Important information for regarding COVID-19:  As of March 19, 2020, the United States Embassy in Cabo Verde is cancelling routine American Citizen Services, immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments.  We will resume routine services as soon as possible but are unable to provide a specific date at this time and will be in contact with applicants already scheduled. The nonimmigrant visa fee is valid and may be used for a visa application in the country where it was purchased within one year of the date of payment.  If you have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately, please contact PraiaConsular@state.gov.

Entry into the U.S. of non-LPR foreign nationals who were present in the People’s Republic of China, not including the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, the Islamic Republic of Iran, or the 26 countries that comprise the Schengen Zone within 14 days prior to their arrival at the port of entry in the United States is suspended, per Presidential Proclamation.  

 

After you have completed the steps on the Immigrant Visa Process on usvisas.state.gov, including paying the necessary fees and submitting the required immigrant visa application form (DS-160), Affidavit of Support, and supporting documents to the National Visa Center (NVC), they will review your file for completeness. Once your case becomes qualified for an interview, NVC will work with us to schedule an interview appointment for you.

You can learn more about the interview process on usvisas.state.gov.

Preparing for your Interview

Once you are scheduled for an interview at the Embassy, you will be contacted with a list of documents that you will need to bring to your interview. Some of these documents may have been provided in the past but are often expired by the time an interview is scheduled. Documents that often need to be resubmitted include:

• A Cabo Verdean Police Certificate showing a full criminal record for the applicant if one exists.
• A Police Certificate showing the same from any other country in which the applicant resided or spent more than six continuous months.
• A Medical Report from one of the Embassy’s approved panel physicians.
• A Military Certificate from the Cabo Verdean Military for any male applicants between the ages of 18 and 35.
• Any Marriage, Divorce, or Death Certificates relevant to the relationship with the petitioner or to the relationship between the applicant and an accompanying family member (ex. parent, child, spouse).

Interview Day

On the day of your scheduled interview, please arrive at the Embassy at the time designated on your appointment confirmation.

Security

You will be required to pass through a security screening before entering the Consular Section waiting room. You will not be allowed to bring a cell phone or other electronic device into the waiting room and the Embassy will not hold your phone for you. Please make arrangements for someone to hold you phone for you outside the Embassy or leave your phone at home the day of your interview.

Wait Times

The Consular Section makes every effort to minimize wait times on the day of an applicant’s interview. However, given the volume of visa applicants seen on a typical interview day, you can expect to wait before you are called up for an interview with the Consul. The Embassy recommends you do not schedule other important business on the morning of your visa interview.

Parking at the Embassy

The U.S. Embassy in Praia does not provide parking facilities to members of the public seeking consular services. The Embassy strongly recommends that those seeking consular services plan to utilize public parking or arrive by taxi.