Entry into the United States of noncitizens who are not U.S. LPRs and who were present in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, or Zimbabwe within 14 days prior to their arrival at the port of entry in the United States is suspended, per Presidential Proclamation. Applicants with impending travel due to extreme humanitarian emergencies may contact ConsularHarare@state.gov. All Centers for Disease Control (CDC) orders pertaining to vaccination and testing requirements still apply. There are very limited exceptions for diplomats (A and G visa holders) and air and sea crew (C1/D visa holders).

To reduce introduction and spread of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, CDC issued an Order effective January 26, 2021, requiring all air passengers arriving to the US from a foreign country to get tested for COVID-19 infection before their flight departs and to provide proof of the negative result or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 to the airline before boarding the flight. For more information on this testing requirement, see the CDC’s Frequently Asked Questions.  

Additionally, Starting November 8, 2021, at 12:01AM Eastern Standard Time, foreign national air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the United States, with only limited exceptions.

• The CDC has determined that for the purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include those FDA approved or authorized, as well as vaccines with an emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO).  See cdc.gov for more details. Of vaccines available in Zimbabwe, only the Russia-produced “Sputnik V” does not meet this requirement.
• Fully vaccinated air travelers will continue to be required to show documentation of a pre-departure negative viral test from a sample taken within three days of travel to the United States before boarding. That includes all travelers – U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs), and foreign nationals.
• To further strengthen protections, unvaccinated travelers – whether U.S. citizens, LPRs, or the small number of excepted unvaccinated foreign nationals – will now need to show documentation of a negative viral test from a sample taken within one day of travel to the United States. 

Please visit Travel.State.Gov for more details, including information about children travelers, and answers to frequently asked questions about the new proof of vaccination policy. 

This new air travel policy will replace the geographic Covid-related Presidential Proclamations that broadly prohibit travel to the United States for foreign nationals present in one of 33 countries in the 14 days before traveling to the United States. Those Presidential Proclamations will remain in effect through November 7, 2021. They are described in the next paragraph. 

To protect the public health, there are four presidential proclamations that suspend entry into the United States of all noncitizens who were physically present in any of 33 countries during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States. They are Presidential Proclamation 9984 (China); Presidential Proclamation 9992 (Iran); Presidential Proclamation 10143 (Schengen Area, United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, and South Africa); and Presidential Proclamation 10199 (India). Physical presence includes a flight layover where you get off the plane. For a full description of these Presidential Proclamations and potential exceptions to them, please visit Travel.state.gov. Because Zimbabwe is not currently under a COVID-related Presidential Proclamation and flights are available from Harare that do not layover in impacted countries, The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe does not routinely issue National Interest Exceptions to these Presidential Proclamations. 

COVID-19 and VISA Services    

We are only accepting applications from residents of Zimbabwe at this time. Non-resident applicants cannot currently apply for a U.S. visa in Zimbabwe and should reach out to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate closest to their place of habitual residence resumes visa services.  

The pandemic continues to impact the number of visas we are able to process. We are making significant efforts with constrained resources to safely process visa applicants. The health and safety of our workforce and applicants remains paramount. We are implementing safeguards to keep staff and applicants safe, including mandating physical distancing in our waiting rooms, scheduling fewer interviews, and following local health and safety regulations. These measures have reduced our visa processing capacity. Applicants should expect delayed response times and slow processing times. By law, the Consular Section prioritizes services for American Citizens and Legal permanent Residents first, followed by Immigrant visa cases, followed lastly by non-immigrant visa cases.  

Please check for open appointments at the Visas webpage of the U.S. Embassy in Harare.

Payment of visa fees can be made only in USD cash.  

Visas that are approved are typically ready in three to five business days.  

The issuance of a visa is never guaranteed, and we urge applicants to not make travel reservations until they have received a visa. 

 Rainy Season Notice 

One of our measures to protect our applicants and staff is to allow fewer applicants into our waiting room at one time. This means we must ask applicants to wait outside. As the rainy season approaches, we advise you that not all outdoor waiting areas are covered. We urge applicants to bring umbrellas, which they will be allowed to bring into the outdoor waiting area in our courtyard. You must leave your umbrella in a receptacle at the entrance of the actual waiting room since they are not allowed inside the waiting area.

 Requests for Expedited Non-Immigrant Visa Interviews 

If you are not able to find an open appointment and your case meets the requirements for expedite listed below, please email ConsularHarare@state.gov and we will try to schedule an appointment. Due to the volume of requests, if you do not receive a response from us, it is because your case does not meet the requirements for an emergency expedited appointment. Cases that are eligible for expedite include student visa travelers, exchange-visitor visa travelers, petition-based work visas, those traveling for emergency medical treatment, and those attending the funeral of a loved one in the United States. Examples of cases that we unfortunately cannot expedite include travel to attend a wedding, a graduation, to take a university-aged child to school, or to visit a grandchild. These applicants should continue to look for open appointments on our website.

 If you are an F or J visa applicant requesting an expedite, please include your SEVIS ID# in the body of your email and include a scan of your I20 or DS2019. If you are requesting an expedited appointment for a petition-based work visa, please include a scan of the petition in your email. 

Applicants are responsible for knowing what supporting documents they need, as well as how much money they’ll need to pay, what type of photo is needed, and all other required supporting documents for their visa class. Requirements for all visa classes can be reviewed at the U.S. Visas page of Travel.state.gov.  

The issuance of a visa is never guaranteed, and we urge applicants to not make travel reservations until they have received a visa. 

The purpose of your intended travel and other facts will determine what type of visa is required under U.S. immigration law. As a visa applicant, you will need to establish that you meet all requirements to receive the category of visa for which you are applying.

See our Directory of Visa Categories on usvisas.state.gov to determine which visa category might be appropriate for your purpose of travel to the United States.