Overview
Please confirm whether or not you need to apply for a visa. You may not need to apply for a new U.S. visa if you already hold a valid U.S. visa or are a national of a AMERICAN VISA FROM LATVIA Waiver Program participating country.
If you do need to apply for a nonimmigrant visa and if you are physically present in Latvia at the time of application filing, please follow the steps below.
How to Apply
Step 1
For Nonimmigrant Visa applicants:
Determine your visa type by reading Common Nonimmigrant Visas. Each visa type explains the qualifications and application items. Choose the visa type that applies to your situation.
Be sure to also review the Visa Waiver Program. If your country participates in the Visa Waiver Program, you do not need to apply for a visa if you are traveling for business or pleasure and will only be staying in the Unites States for 90 days or less.
Step 2
The next step is to complete the DS-160 Form. Be sure to read the Guidelines for Completing the DS-160 Form carefully. All information must be correct and accurate. Once the form is submitted, you cannot make any changes. If you need assistance, please consult an immigration lawyer or translator. The call center cannot help you complete your DS-160. You will need your DS-160 number to book your appointment.
Step 3
Once you have determined the correct visa type and completed the DS-160, you must pay the visa fee. The visa fee page lists the visa types and correlating visa fee in U.S. dollars and local currency.
To pay your visa fee, read the Bank and Payment Options page URGENT EMEGENCY VISA FOR US. This page explains how to make your visa fee payment. You will create a profile and must keep your CGI reference number to book your visa appointment.
Step 4
Now you will need to log in to your profile with the same credentials you used to pay your visa fee. Once you are in the system, you will see your dashboard.
Click on Schedule Appointment on the left-hand side menu.
This will start the process for scheduling your appointment. You will need:
- Your passport number.
- The CGI reference number from your Visa Fee receipt. Click here if you need help finding this number.
- The ten (10) digit barcode number from your DS-160 confirmation page.
As you go through the process you will be able to select your visa type, enter personal data, add dependents, confirm visa payment, and schedule your interview appointment. If you are renewing your previous U.S. visa that is still valid or expired less than 24 months ago, you may be able to mail-in your documents to the Embassy without a visa interview.
Step 5
Use SIA Velokurjers e-services page or contact SIA Velokurjers by e-mail at velokurjers@velokurjers.lv or tel. +371 200 00041 to arrange your visa delivery to you. The subject line of your e-mail should be – U.S. visa application delivery request.
SIA Velokurjers will provide guidance on payment options for the visa delivery service and send you an e-mail with your address label information. You will have to print this label and glue it on an envelope. You MUST bring this envelope with you for your visa interview and submit it to the Consular Section along with your passport and visa application documents.
If you select the option to renew your visa without a visa interview, Use SIA Velokurjers e-services page or contact SIA Velokurjers by e-mail at velokurjers@velokurjers.lv or tel. +371 200 00041 to arrange your document delivery to the Embassy AND your visa delivery to you.
Please note!
- ALL visa applicants are required to use only SIA Velokurjers services for sending and receiving their documents to/from the Embassy.
- Each application/individual MUST have a separate address label. The courier’s security and safety rules require separate tracking of each passport.
- Groups of applicants and family members may NOT use one envelope, address label, or tracking number for all their application documents.
Step 6
Visit the U.S. Embassy Riga on the date and time of your visa interview. Be sure to check the Schedule My Appointment page for the necessary documentation needed for your appointment.
Step 7
If your visa is approved, your documents including the passport with the visa will be sent to you in your envelope with the address label from SIA Velokurjers.
- proof of legal residence in the USA. Original of valid US alien registration card (permanent residence permit, green card) or valid US resident visa. The US residence permit or visa should be valid at least three months beyond the intended departure from the territory of the Schengen Member States;
- purpose of entry – an invitation (including the invitation number approved by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs), either invitation letter or document proving an organized trip. NB! When applying for short term visa at the Consulates General of Poland in Los Angeles and Houston or Consulate General of Lithuania in Chicago, please inform in advance your inviting party in Latvia to form the official invitation in the English language;
- documents in relation to accommodation (hotel reservation or an invitation approved by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs if staying with the inviting party);
- means of transportation (round trip ticket or ticket reservation);
- sufficient means of subsistence for the duration of the intended stay (records of bank account transactions in the past 3 months; credit card together with turnover printouts; letter from employer regarding salary);
- information which confirms your intention to leave the Schengen area (letter from the employer or an educational institution);
- pre-paid, self-addressed secure mail envelope (FedEx, UPS, DHL to return the passport) or Money Order made out to the Embassy of Latvia or paid by bank card at the Embassy in the amount of 30 USD to send your passport with visa by FedEx overnight shippment.Visa application should be submitted at least 15 business days before the intended visit and no earlier than 6 months prior.
- Please note:
- U.S. citizens do not need a visa to travel to Latvia if their stay does not exceed 90 days in a half year. After the expiry of the maximum permitted duration of stay – 90 days within any 180-day period – the third-country national, without leaving the territory of Latvia, can extend his/her stay in Latvia for up to another 90 days depending on the period laid down in the bilateral visa waiver agreement between Latvia and the respective country.
- After the expiry of the time period laid down in the Schengen Convention and respective bilateral agreement, the third-country national must leave the territory of the Schengen area or the territory of Latvia, if he/she is entering another member state of the Schengen area with which his/her country of nationality has signed a bilateral visa waiver agreement.
- A repeated entry into Schengen countries including Latvia is possible after a 90-day interval subsequent to leaving the Schengen area. This also applies to cases when the third-country national has not used up all the duration of stay provided for in the bilateral visa waiver agreement.
- The third-country national is under obligation to provide proof of his/her stay outside the Republic of Latvia for at least 90 days after the expiry of the permitted length of stay, if this is not proved by border crossing stamps.