Colombia Interview Logistics · Updated May 2026
Bogota Immigrant Visa Interview Trip: U.S. Embassy Logistics, Medical Exam, and Passport Return
How to plan the trip to the U.S. Embassy at Calle 24 Bis: the two steps that have to happen before interview day, what to bring, and how your passport gets back to you.
Summary
Your interview is at the U.S. Embassy Bogota, Calle 24 Bis No. 48-50, the only U.S. post in Colombia that issues immigrant visas. Two things must happen first: register your appointment online (this is how the embassy learns where to courier your passport back), and complete the medical exam with one of four embassy-accredited doctors in Bogota. Bring the originals of every civil document; Colombian records stay in Spanish, with no certified English translation needed here. On the day, leave all electronics behind (there is no storage), dress for cold open-air waiting at 2,640 meters, and expect a long wait before a short interview. After approval your passport comes back by courier.
At a glance
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Where | U.S. Embassy Bogota, Calle 24 Bis No. 48-50, Bogota, D.C. It is the only U.S. post in Colombia that issues immigrant visas, and it also handles cases for residents of Venezuela, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Contact: ivbogota@state.gov. |
| Before the interview | Two steps. Register your appointment online at the embassy's visa-info portal (registration is free and is how the embassy learns where to send your passport back), and schedule the medical exam in Bogota as soon as you have your interview date, with one of the four embassy-accredited doctors. |
| Bring (originals) | Your unexpired passport, the NVC interview letter, two color photos (5cm x 5cm, no eyeglasses), the DS-260 confirmation page, original registro civil de nacimiento (birth) and de matrimonio (marriage), the police certificate (Certificado de Antecedentes Judiciales) for everyone 18 and older, the I-864 Affidavit of Support with the sponsor's IRS tax transcript, relationship evidence, and the sealed medical envelope if the doctor gave you one. |
| Translation | The embassy accepts Colombian civil documents in Spanish without a certified English translation. Only documents in a language other than English or Spanish need a certified translation. This differs from a USCIS filing inside the U.S., where the certified English translation is required. |
| Security | Cell phones, computers, cameras, USB drives, large bags, food, and liquids cannot come inside, and the embassy does not store them. The waiting area is open-air, and Bogota sits at about 2,640 meters (8,660 feet), so it is cold and can rain. Attorneys may not enter the waiting room or interview. |
| After approval | The embassy keeps your passport, prints the visa, and returns it by courier only: you either pick it up at a courier office (with ID) or have it delivered, depending on what you select when you register. Pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online before you travel, and enter the U.S. before the visa expires (usually six months from the medical exam date). |
Logistics verified against the U.S. Embassy Bogota immigrant visa interview supplement (U.S. Department of State, updated July 2025), reviewed May 2026. Verify the current details directly before you travel.
The trip, step by step
You do not book the interview yourself: the National Visa Center assigns your date once your case is documentarily qualified. Once you have a date, this is the order to work in. Two of these steps happen before you ever reach the embassy gate, and getting them done early is what keeps interview day smooth.
Step 1: Register your appointment and your passport-return method online
The National Visa Center sets your interview date once your case is documentarily qualified; you do not pick it. As soon as you have the date, register it at the embassy's online visa-info portal (linked from your appointment instructions). Registration is free, and the State Department is explicit that registering is how the embassy gets the information it needs to return your passport after the interview. During registration you choose how the passport comes back: pickup at a courier office or delivery to an address. Do this before interview day.
Step 2: Schedule the medical exam in Bogota with an accredited doctor
Book the medical the moment you have your interview date, because the result has to reach the embassy before you are seen, and the exam is valid for only six months. The embassy accepts results from exactly four accredited doctors: Dr. Rodolfo Jose Dennis and Dra. Maria Rey Salamanca at Fundacion Cardioinfantil (Cra. 13B No. 161-85, Torre H), Dr. Jairo Roa Buitrago at Centro Medico de La Sabana (Cra. 7 No. 119-14), and Dr. Juan Gabriel Pineros at the same Centro Medico de La Sabana for minors only. Results from any other doctor are rejected. Bring your interview letter, valid passport, four color photos, immunization and medical-history copies, the DS-260 confirmation, and a typed sheet with your name, BGT case number, and contact details. Pay the exam, X-ray, and blood-test fees directly to the doctor. If you are handed a sealed envelope, do not open it; carry it to the interview.
