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Booking a U.S. Visa Appointment in Central America
Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama all book through AIS (ais.usvisa-info.com), not USTravelDocs, and each has exactly one consular post, in its capital.
We already established on paying the U.S. visa fee in Central America that the six official fee pages are byte-for-byte identical, and that only the cash network differs. We checked whether the appointment side behaves the same way. It does — with one consequence that costs people a trip.
We read the six AIS country sites on 18 September 2026.
None of the six tells you where biometrics happen
All six publish the same Applicant Service Center text, word for word:
Applicants who are required to appear in person at the ASC and the Consular Section must schedule the ASC appointment at least one day before the Consular interview.
And all six stop there. Not one of the six publishes an ASC address.
Other posts we have read do publish it. Colombia and the Dominican Republic both publish theirs — Santo Domingo's is in the Sambil shopping centre, which is nowhere near the embassy. Central America publishes the rule without the place, exactly as Peru and Ecuador do.
Two practical consequences:
- The address appears when you book. Read the confirmation and instructions page, and do not assume the centre is at the embassy.
- Do not borrow a neighbour's address. Six countries with identical wording is precisely the situation where a forum post about Guatemala gets applied in San Salvador.
Bring to the ASC: your current passport, valid six months beyond your intended date of entry; the DS-160 confirmation page; and the appointment confirmation and instructions page printed from the booking site.
Where each post is
| Country | Post | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Guatemala | U.S. Embassy Guatemala City | Boulevard Austriaco 11-51, Zone 16 |
| Honduras | U.S. Embassy Tegucigalpa | Avenida Los Próceres, Calle Bustamante y Rivero |
| El Salvador | U.S. Embassy San Salvador | Blvr. Sta. Elena, Nuevo Cuscatlán |
| Nicaragua | U.S. Embassy Managua | Km 5.5 Carretera Sur |
| Costa Rica | U.S. Embassy San José | Calle 98 Vía 104, Pavas |
| Panama | U.S. Embassy Panama | Edif. 783, Ave. Demetrio Basilio Lakas, Clayton |
One post per country means there is no second calendar to compare. Booking early is the only real lever, and the expedite routes below are the only exceptions.
The security rules are not in the booking system — and they are in six different places
This is the part that catches people who expect the consistency to continue. AIS itself says only that applicants need an appointment and that everyone is screened. For what you may actually carry, it sends you away to your own embassy — and the six embassies do not even organise those pages the same way:
| Country | Where the security rules live |
|---|---|
| Guatemala | gt.usembassy.gov/visas/important-visa-information/ |
| Honduras | hn.usembassy.gov/items-prohibited-in-the-embassy/ |
| El Salvador | sv.usembassy.gov/visas/important-visa-information/ |
| Nicaragua | ni.usembassy.gov/visas/important-visa-information/ |
| Costa Rica | cr.usembassy.gov/nonimmigrant-visas/ |
| Panama | pa.usembassy.gov/visas/ |
Three of the six sit at the same path; three do not. Honduras gives prohibited items their own dedicated page.
We have not compared what those six pages say. We verified that the booking system is identical across the six and that each embassy hosts its own rules separately — we did not read all six security pages, so we are not going to tell you the rules are the same. On the evidence from elsewhere in this cluster they very likely are not: posts in one system routinely publish opposite rules about the same object. Open the link for your country before your interview.
Fees and the expedited pilot differ too
Two things that do not follow the "all six are identical" pattern:
- Panama pays through Western Union; the other five pay through Airpak. Details on paying the U.S. visa fee in Central America.
- The $750 expedited appointment pilot was published by Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras on 18 August 2026. El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama had not published it as of 15 September 2026. Do not assume yours by proximity — see the expedited interview fee.
Those two facts, plus the missing ASC addresses, are the whole answer to "is my country the same as my neighbour's?" Mostly yes, and the exceptions are the expensive part.
Why no slots appear
- The fee has not activated. Cash can take up to two business days to register — check the Central America fee guide.
- You have not booked the ASC yet, or booked it on or after the interview date rather than at least a day before.
- There is genuinely no availability. With one post per country, there is nowhere else in the country to look.
- You created a profile on USTravelDocs instead of AIS. It will never show Central American appointments — see which appointment site is yours.
- The DS-160 was saved but never submitted, so no confirmation number exists.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the biometrics centre in Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador?
None of the six Central American countries publishes an ASC address. The location appears on your appointment confirmation and instructions page when you book.
How early must I do biometrics?
At least one day before the consular interview. This is identical in all six countries.
Is there more than one place to interview in my country?
No. Each of the six has a single consular post, in the capital.
Are the security rules the same in all six?
We do not know, and we would not assume it. Each embassy publishes its own list at its own address — Honduras even has a dedicated prohibited-items page. Open your country's link before you travel.
Does Panama work the same way as the others?
For appointments, yes. For fees, no — Panama pays through Western Union while the other five use Airpak.
Which countries have the $750 expedited appointment?
Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras published it on 18 August 2026. El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama had not as of 15 September 2026.
Official sources
- AIS country sites for Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama — consular section and ASC pages, all read 18 September 2026