Moving to the USA from Guatemala: Visas, Work Programs and Green Cards

Guatemala is not among the 39 countries restricted by Proclamation 10998, which took effect on January 1, 2026. Guatemalans can apply for visitor, seasonal work, student, and immigrant visas.

Immigrant visas have been affected by two pauses:

• Guatemala was also on the list of 75 countries whose immigrant visas were paused starting January 21, 2026. A federal court vacated that pause on August 21, 2026 (CLINIC v. Rubio), and the government has appealed, so the situation can still change.
• Since August 25, 2026, the State Department has paused immigrant visa interviews at US embassies and consulates worldwide while consular officers are trained on public charge reviews. Scheduled interviews were moved to later dates, and no restart date has been announced as of September 2026. Visitor, student, and temporary work visas are not part of this pause. Details: immigrant visa pause.

H-2A and H-2B seasonal work visas are temporary (nonimmigrant) visas and are not part of these pauses.

Guatemala has no E-1 or E-2 treaty with the US, so treaty investor visas are not available to Guatemalan nationals.

For an overview of every route, see our guide to US immigration and how US immigration works.

Guatemala is on the list of countries whose nationals can take H-2A and H-2B jobs. The steps are:

1. A US employer gets a temporary labor certification from the Department of Labor.
2. The employer files a petition with USCIS naming the job and the number of workers.
3. You complete the DS-160 and attend an interview at the embassy in Guatemala City.
4. You travel for the season and must leave when your authorized stay ends.

H-2 rules bar employers and recruiters from charging workers recruitment fees. If anyone asks you to pay for a job offer or a "guaranteed" visa, it is likely a scam. See scam protection and notario fraud.

Yes. Guatemala is not in the Visa Waiver Program, so you need a B-2 tourist or B-1 business visa. Complete the DS-160, pay the fee, and attend an interview in Guatemala City. Show your job, family ties, and funds. Visitors cannot work in the US. The State Department's guidance is to apply for a visitor or other temporary visa at the US embassy or consulate in the country where you live. Applying elsewhere is possible but can make it harder to show you qualify.

Family. Family sponsorship is the main green card route. Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of US citizens have no annual cap. Siblings and married children wait many years. Guatemalans use rest-of-world dates in the Visa Bulletin.

Past time in the US without status. If you ever entered or stayed in the US without authorization, leaving for a visa interview can trigger a 3-year or 10-year bar. Some relatives of US citizens and green card holders can apply for a provisional waiver (Form I-601A) first. Always talk to a licensed immigration lawyer before you travel. See visa denials and waivers.

Diversity Visa. Guatemalans were eligible for DV-2026. Entrants need a high school education or two years of qualifying work experience. The Diversity Visa (DV) lottery is paused: visa issuance stopped on December 23, 2025, and DV-2027 registration never opened. See DV lottery paused.

The US Embassy in Guatemala City (Zone 16) handles all visa categories for Guatemala. It is the only visa post the State Department lists for the country, so applicants from every region, including Quetzaltenango and Huehuetenango, interview in the capital. Bring original documents and their translations. Book appointments through the embassy's website and read our visa interview guide.

For immigrant visas, the State Department's Guatemala page lists:

• Police certificate: Antecedentes from the Ministerio Publico, for applicants 18 and older. You request it online (the portal works from inside Guatemala) and then email the Ministerio Publico with a copy of your DPI (national ID). People living abroad can email directly. Non-Guatemalans who never had a DPI request a different record instead.
• Birth certificate: a Certificado de Nacimiento from RENAP (the national registry), not from the local town hall.
• Marriage and divorce: marriage and divorce certificates, also from RENAP.

Spanish documents need certified English translations.

The largest Guatemalan community is in Los Angeles, California. Other large communities live in Houston in Texas, the New York and New Jersey area, South Florida (especially Palm Beach County), the Atlanta area of Georgia, and Providence, Rhode Island. Guatemalan consulates in the US help nationals with passports and ID cards.