U.S. visa for Venezuelans in 2026: what's suspended and who can still get one

Two different rules that everyone mixes up

Most pages, and many visa “agencies”, talk about the bond as if it were the whole story. It isn't. There are two separate rules, and the first one decides almost everything.

What's confirmed and what's only reported

• SuspendedEntry of Venezuelan nationals as immigrants and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J visas is suspended. Proclamation 10998, partial restriction.
• OfficialYou may still submit an application and attend the interview, but you may be ineligible for the visa or for admission. U.S. Embassy Caracas.
• OfficialNo visa issued before January 1, 2026 has been or will be revoked because of the proclamation. Proclamation 10998, sec. 8(c).
• OfficialVenezuelans found otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 visa must post a bond of up to $20,000 before it's issued, wherever they apply. U.S. Embassy Caracas; 91 FR 48757.
• OfficialOther nonimmigrant visas (work visas such as H or L, for example) aren't suspended, but officers are told to shorten their validity. Proclamation 10998.
• ReportedNo public procedure exists to request a national-interest exception. NAFSA.
• ReportedBonded travelers must enter and leave through designated airports, and the list has changed since the 2025 pilot. Follow the one in your own bond instructions, not a news article.

Who can still get a B1/B2 visa

1. Dual nationals, on the other passport

   If you're also Spanish, Italian, Colombian, Portuguese or a national of any country that isn't restricted, you can apply and travel on that passport. This is the exception that covers the most Venezuelans. Many qualify for citizenship by descent and haven't claimed it yet: it usually starts with an apostilled Venezuelan birth certificate.

2. People who already hold a valid visa

   Your visa keeps its validity until the date printed on it. You don't need a new one to travel. When it expires, though, a renewal falls under the suspension like any new application.

3. Specific categories

   U.S. permanent residents, diplomats and staff of international organizations (A, G and NATO visas), athletes and coaches traveling for major sporting events, and people already granted asylum or admitted as refugees.

4. National-interest exceptions

   The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security may approve them case by case. There is no form and no fee for this, and no one can sell you one. If an agency says it can “get you an exception”, walk away.

If you qualify: the bond, step by step

1. Apply and attend the interview

   Fill in the DS-160 and pay the visa fee ($185 for B1/B2). The embassy asks applicants to book in their country of residence or nationality. The U.S. Embassy in Caracas doesn't process visas: its Venezuela Affairs Unit works from Bogotá.

2. The officer decides the amount

   If you're approved subject to a bond, the consular officer tells you the amount, up to $20,000, and gives you written instructions.

3. Pay only where the instructions say

   Pay only on the website named in those instructions, and only after the officer tells you to. A bond paid any other way, or before you're told, is the most common scam in this process.

4. Get the money back

   The bond is refunded if you follow the visa's conditions: leave on time, through the airports listed in your instructions. Overstaying, or applying to stay in the U.S. (asylum, for example), can cost you all of it.

If you're already in the U.S.

The proclamation is about issuing visas and entering the country. It doesn't cancel a status you already have. But leaving the U.S. to apply for a new visa now, with no exception available, can leave you outside with no way back. With TPS over, check what options are still open, and talk to an immigration attorney before you travel.

Watch out for “visa processing” offers

While the suspension lasts, anyone charging you to “process” a B1/B2 visa with a Venezuelan passport is almost certainly charging you for a refusal. The $185 government fee isn't refunded either. We don't sell that service, and we'll update this page the day the suspension changes. The status board shows when we last checked.