Emergency Visa/Appointment

[1234Visa 0]

Hello,

 

I hope someone can help me. We applied for a B2 visa and had an appointment scheduled for may 2022. It is for me and my son. We are German citizens.

 

Now my brother in law passed away  last week so we applied for an emergency visa appointment to be able to travel to attend his funeral this Friday.

 

The emergency was approved but i can't change the date for the appointment. First the page said "your group size is larger than the current allocation".

 

I tried to refresh the page a few times and now it says I did too often and have to try again tomorrow.

 

I emailed the Consulat and they told me to contact visa services. I emailed them too. 

 

I feel like I am running out of time here since the funeral is on Friday and i still have to go to the embassy, book flights and of course get our visa back on time.

 

Can anyone give me tips what can be done?  Thank you.

[Mike E 11,742]

1 hour ago, 1234Visa said:

We are German citizens.

 

Now my brother in law passed away  last week so we applied for an emergency visa appointment to be able to travel to attend his funeral this Friday.

 

 

I am sorry for your loss.  
 

1. you are German citizens.  Why don’t you apply for ESTA? It is a fully online procedure.  
 

2. Despite esta being online the other hurdle to overcome is that you are not permitted to fly directly from a travel banned country (due to Covid) to the USA.  You have to spend two weeks in a bridge country such as Mexico.  You need a National Interest Exception (NIE) for that.  You need to contact the embassy to get that.  A visa does  not give you an NIE.  Most embassy’s have documented procedures for getting an NIE on their web sites.  
 

I agree that you are running out of time to arrive in the USA in time for a funeral on Friday.  

Edited August 30, 2021 by Mike E

[1234Visa 0]

2 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I am sorry for your loss.  

 

Thank you.
 

1. you are German citizens.  Why don’t you apply for ESTA? It is a fully online procedure.  

 

We cant apply for ESTA anymore because we overstayed on one in the past. So a tourist visa is our only option. 
 

2. Despite esta being online the other hurdle to overcome is that you are not permitted to fly directly from a travel banned country (due to Covid) to the USA.  You have to spend two weeks in a bridge country such as Mexico.  You need a National Interest Exception (NIE) for that.  You need to contact the embassy to get that.  A visa does  not give you an NIE.  Most embassy’s have documented procedures for getting an NIE on their web sites.  

 

We dont need a NIE because I am the spouse of a US citizen.  If we had a valid visa or esta we could fly directly to the US.
 

I agree that you are running out of time to arrive in the USA in time for a funeral on Friday.  

 

[Mike E 11,742]

2 minutes ago, 1234Visa said:

We cant apply for ESTA anymore because we overstayed on one in the past. So a tourist visa is our only option. 
 

…

 

We dont need a NIE because I am the spouse of a US citizen.  If we had a valid visa or esta we could fly directly to the US.

I think then the chances of you getting a visa are low.  Counting against you are:

 

1. you over stayed 

 

2. you are married to a US citizen 

 

3. the combination of 1 and 2 means you are considered a high risk of over staying again 

 

4. the pandemic makes B1/B2 visas hard to get even for foreigners who are not high risks for over staying.  
 

Perhaps seeking assistance from the federal representative or senator of the district / state where your spouse votes would accelerate the process.  

 

[Unlockable 7,315]

7 minutes ago, 1234Visa said:

1. you are German citizens.  Why don’t you apply for ESTA? It is a fully online procedure.  

 

We cant apply for ESTA anymore because we overstayed on one in the past. So a tourist visa is our only option.

Oh wow. That kind of makes the chances of a tourist visa approval a lot more difficult. Usually, those who have overstayed ESTA's are denied visitor visas. You can try with the humanitarian reasons you have and pray for the best.

 

Regardless, hope it works out.

[1234Visa 0]

15 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I think then the chances of you getting a visa are low.  Counting against you are:

 

1. you over stayed 

 

2. you are married to a US citizen 

 

3. the combination of 1 and 2 means you are considered a high risk of over staying again 

We have no intention on overstaying again. If I wanted to live in the USA I would have not voluntarily given up my green card when we decided to move back to Germany. I have a job here, the kids are in school here etc.

15 minutes ago, Mike E said:

 

4. the pandemic makes B1/B2 visas hard to get even for foreigners who are not high risks for over staying.  
 

Perhaps seeking assistance from the federal representative or senator of the district / state where your spouse votes would accelerate the process.  

We have tried that too. They are in contact with the consulat and are waiting for them to get a response.

