications can be processed. There is a delay of more than a year: nowadays, positions are only granted for July 2022. Under normal conditions, the time to get an appointment was about 45 days, reaching two months in period of high demand,

From the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, they reported that since many applicants have already completed the procedures and paid for the visa but are still waiting to be able to schedule their interview, it was decided to extend the period of validity of the fee paid, known as MRV fees, until September 2022.

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