The US Embassy has announced that it will stop handling visa processing at its centers in Lithuania and Latvia starting next month. This means that applicants from Lithuania and Latvia will have to conduct their interviews for immigrant visas at the US embassy in Stockholm.
According to the US embassy, Stockholm has the necessary mechanisms to handle visa requests from seven EU countries and process these requests quickly, VisaGuide.World reports.
From this year, December 2, the US Embassy in Vilnius will no longer provide regular immigration visa services. The US Department of State has designated the US Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden to process Lithuanian residents seeking immigrant visas.
The US Embassy in Stockholm has been handling visa interviews of Danish and Norwegian citizens as of 2023. Starting in December, this list will be expanded to include applicants from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland.
US Embassy in Stockholm to Receive Visa Applicants From 7 Countries For These Types of Visas
The Embassy in Stockholm will be handling applications for immigrant visas, those filed through family reunification or winning a green card lottery. Applicants for a fiancee visa (K visa) and asylum or refugee family member (V92/V93) visas will also have to file their applications in the Swedish center.
The authorities also pointed out that candidates who have already conducted their interviews in Lithuania or any other respective country will receive visas there.
The changes are expected to simplify the process and reduce waiting time, improving the overall experience of visa applicants from the Scandinavian and Baltic countries.
US Issues Thousands of Visas to Applicants From Europe
As the data from the US Department of State reveals, Swedes were approved for the highest number of visas to the US in 2023. In total, the authorities issued 13,491 visas to Swedish applicants, while Danes followed second with 7,656 visas approved.
Norwegian and Finnish applicants were granted 6,968 and 4,425 visas, respectively, both marking significant increases in visa approvals compared to the previous year.
As per Baltic countries, Lithuania has a higher count of approved visas, with 2,948 receiving a positive decision in 2023. Latvia and Estonia, on the other hand, were granted 2,291 and 1,295 visas, respectively.
In total, the US authorities approved over 39,000 visas to applicants from these seven countries, which is considerably higher than the 34,000 approved in 2022.