The U.S. State Department recently announced that visa sanctions against Laos have been lifted by the Biden Administration. As a result, Lao citizens may now apply for visas to enter the United States. These include temporary visas such as student visas, tourist visas, work visas, etc., as well as immigrant visas filed by family members and U.S. employers.
These visa sanctions were imposed pursuant to INA Section 243(d) by the Trump Administration to pressure the Laos government to accept more deportees from the U.S. Currently, sanctions remain in place for some senior officials of the Lao PDR government.
The State Department asks visa applicants to be patient, as routine visa appointments will remain very limited in the near future due to a large volume of backlogged cases and current COVID-19 social distancing protocol.
Immigrant visas to the United States are processed for citizens and residents of Laos at the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane.
The Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee (aka the fee to schedule an interview) validity is extended until September 30, for individuals who paid an MRV fee but were unable to schedule and/or attend an interview during the suspension of services.
Questions can be directed to the U.S. Embassy Vientiane Consular Section at CONSLao@state.gov.
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