Embassy of the United States Paramaribo, Suriname

Earlier appointments are accommodated on a case by case basis. While we will consider requests for earlier appointments on in extremely emergent circumstances, our caseload and staffing will also affect our decision.

We are only able to expedite appointment dates in cases of an emergency (e.g. health conditions, death of next of kin, emergency business travel, students).

If your travel regards one of the above-mentioned conditions, and all available interview dates are in conflict with your anticipated travel, please e-mail us at caparamar@state.gov :

• 1. Confirmation page of your DS-160
• 2. Appointment confirmation sheet (if no appointment has been made yet, please do so on any available interview date through our website: http://suriname/usembassy.gov Appointments should be made per individual).
• 3. Information regarding the purpose of travel (e.g. invitation letter, letter of the business conference, I-20)

You will be contacted by the Consular Section as soon as possible if found eligible for an emergency appointment. 

If you already have a valid U.S. visa in your passport, and the passport is valid for less than six months, we advise that you refer to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov/

Although citizens of Suriname should only have a passport valid for their intended period of stay, the Customs and Border Protection Officer has the sole jurisdiction to grant or deny admission to the United States.

If you need to apply for a new visa to the United States, a passport must be valid for at least 6 months after your interview. Passports should have at least one blank page (without stamps) available to attach a visa. If your passport is still valid, but you have no available pages, you should obtain a new passport.

It is not possible to transfer a visa from one passport to another without making a new visa application. Please note that the Embassy no longer issues visas valid "indefinitely". If you are issued a new visa it will have a maximum validity of five years.

If you obtain a new passport, and your valid visa is in your old passport, you can travel with both passports and there is no need to apply for a new visa.
Note: If, when canceling your old passport, the passport authority has clipped the corners of the passport, and, in so doing, has damaged the visa in any way, that visa is no longer valid and cannot be used for travel to the United States.

If you travel to the United States visa free under the Visa Waiver Program, you may remain for up to 90 days. This period cannot be extended. If you travel to the United States on a visitor (B-2) visa, the period of time you will be allowed will be determined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at the port of entry. Initially they can grant a stay of six months which can be extended for a further six months at their discretion. The U.S. Customs & Border Protection has sole jurisdiction over such matters.

A B-1 visa, or visa free travel is appropriate if you will utilize recording facilities for recording purposes only; the recording will be distributed and sold only outside the United States; and, there will be no public performances.

Student, Exchange and Practical Training FAQs

Please note that students may no longer begin studies at a U.S. school while awaiting adjudication of a change of status application. Students who have not yet received their I-20 or DS-2019 form simply have to wait until they have received all their documents from their school, along with a letter from the school stating that the student may start classes late, then apply for a regular F-1, M-1, or J-1 visa. Once you apply, we will make every effort to get you the visa in time for you to make your scheduled start of classes.

We are required by law to recover the cost of processing nonimmigrant visas through the collection of visa application processing fees, also called Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fees.  The cost-of-service model is updated annually to determine direct and indirect costs to the U.S. government when providing all consular services, such as nonimmigrant visa processing.  This update was completed in December 2011 using an activity-based cost model, which is standard for estimating the cost of government services. 

The activity-based cost model takes into account all costs to the U.S. government, including a major cost driver:  visa workload volume.  Items that impact the model include an increase in the number of visas processed or new regulations requiring additional security screenings.  The model also includes costs of major Department initiatives, particularly those related to meeting the increase in demand for nonimmigrant visas.

The $160 fee also includes the unrecovered costs of processing Border Crossing Cards for certain Mexican citizen minors.  By law, the fees for Border Crossing Cards for minors are frozen at $13 (not including other statutory surcharges).  However, the cost of processing these applications is much greater

The December 2011 cost-of-service model update shows that certain categories of nonimmigrant visas cost more to process than other categories of nonimmigrant visas.  The new fees reflect the costs of each visa service.

The MRV processing fee is paid by all visa applicants, worldwide, with certain limited exceptions, for example, those pertaining to government officials. It must be paid in advance, whether or not the visa is granted.