*** Effective January 26, 2021, all airline passengers to the United States ages two years and older must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within three calendar days of travel. Alternatively, airline passengers to the United States may provide documentation from a licensed health care provider of having recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel. Check the CDC website for additional information and Frequently Asked Questions. Waivers to the testing requirement may be granted by the CDC on an extremely limited basis when extraordinary emergency travel must occur to preserve someone’s health and safety, and testing cannot be completed before travel.
Source: https://ec.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information-ecu-2/
Quito
Nonimmigrant Visas: Interview Waiver Cases, F, M, J, C1/D visa applications, as well as limited H, L, O, P, Q, R, and E visa applications. Email consularquito@state.gov to schedule your appointment.
Guayaquil
Nonimmigrant Visas: Interview Waiver Cases, F, M, J, C1/D visa applications, as well as limited H, L, O, P, Q, R, and E visa applications.
Immigrant Visas: All Immigrant Visa Categories.
Waiving the In-Person Interview Requirement
Pursuant to Section 222(h)(1)(C)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and with concurrence of the Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State has temporarily expanded the ability of consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for individuals applying for a nonimmigrant visa in the same classification. Previously, only those applicants whose nonimmigrant visa expired within 12 months were eligible for an interview waiver. The Secretary has temporarily extended the expiration period to 48 months. This policy is in effect until December 31, 2021. Taking these measures will allow consular adjudicators to continue processing nonimmigrant visa applications while limiting the number of applicants who must appear at a consular section, thereby reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission to other applicants and Mission staff.
While we aim to process cases as soon as practicable, currently interview waiver program cases are taking up to six months to process. If you have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately, please follow the guidance provided at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-ec/niv/information/faqs to request an emergency appointment. If you require further assistance please refer to the “Help” section at the bottom of the previous mentioned website.
MRV Fees
The U.S. Mission to Ecuador understands that many visa applicants have paid the visa application processing fee and are still waiting to schedule a visa appointment. We are working diligently to restore all routine visa operations as quickly and safely as possible. In the meantime, rest assured that the U.S. Mission will extend the validity of your payment (known as the MRV fee) until September 30, 2022, to allow all applicants who were unable to schedule a visa appointment as a result of the suspension of routine consular operations an opportunity to schedule and/or attend a visa appointment with the already paid fee. Please continue to monitor this site for information on when we will return to routine visa operations.
Please see these notices which contain detailed information about the current status of visa services worldwide and visa restrictions related to the COVID-19 global pandemic: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/covid-19-visa-services-and-restrictions.html. For general information about visas, please visit our Visa section on this website.
More information: https://ec.usembassy.gov/specific-inquiries-about-visas-during-covid-19/
Last update by HB Studio: September 29, 2021