Mobile consular days: the consulate that travels to your town
There are 25 Guatemalan offices for the whole of the United States, so for many people the consulate is three, five or even eight hours from home. Mobile consular days exist for exactly that reason: the consulate travels to the towns in its district with the largest communities and handles the most requested procedures there. For a family in Yakima, Siler City or Guymon, that turns a whole day’s journey into a morning. This guide covers what can be done at a session, which cities host them, how to find out the dates and how to prepare so you do not lose your slot.
Contents
What mobile sessions are
They are visits organised by a consulate to another town in its district. A temporary office is set up —in a church, a school, a community centre— and consular staff serve people there for one or more days.
It is not a lesser service or a second-class consulate: it is your own consulate, on the road. And for Guatemalan communities living far from the big cities it is, in practice, the only realistic way to complete a procedure without losing two days of work.
Which procedures are handled
It depends on the session, which is why the announcement has to be read in full. The most frequent:
- Guatemalan passport, first issue and renewal.
- TICG, the consular ID card.
- Civil registry: registrations and certificates.
- Birth registration for children born in the US.
- Powers of attorney and legalisations, at some sessions.
- Consular guidance: which procedure you need and which documents you will be asked for.
Which cities host them
Each consulate picks the towns in its area with the largest communities. These are the ones mentioned on this site’s own consulate pages:
- Atlanta → Gainesville and Hall County, with its Q’anjob’al community.
- Raleigh → Siler City and Asheboro, in Chatham County.
- Omaha → Schuyler, Lexington and Hastings, meatpacking towns.
- Seattle → the Yakima Valley, during the harvest.
- Chicago → Aurora, Waukegan, Rockford and Milwaukee.
- Columbus → Cincinnati and Dayton.
- Nashville → Murfreesboro, Smyrna and Gallatin.
- Houston → Pasadena, Sugar Land, Katy and San Antonio.
- Dallas → Irving, Grand Prairie and Oak Cliff.
- Phoenix → Yuma and Tucson.
- Oklahoma City → Guymon and Tulsa.
- Maryland → Langley Park, Hyattsville and Alexandria.
- Riverhead → Brentwood and Central Islip.
- Denver → Greeley and Fort Collins.
- Seattle → Portland (Oregon), which has no consulate of its own.
The list is not fixed: it changes with demand and with each office’s resources.
How to find out the dates
- Official social accounts. @EmbaguateUSA on Facebook and Instagram posts sessions across the network.
- The Embassy’s site: embaguateusa.gob.gt.
- Your consulate, by phone. Ask every time you call, even if you are calling about something else.
- Community organisations: parishes, associations and groups often hear first, because sometimes they provide the venue.
Be wary of accounts or people "selling" a slot at a session. Booking is free as a consular service: you only pay the fee for the procedure.
How to prepare
A session packs days of work into a few hours, so organisation matters even more than at the office:
- Read the whole announcement: which procedures are covered, whether booking is required, the hours and the exact address.
- Book as soon as it opens, if the system requires it. Slots go fast.
- Bring every document and a copy of each. At a session there is no time to go home for a piece of paper.
- Confirm the accepted payment method. It can be more limited than at the consulate.
- Arrive early, even with a booking.
- If several of you are going, check everyone’s documents the night before.
They count as going to the consulate
A common question: yes, a procedure completed at a session has exactly the same standing as one done at the office, because the same consular staff carry it out. The timings are the same too: a passport applied for at a session takes as long as any passport, because it is printed in Guatemala.
And on districts: the session is run by your consulate, so if you are within its territory, you are in the right place. Check which one covers you in which consulate covers me.
What not to expect from a session
- Not every procedure is available. Complex cases may need the main office.
- It is not a permanent office: if a document is missing, you will have to wait for the next one or go to the consulate.
- It does not replace consular protection. Emergencies go through the 24-hour duty number.
- There is no guarantee of fixed dates. Sessions are arranged according to demand and resources, and can change.
If there are none in your area
Raise it, but with numbers. What helps a consulate consider a new session:
- A group making the request: an association, a parish, a community organisation.
- An estimate of how many people would attend and which procedures they need.
- An available venue, with room to wait and some privacy.
- A stable contact the consulate can coordinate with.
In the meantime, if your city has no consulate, look at the nearest options in the list of offices.
Consular assistant
Still have a question?
Ask the assistant about your specific case: requirements, timings and what to do when what you need is not explained anywhere.
Frequently asked questions about mobile consular days
Do I need an appointment for a mobile consular day?
Usually yes, or at least prior registration. Each session is organised with its own system, so the first thing to do is read the announcement: it says whether you have to book, how, and which procedures will be handled. Do not assume you can turn up and wait.
Can I get a passport at a session?
Passports are among the procedures usually handled, along with the consular ID and civil registry work, but it depends on what each session announces. Check before organising the trip, because they do not all cover the same things.
Is it more expensive than going to the consulate?
No. The fee for the procedure is the same: what changes is the distance you travel. What is worth doing is bringing the payment method the announcement specifies, because options at a session can be more limited than at the office.
How do I know when a session is coming near me?
Dates are announced on the official social accounts —@EmbaguateUSA on Facebook and Instagram— and on the Embassy’s and each consulate’s site. The most reliable way is to ask directly whenever you call your consulate for any reason: it is the question that saves the most journeys.
At a session, is it my consulate serving me or another?
It is your own consulate: the session is run by the office for your district, which travels with its staff. For the purposes of the procedure it is the same as going to the office, only closer to home.
Can emergencies be handled at a session?
Emergencies do not depend on sessions or appointments: if there is a detention, a serious accident or a death, you call the consulate’s duty number, staffed 24 hours.
Can I ask for a session in my town?
You can raise it, and it works better coming from a group: an association, a parish, a community organisation that can estimate how many people would attend and offer a venue. Talk to your consulate and ask what they need in order to consider it.