Immigration: El Salvador

General information, not legal advice. Data as of October 10, 2026

Visa line

El Salvador does not have its own column. If you were born in El Salvador, you use the rest-of-the-world column ("All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed").

Family (Final Action Date / Date for Filing):

Employment: EB-1 C / C; EB-2 01APR25 / 15MAR26; EB-3 15JUN24 / 01AUG24; other workers 01JUN22 / 01JUL22; EB-4 and religious workers 15DEC22 / 01JAN25, but the part for religious workers who are not ministers expires December 11, 2026 unless Congress extends it.

If you and your spouse immigrate together (cross-chargeability):

• If your spouse was born in a country with a longer line (for example, Mexico in the family categories), your spouse can use the El Salvador column. For that, you both must get the green card in the same case, as the principal applicant and the accompanying spouse.
• It does not apply if you are already a citizen or resident and you petition for your spouse: in that case, your spouse's country of birth counts.

The "El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras" column no longer exists:

• It existed from May 2016 for EB-4 (special immigrants, such as young people with SIJ status and religious workers), because people from those three countries applied for a very large number of visas.
• It was removed starting with the April 2023 bulletin. The State Department said the law only allows separate dates when a country goes over the per-country limit, and that it did not expect any of the three to do so.
• If someone shows you dates from that column, they are old.

Which chart USCIS uses: in November 2026, USCIS says to use the "Dates for Filing" chart for family and employment cases if you apply for a green card inside the U.S. This changes every month.

Careful: a current date does not mean you can apply for a green card inside the country. Talk to a lawyer or accredited representative.

Official sources: State Dept. · Visa Bulletin Nov. 2026 ↗ · State Dept. · End of EB-4 SV/GT/HN column ↗ · State Dept. · Cross-charging (9 FAM) ↗ · USCIS · Visa Bulletin chart USCIS uses ↗

TPS

What the government says today:

• El Salvador is still on the USCIS list of countries designated for TPS.
• The last extension published in the Federal Register (90 FR 5953, January 17, 2025) ran through September 9, 2026.
• That date has passed, and there is no new notice in the Federal Register: neither an extension nor a termination.
• The USCIS El Salvador page (updated October 7, 2026) says it will make an announcement "at the appropriate time." Until that announcement, Salvadorans in the U.S. with TPS keep their protection, including work authorization.
• USCIS does not give a new date. There is no open re-registration today: the last one was from January 17 to March 18, 2025.
• The TPS law says that, to end TPS, the government must publish a notice in the Federal Register, and the termination cannot start earlier than 60 days after that notice.

Your work permit:

• USCIS sent notices that extended some TPS work permits (category A12 or C19) through September 9, 2026. USCIS said the permit together with that notice was valid for employers through that date.
• USCIS guidance for employers (I-9 Central, September 3, 2026) has not been updated. It still mentions September 9, 2026 as the end date of TPS and of those permits. Because of that, your employer may have doubts.
• USCIS has not said which document to show an employer after September 9, 2026.
• Keep your work permit, your USCIS notices and a copy of the USCIS alert (printed or a photo).
• If your employer asks you for another document or anything about your permit, talk to a lawyer or an accredited representative soon.

What to do if you have TPS:

• Do not let anything expire. If you have another application, permit or pending case, keep it up to date. If you have a case in immigration court, go to all your hearings.
• Check the USCIS TPS page (uscis.gov/tps) and the Federal Register often. Do not believe dates that are not there.
• Talk to a lawyer or an accredited representative. Ask whether you have another immigration path, such as a family or employment petition.
• Today no one can "renew" your TPS. If someone charges you to "renew" it, it is a scam.

Careful: USCIS says only a lawyer or an accredited representative of an organization recognized by the Department of Justice can give you legal advice.

Official sources: USCIS · TPS for El Salvador ↗ · Federal Register · TPS extension (90 FR 5953) ↗ · USCIS I-9 Central · SV TPS for employers ↗ · GovInfo · TPS law (8 U.S.C. 1254a) ↗

DACA

The rules are the same for Salvadorans as for any other country.

• USCIS still renews DACA and its work permits.
• It accepts new requests but does not process them. Paying for one today does not give you DACA.
• Your current DACA and work permit stay valid until they expire.
• Renew 120 to 150 days before it expires. Cost: $85 (I-821D) + $470 online or $520 on paper (I-765) = $555 or $605. There is no fee waiver. Only very limited fee exemptions exist, and USCIS must approve them before you file; see uscis.gov/DACA.
• There may be changes in Texas; check the USCIS page (uscis.gov/DACA).

