How much a US visa costs from Colombia: every expense in the process

The question sounds simple but it has a catch: the fee you pay the consulate is not the only thing you spend. This guide breaks down every item, which ones are mandatory and which are not, and where the money most people fail to budget for actually goes.

First, about the figures

Consular fees are set by the US Department of State and change periodically. There have been recent adjustments, and printing an exact number here that goes stale in a few months would hurt more than help.

So this article explains what you pay for and how each item works. For the current amount, always check the official site of the US consulate in Colombia or travel.state.gov before paying. That is the one figure that must come from there and nowhere else.

Expense 1: the consular fee (MRV)

The mandatory one, and the largest. It is paid before you can book the appointment: without the receipt, the system will not let you proceed.

Three things worth being clear about:

It is non-refundable. If your visa is denied, nothing comes back. If you change your mind, the same. It pays for processing your application, not for obtaining the visa.

It is per person. A family of four pays four full fees. There is no group or child discount.

It expires. The receipt is valid for a limited period. Leave it too long without booking and you lose it and pay again. This is the most expensive common mistake.

The amount is set in dollars and paid in pesos at the day's rate, so the exact figure in pesos depends on when you pay.

Expense 2: the photograph

Cheap but mandatory. A photo studio that handles visa paperwork will give you the correct format — 2x2 inches, white background — for very little.

You can shoot it at home for free, but if the system rejects it you lose time, and in this process time is the expensive part. If you want to do it yourself, check the exact requirements and what gets it rejected first.

Expense 3: the passport

Constantly forgotten when budgeting. You need a valid passport with at least six months of validity remaining. If yours is close to expiring or you do not have one, that is a separate process with its own cost at the Colombian foreign ministry.

Expense 4: travel

This is where the budget blows up for anyone who does not live in Bogotá.

The consulate serving Colombia is in Bogotá, and the process involves two visits: one to the CAS for fingerprints and photograph, and one for the consular interview. If you live in Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla or anywhere else, that means flights, accommodation and days off work.

For a family, this can easily exceed the consular fees themselves. And if the two appointments fall on different days, it doubles.

What does NOT cost anything

Worth stating plainly, because there is confusion and there are people charging for it:

• Filling in the DS-160 is free. You do it yourself on the official site.
• Booking the appointment is free. It is included once the consular fee is paid.
• Rescheduling is free. You can change it from the portal, up to a limited number of times.
• There is no payment to "speed up" the process with the consulate. Nobody inside the consulate charges for that.

If someone charges you for any of these four as though it were an official requirement, it is not.

The expense nobody budgets for: waiting

This appears on no list, but it is real.

If you need to travel in March and the system gives you an appointment in November, you have three options: postpone the trip, lose what you already booked, or find an earlier appointment. The first two cost real money.

It is the reason our service exists. The consulate releases slots continuously as other people cancel or reschedule, but they appear without warning and get taken within minutes.

And what we charge

To be clear about where we fit: VisaBot charges nothing for the official process. You pay the consular fee directly to the consulate; we neither touch nor intermediate it.

We charge 600 COP for each day we move your appointment up, plus 300 COP per day for each additional person on the same appointment. And only if it works: if your appointment is not moved up, you pay nothing. No activation fee, no monthly charge.

A concrete example: if your appointment was in March and we get you one the previous September, that is 180 days gained — 108,000 COP, charged once.

Budgeting summary

Check the consular fee amount at the official source before paying. It is the only item on this list that changes without notice.