15 minutes ago, Mike E said:

 

 

[1234Visa 0]

16 minutes ago, Unlockable said:

Oh wow. That kind of makes the chances of a tourist visa approval a lot more difficult. Usually, those who have overstayed ESTA's are denied visitor visas. You can try with the humanitarian reasons you have and pray for the best.

We have evidence and proof that we have no intention on overstaying again. The problem is that it is so hard right now to get appointments at the embassy.

16 minutes ago, Unlockable said:

 

Regardless, hope it works out.

Thank you 

[sleepyjoe12 5]

25 minutes ago, 1234Visa said:

We have evidence and proof that we have no intention on overstaying again. The problem is that it is so hard right now to get appointments at the embassy.

Thank you 

If you are really that desperate, you can try flying into Mexico and stay there for 2 weeks then use your VWP privileges (ESTA is only required for tourists coming to the US by air/sea) to enter a land border. Of course, the CBP can still turn you back but this is your only legal path to enter the US without waiting for a visa appointment.

 

From CBP (https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1132?language=en_US😞

If you are a citizen of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), and you enter the U.S. by land from Mexico or Canada, you are only required to complete the paper I-94W form at the land border crossing.  ESTA is currently required for air and cruise ship travel only.

Edited August 30, 2021 by sleepyjoe12
grammar edit

[1234Visa 0]

7 minutes ago, sleepyjoe12 said:

If you are really that desperate, you can try flying into Mexico and stay there for 2 weeks then use your VWP privileges (ESTA is only required for tourists coming to the US by air/sea) to enter a land border. Of course, the CBP can still turn you back but this is your only legal path to enter the US without waiting for a visa appointment.

 

Thank you for your comment. This is not an option for us. I need a proper visa so we have the possibility to visit the US again in the future. The reason why it is so urgent right now is because we had a death in the family and are trying to make it to the funeral. If it wasnt for that i have no problem waiting for my appointment next year at the embassy.

7 minutes ago, sleepyjoe12 said:

From CBP (https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1132?language=en_US😞

If you are a citizen of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), and you enter the U.S. by land from Mexico or Canada, you are only required to complete the paper I-94W form at the land border crossing.  ESTA is currently required for air and cruise ship travel only.

 

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

2 hours ago, sleepyjoe12 said:

If you are really that desperate, you can try flying into Mexico and stay there for 2 weeks

They need to attend a funeral in a few days’ time. Staying in Mexico for two weeks won’t get them there.

 

Hopefully the senator intervention will help. Consulate might issue a single use limited time visa for the current circumstances. OP, if you do get a visa and book a flight in time for the funeral: do not check in online, get to the airport early for your flight, and bring sufficient evidence (including a copy of the exceptions to the proclamation) to show you are allowed to fly. And don’t forget you need a Covid test to enter the US.  Good luck.

[Boiler 45,908]

They would need to fly Thursday latest

 

Would need passport back Wednesday 

 

Seem to need appointment now

[1234Visa 0]

12 minutes ago, Boiler said:

They would need to fly Thursday latest

That's true. I feel like we are running out of time

12 minutes ago, Boiler said:

 

Would need passport back Wednesday 

Do they not put the visa in the passport right there at embassy and you get it back?

12 minutes ago, Boiler said:

 

Seem to need appointment now

Yes, true

[1234Visa 0]

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

They need to attend a funeral in a few days’ time. Staying in Mexico for two weeks won’t get them there.

 

Yes, that doesn't help in our situation.

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

Hopefully the senator intervention will help. Consulate might issue a single use limited time visa for the current circumstances. OP, if you do get a visa and book a flight in time for the funeral: do not check in online, get to the airport early for your flight, and bring sufficient evidence (including a copy of the exceptions to the proclamation) to show you are allowed to fly. And don’t forget you need a Covid test to enter the US.  Good luck.

Thank you. What is a single use visa?

[Boiler 45,908]

Normally passports are sent back to you. Would need an exception 

[SalishSea 18,072]

6 hours ago, sleepyjoe12 said:

If you are really that desperate, you can try flying into Mexico and stay there for 2 weeks then use your VWP privileges (ESTA is only required for tourists coming to the US by air/sea) to enter a land border. Of course, the CBP can still turn you back but this is your only legal path to enter the US without waiting for a visa appointment.

 

From CBP (https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1132?language=en_US😞

If you are a citizen of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), and you enter the U.S. by land from Mexico or Canada, you are only required to complete the paper I-94W form at the land border crossing.  ESTA is currently required for air and cruise ship travel only.

OP doesn’t have two weeks.

 

OP is no longer eligible for VWP/ESTA.

Edited August 30, 2021 by Jorgedig