Official sources: USCIS · DACA ↗ · USCIS · I-765 filing fees ↗

Consulates and appointments

• El Salvador has 29 consulates general in the U.S. The newest one opened in Columbus (Ohio) in June 2025. Find yours in the official directory of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (rree.gob.sv, "Embajadas, Consulados y Misiones Permanentes").
• The Embassy in Washington, D.C. appears in the directory as a diplomatic office, not as a consulate. Near Washington are the consulates in Silver Spring (Maryland) and Woodbridge (Virginia).
• The directory gives the same phone number to all of them except Columbus (which does not list a phone number or email): 1-888-301-1130. It is the Virtual Consulate, a free line from the U.S. and Canada. It also answers on WhatsApp: +503 7070-1071.
• You make the appointment online on the Ministry's Appointment Portal: portalcitas.rree.gob.sv. You also pay for the process there. The Virtual Consulate can also help you schedule appointments.
• The consulates hold mobile consulates and special service days in other cities. They are announced on rree.gob.sv.

Careful: the Ministry has warned about people who charge without authorization at mobile consulates. Make your appointment and pay only through the Appointment Portal or at the consulate.

Official sources: SV Foreign Ministry · Consulate directory ↗ · SV Foreign Ministry · Virtual Consulate ↗ · SV Foreign Ministry · Appointments portal ↗ · SV Foreign Ministry · Unauthorized-fee alert ↗

If a relative is detained

• Look for them at ice.gov/locator with their A-number and country of birth (El Salvador), or with their name and country of birth.
• Call the Virtual Consulate for free: 1-888-301-1130. The consulates do not list a separate emergency number.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assists Salvadorans held in prison in another country and helps locate relatives. In El Salvador, your family can call 2231-2950. From the U.S., dial 011 503 2231-2950 (+503 2231-2950). You can also go to any consulate.
• If your relative is going to be deported to El Salvador, Migración (DGME) gives the day and time they arrive. From the U.S., dial 011 503 2133-7900 (+503 2133-7900). In El Salvador, dial 2133-7900.
• In El Salvador, the family picks them up at the DGME Migrant Assistance Office (Gerencia de Atención al Migrante), Final Bulevar Coronel Arturo Castellanos, Colonia Quiñonez, San Salvador.
• The 2025 diaspora law (Decree 375) says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can support sending home the body of a Salvadoran who dies abroad, no matter their immigration status. Close family members request it. Ask at the consulate.

Official sources: ICE · Detainee locator ↗ · SV Foreign Ministry · Humanitarian help ↗ · DGME · Help for returned migrants ↗ · SV Assembly · Diaspora Law (D. 375) ↗

Passport and DUI

• Passport at a consulate in the U.S.: $60, first time or renewal, for adults and minors. The ordinary passport is valid for 6 years, according to Migración (DGME).
• Adults: bring your original, valid DUI. If you are renewing, also bring your expired or expiring passport.
• If your passport was lost or stolen: $80 ($60 + $20 sworn statement). If it is the second time in a row or more, you also pay a $180 fine: total $260.
• Minors: bring the child's original birth certificate issued less than one year ago. Both parents go with a valid DUI or Salvadoran passport. If one is missing, bring a special power of attorney or an authorization in a notarial act before a Salvadoran notary, with a copy of their DUI or passport.
• DUI at the consulate: $35 (first time, renewal, replacement or change of information).
• Since July 2026 you can renew or replace your DUI online, at dui.sv/exterior, with your phone or tablet. It costs $55: $35 for the DUI + $20 for delivery to your home.
• You get your first DUI in person, at one of the 18 service centers in the consulates in the U.S. Not all consulates do it: ask before you go.
• For your first DUI, bring your original birth certificate issued less than 12 months ago and an ID document (ID card, voter card or passport; if you do not have one, a state ID, green card, TPS, driver's license or expired Salvadoran passport). If you have none of these, your father or mother goes with a valid Salvadoran ID. If your parents are not abroad, bring two Salvadoran witnesses with a valid DUI or Salvadoran passport.
• In Chicago, Aurora, Charlotte, Springdale and Doral they give you the DUI the same day (since August 2026).
• You can request your Salvadoran birth certificate online, at simple.sv or market.gob.sv.
• Neither the passport nor the DUI gives you immigration status or a work permit in the U.S.