Step 3: Assemble your originals in checklist order
The embassy expects originals at the interview even though you already uploaded copies to NVC, and it warns that an incomplete set adds weeks of delay. Stack them in the order on the embassy's printed checklist: NVC interview letter, unexpired passport plus a photocopy of the biographic page, two color photos, the DS-260 confirmation, your original registro civil de nacimiento, the original registro civil de matrimonio if married, the police certificate for everyone 18 and older, the I-864 with the sponsor's IRS tax transcript and proof of U.S. status and domicile, and relationship evidence such as photos and messages. Colombian documents stay in Spanish; you do not need a certified English translation of them for this interview.
Step 4: Interview day: arrive early, travel light, dress for the cold
Get there well before your slot. Bogota traffic is heavy, the line can be long, and the waiting area is open-air at high altitude, so bring a jacket and expect it to be cold or rainy. Leave all electronics and your phone behind, because nothing electronic comes in and there is no storage on site; a companion can hold them, but a companion cannot enter unless you qualify for an interpreter or a special-needs helper. You go through security screening, hand your documents to a window, and then have a short officer interview, mostly basic questions about how you met and your relationship. The whole visit can take several hours; most of it is waiting.
Step 5: After approval: passport returns by courier
If approved, the embassy keeps your passport, prints the visa on a page, and returns it by courier only, by the pickup or delivery method you chose at registration. If you picked pickup, you get an email when it is ready and present ID to collect it (uncollected passports go back to the consular section after 30 days). You may also receive a sealed envelope for U.S. immigration: do not open it, and do not check it in your luggage. Pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online before you travel, and enter the U.S. before the visa expires, usually six months from your medical-exam date. If you must travel inside Colombia while the embassy still has your passport, carry another valid photo ID.
For the apostille and certified-translation rules that apply to your USCIS forms (which differ from the consular interview), see the Colombia apostille and translation guide. For the originals you will be assembling, see the registro civil de matrimonio guide and the Colombia police certificate guide.
Where to stay and getting there
- •Stay near the embassy in the Calle 24 Bis / Avenida El Dorado corridor or in the northern business districts (Chico, Chapinero) and budget extra time, because Bogota traffic is heavy and the embassy itself warns that lines can be large.
- •Bogota sits at about 2,640 meters (8,660 feet). Arrive a day or two early so altitude does not catch you off guard, and pack a jacket: the waiting area is open-air and it is cold and often rainy year-round.
- •Plan where your phone and electronics go before you leave the hotel. Nothing electronic enters the embassy and there is no storage on site, so leave devices at your room or hand them to a companion who waits outside; a companion cannot come in with you unless you qualify for an interpreter or special-needs helper.
- •Book the medical exam at Fundacion Cardioinfantil or Centro Medico de La Sabana for a day before your interview, and confirm whether the doctor will send the result straight to the embassy or hand you a sealed envelope to carry.
What applicants report
Aggregated from the U.S. Embassy Bogota interview supplement, VisaJourney Bogota discussion, and Colombia visa-service interview guides (2024–2026). Real applicant reports, not legal advice; your experience may differ.
Tips from the community
Sort your phone out before you arrive, there is no locker
The single most-asked Bogota question on the forums is what to do with a cell phone. The embassy's own rule is that electronics, including phones, generally cannot enter and the embassy does not store them, and there is no reliable nearby locker. Applicants leave phones at the hotel or hand them to someone waiting outside the gate. Decide the night before, not in line.
VisaJourney US Embassy Bogota cell-phone thread and embassy entry rules, 2024
Dress for cold rain and budget for traffic
Bogota's high-altitude climate and the open-air waiting area mean applicants describe a cold, sometimes wet wait, and Bogota traffic regularly makes the trip to Calle 24 Bis longer than expected. Stay close to the embassy if you can, leave early, and bring a jacket.
Colombia visa-service interview guides, 2024-2025
Bring originals even though NVC already has copies
Applicants are reminded that the embassy wants original civil documents at the window even though the same documents were uploaded to NVC, and that showing up without the full set adds several weeks. Carry the registro civil de nacimiento and de matrimonio originals, not just the NVC copies.
U.S. Embassy Bogota pre-interview checklist and community reports, 2024-2025
Spanish documents do not need an English translation here
Couples sometimes pay for certified English translations of their Colombian birth and marriage records for the interview and then learn the embassy accepts them in Spanish. Save the translation budget for the USCIS-filed forms in your packet, where the certified English translation is actually required.
U.S. Embassy Bogota checklist and Colombia document guidance, 2024-2025
In their words
“Arrive on time. Lines may be large, and traffic in Bogota, Colombia is always a serious issue if you are not staying close to the embassy. The waiting room is outdoors and it's cold and may rain. Please bring appropriate clothing.”
