Neelam Shinde, a Masters of Computer student from Maharashtra’s Satara, residing in California for the past four years, was rendered comatose after a car hit her from behind on February 14. The Indian student is admitted in UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California. Her father Tanaji Shinde, who was informed about his daughter, 2 days after the accident, had applied for an Emergency Visa Appointment to facilitate his visit to the US. However, the Shinde family was informed that the next available date for an interview was in 2026.
That is when the family approached NCP(SP) MP Supriya Sule, who sought MEA intervention. Following this, Tanaji Shinde received a call from US Embassy in Mumbai on Thursday, and he was given the 9am slot on Friday, February 28.
Neelam Shinde’s family told NDTV that they had applied for a visa 48 hours after her accident on 14 February, but the application has been pending since with the US Embassy since.
What is US Visa Emergency?
US does grant ’emergency’ visa appointment in case a family member is seriously ill or dead.
According to Indian Government official documents, since 13 December, 2021, VFS Global has started accepting Emergency Visa applications.
The Emergency Visa service is only for US passport holders of Indian origin and their family members required to visit India due to a genuine family emergency, such as critical illness or death of a family member.
“Documentary evidence will need to be provided and the applicant will be charged an emergency service fee”, the official document reads.
This process allows applicants to request an earlier visa interview date due to critical circumstances such as:
Medical Emergencies: Urgent medical care for oneself or a family member.
Family Emergencies: Funerals or serious illnesses of close relatives.
Urgent Business Travel: Essential business trips that cannot be postponed.
Students or Exchange Visitors: Educational commitments within a tight timeframe.
How Can You Apply for US Emergency Visa and Appointment?
In case of medical emergency, the request for expedited appointment needs to be substantiated with a written record from a doctor, who can request the US government to expedite visa interview appointments in the applicant’s nation.
There are, however, limited slots for expedited, or emergency, visa applications.
You might need to provide documentation such as:
How to Get an Emergency Appointment for a US Visa?
To get an emergency appointment for a US visa, you have to schedule a regular visa appointment online and select “Request Expedite”. You have to make sure that your request for an emergency visa contains the following details:
- Your destination in US
- The date when you will be departing
- The reason why you are visiting the US
- The date you discovered you needed to travel to the US
- The date on which you scheduled your visa appointment
- The date of the regular appointment you currently have (you have to attach the confirmation sheet)
Who can Apply for US Emergency Visa?
- You or your minor child need urgent medical treatment in US.
- You have a death in the family in US
- Your family member is gravely ill
- You are an exchange student applying for an exchange visa, but the program date is scheduled to start earlier than available visa appointment dates
- You have unexpected business dealings that will happen during the ten days after the first available appointment
- You have to visit the US unexpectedly for a significant cultural, political, sporting, journalistic event that will happen around ten days after the first available visa appointment
- You are no longer an eligible applicant for ESTA
How Soon Can You Get US Emergency Visa Interview Slot?
You can obtain a “US Emergency Visa”, and you can request an expedited appointment for urgent travel situations.
While the Indian Embassy does not details the time period required to process an ‘Emergency Visa’ to US, an expedited interview slot is typically allotted within two to five working days after submitting the request.
Once the emergency visa is approved, you will have 5 working days to choose the emergency visa travel dates.
