Visa Services

U.S. Visas Fees And U.S. Non-Immigrant Visa Application Procedures (Apr 4)

Welcome to the Consular Section of the United States Embassy in Panama City.  The Visa Unit provides immigrant and nonimmigrant visa services to applicants in Panama.

Nonimmigrant visas are for people visiting the U.S. temporarily for tourism, business, education, medical treatment, or petition-based employment.  The type of visa required depends on your purpose of travel. The Non-Immigrant Visa (NIV) Unit processes more than 36,000 applications each year.

Immigrant visas are for applicants planning to permanently relocate to the United States. The Immigrant Visa (IV) Unit processes over 600 IV applications and fiancé(e) and spouse visa applications each year, reuniting families as intended by U.S. immigration law.

We hope that you will find our website useful.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: The Department of State manages the visa process strictly but fairly in order to best protect the United States.  We are committed to the essential openness for which the United States has always been known.  Travel to the United States is welcomed and encouraged.  To read the rest of our customer service statement to visa applicants, please click here.

PORT OF ENTRY QUESTIONS: If you would like to discuss issues that you have faced at U.S. ports of entry or difficulties you have encountered while entering the U.S., please visit the Department of Homeland Security’s Travel Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP).  DHS TRIP is a single point of contact for individuals who have inquiries or seek resolution regarding issues like being denied entry to the U.S., delayed airline boarding, or being continuously referred to additional (secondary) screening.

FRAUD PREVENTION: Please note that all email correspondence from the U.S. Department of State will come from addresses with the domain "@state.gov."

Furthermore, all U.S. government email correspondence will come from a domain terminating in ".gov." Occasionally we receive reports that fraudulent emails have been sent on behalf of the U.S. Department of State regarding a "Diversity Visa Lottery Program."  These emails originate from and direct correspondents to non-government email domains, such as "@yahoo.com" or "@hotmail.com" or "@gmail.com." 

If you believe you have received a fraudulent email correspondence or know of any information that you believe would help us to stop fraud, please contact us at Panama-FPU@state.gov. Your information will be treated anonymously and will be kept strictly confidential. For more information about how to protect yourself from fraud, please click here.