“Cell phone policy at US Embassy in Bogota.”
Sources
- U.S. Embassy Bogota (BGT) immigrant visa post supplement, U.S. Department of State (verified May 2026)
- U.S. Embassy Bogota Interview Guidelines, medical instructions, and pre-interview checklist (PDF, updated July 2025) (verified May 2026)
- U.S. Embassy in Colombia: Important Visa Information (electronics and entry rules) (verified May 2026)
- VisaJourney U.S. Embassy Bogota discussion and Colombia visa-service interview guides (community), 2024–2026
Frequently asked questions
Where is the immigrant visa interview held in Colombia?
At the U.S. Embassy Bogota, Calle 24 Bis No. 48-50, Bogota, D.C. It is the only U.S. post in Colombia that processes immigrant visas, so every CR1, IR1, and K-1 interview happens there. It also handles cases for residents of Venezuela, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. The immigrant visa email is ivbogota@state.gov.
Do my Colombian birth and marriage certificates need an English translation for the interview?
No. The U.S. Embassy Bogota accepts civil documents in Spanish; only documents in a language other than English or Spanish need a certified English translation. This is different from a USCIS filing inside the U.S. (I-130 or I-485), where a certified English translation of every foreign-language document is required. See our Colombia apostille and translation guide for the full nuance.
When do I do the medical exam, and which doctor?
Schedule it as soon as you receive your interview date so the result reaches the embassy in time; the exam is valid for only six months. Only four embassy-accredited doctors are accepted: Dr. Rodolfo Jose Dennis and Dra. Maria Rey Salamanca at Fundacion Cardioinfantil, and Dr. Jairo Roa Buitrago and Dr. Juan Gabriel Pineros (minors only) at Centro Medico de La Sabana. Results from any other doctor are rejected. Pay the exam, X-ray, and blood-test fees directly to the doctor.
Can I bring my phone into the U.S. Embassy Bogota?
Generally no. Cell phones, computers, cameras, USB drives, large bags, food, and liquids cannot come inside, and the embassy does not store them and recommends no outside storage service. Leave your phone at your hotel or with a companion who waits outside the gate. Plan this before you arrive, because there is no locker on site.
How and when do I get my passport back after approval?
The embassy keeps your passport, prints the visa, and returns it by courier only. When you register your appointment you choose pickup at a courier office or delivery to an address. For pickup you get an email when it is ready and show ID to collect it, and uncollected passports go back to the consular section after 30 days. You may also get a sealed envelope for U.S. immigration that you must not open.
What happens if the officer cannot approve my visa at the interview?
Sometimes a case needs more documents or further administrative processing, and the officer hands you a refusal letter with instructions on how to send the documents in. The State Department says most administrative processing resolves within about 60 days, and asks applicants to wait at least 60 days before inquiring. If you live in Venezuela or the ABC Islands, the embassy returns documents via DHL using a prepaid envelope you obtain at a Bogota DHL office.
Can my spouse, attorney, or a friend come into the interview with me?
Attorneys are not allowed into the waiting room or the interview. You may bring one interpreter if you do not speak English or Spanish well enough, or one helper if you are elderly, disabled, or a minor. Otherwise a companion waits outside, which also makes them useful for holding your phone.
Key takeaways
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Every Colombia immigrant visa interview is at the U.S. Embassy Bogota, Calle 24 Bis No. 48-50; it is the only U.S. post in the country that issues immigrant visas and it also serves Venezuela and the ABC Islands.
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Two things must happen before interview day: register your appointment online (which sets your passport-return method) and finish the medical exam at one of the four embassy-accredited doctors within its six-month validity window.
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The embassy accepts Colombian civil documents in Spanish without a certified English translation; the translation is only required for the USCIS-filed forms in your packet, not for the consular interview.
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Leave all electronics behind: phones, cameras, USB drives, large bags, food, and liquids are banned and there is no storage, and the open-air waiting area at 2,640 meters is cold and often rainy.
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After approval the embassy returns your passport by courier only (pickup or delivery, your choice at registration), along with a sealed envelope you must not open; pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online before you travel.
Interview already scheduled?
Jump to the step-by-step trip plan to see exactly what to do before interview day.
View the trip steps ↑Getting your packet ready for Bogota?
Green Card Genius helps consular processing applicants assemble and order the civil documents NVC and the embassy expect, so nothing is missing on interview day. See if it fits your situation.
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