Do You Qualify for an Emergency Appointment at the Consulate?
The U.S. consulates were, and some still are, closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some consulates have resumed processing for certain types of visas and emergency or humanitarian appointments. Each consulate is doing things a little bit differently to maintain safety as they begin reopening, so this article is designed to give you general information not specific legal advice.
Generally, to get an emergency appointment, you must show that your case fits into one of the following categories:
Death of an immediate relative or grave illness or serious accident of an immediate relative who is located in the U.S.;
Urgent medical treatment for the applicant or their minor child;
A student or exchange visitor seeking to enter the U.S. in F, J, or M status with a program start date that is before the first available visa date;
An unexpected business trip that will occur within 10 days after the first available visa appointment; or
An unexpected visit that is of significant political, journalistic, cultural, sporting, or economic importance that will occur within 10 days after the first available visa date.
For the category of death or grave illness, you must show that person who passed away or suffers from the illness is an immediate relative. For purposes of humanitarian appointments, that means parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild. For example, if you are seeking a humanitarian K-1 visa due to your fiancee’s parent being gravely ill, that would not qualify because the person who suffers from the illness is not your immediate relative. Also, if you are seeking an expedited appointment for business reasons, you have to show that the event you need to attend was unexpected, which means the consulate will not expedite your visa for foreseeable events for which you did not submit a timely application.
Emergency or humanitarian appointments are difficult to obtain and the consulate will not grant you an emergency appointment for anything less than the above-written grounds. If you do get an emergency appointment, it is also important to make sure you are navigating the various travel bans that are currently in place correctly. If you are in a position where you live in a country that does not have a U.S. consulate, you need to be certain that the consulate you are using for processing is scheduling appointments for non-residents. For example, as today, the consulate in Turkey, which services many clients from Iran, is not scheduling appointments for applicants who are not residents of Turkey.
COVID-19 has caused lengthy, frustrating, and painful separations among family members. Many applicants expected to be united or reunited with their loved ones by now. If you have questions about emergency appointments, please contact us for a consultation.