Official sources: SV Foreign Ministry · Passports ↗ · SV Foreign Ministry · DUI at consulates ↗ · SV Foreign Ministry · DUI online from U.S. ↗ · DGME · Passport FAQ ↗

Children born in the U.S. and nationality

• El Salvador's Constitution (article 90) says that children born in another country to a Salvadoran father or mother are Salvadoran by birth.
• It also says (article 91) that Salvadorans by birth can have dual or multiple nationality, and that they only lose Salvadoran nationality if they renounce it before the authorities. Under the Constitution, becoming a U.S. citizen does not take away your Salvadoran nationality.
• If you are Salvadoran by naturalization (not by birth), it is different: you lose it if you live more than two years in a row in your country of origin or if you are outside El Salvador more than five years in a row without permission (article 94).
• Registering your child at the consulate is free if you do it within the legal deadline. If you do it more than six months after the birth, you pay a $5 fine.

To register your child, bring:

• the original U.S. birth certificate, long version;
• the original ID document of both parents;
• the original birth certificate of both parents (the Salvadoran father's or mother's, issued no more than one year ago).

Also:

• Each certified copy of the birth record from the consulate costs $10.
• The official pages do not say whether they ask for an apostille on the U.S. certificate. Ask the Virtual Consulate before you go.

Official sources: SV Assembly · Constitution (arts. 90-94) ↗ · SV Foreign Ministry · Family civil registry ↗ · SV Foreign Ministry · Registering children ↗

Voting from the U.S.

• The next election is February 28, 2027, in El Salvador and abroad. That day people elect the President, legislators (diputados) and municipal councils.
• From abroad you can vote online. The Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced that this way you vote for President and Vice President and for legislators, from January 30 to February 28, 2027.
• To vote online, your DUI must have your address abroad. According to the TSE's updated calendar (July 2026), the deadline to change it is November 29, 2026. Do it early: make your consulate appointment soon. Check tse.gob.sv in case the TSE changes the date.
• The TSE is also organizing in-person electronic voting abroad, but it has not yet published where people will vote in the U.S. Check tse.gob.sv.

Official sources: TSE · February 28, 2027 elections ↗ · TSE · Internet voting from abroad ↗ · TSE · DUI address change deadline ↗

If you return to El Salvador

• Since August 2025, the Special Law on Benefits and Protection for the Diaspora and People in Human Mobility (Decree 375) is in force. Its tax benefits last five years from when it took effect.

To use the benefits you must:

• be Salvadoran (by birth or by naturalization), no matter your immigration status;
• live outside El Salvador and state that you want to return or live in El Salvador for a time;
• sign a sworn statement at Migración (DGME) with your address in El Salvador;
• put that address on your DUI;
• not have an immigration alert or restriction or an arrest warrant.

You can bring in without paying import taxes, including VAT (IVA):

• your household goods, only once, up to $100,000 per family (if they are worth more, you pay VAT only on the amount over that limit);
• up to two light vehicles per family, only once, in good condition and in your name before you bring them (work vehicles too). If you sell or transfer them before two years, you pay the taxes with interest;
• your work tools and equipment, up to $100,000, if you bring them within one year after you enter the country.

Also:

• If you do not meet the conditions, you lose the benefits and must pay the taxes.
• The sworn statement forms are on migracion.gob.sv. Before you ship your things or your vehicle, ask your consulate or Customs (Aduanas) what they require.
• According to Migración (DGME), each person who arrives deported gets money to help pay for transportation home.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a National Reintegration Plan for Returned People 2025-2029, with training and support for small businesses. To learn more, check rree.gob.sv.

Official sources: SV Assembly · Diaspora Law (D. 375) ↗ · SV Assembly · Decree 375 record ↗ · DGME · Sworn residence declaration ↗ · SV Foreign Ministry · Reintegration plan ↗

Sources: travel.state.gov, fam.state.gov, uscis.gov, federalregister.gov, govinfo.gov (TPS law), ice.gov, rree.gob.sv, rnpn.gob.sv, migracion.gob.sv, asamblea.gob.sv (Constitution and laws of El Salvador), tse.gob.sv. Always check the official source before you start a process.

Consulates in the U.S.