H, L and J visa applicants, subject to the presidential proclamation (10052) but, qualifying for the exception as released by the U.S. Department of State should make a request for an emergency appointment on www.ustraveldocs.com/in.

To raise a request for an emergency appointment, one needs to schedule the first available visa interview and then choose option to raise a request for an emergency appointment. A decision is made in 24 to 48 hours (mostly the decision is made much faster). Once approved, the applicant has to login to the profile and schedule the appointment within the specified timeframe. A final determination on eligibility under the exception will be made only at the time of visa interview.

If an applicant has been advised to appear for a personal interview following a INA221(g) refusal, the applicant has to wait for the consulate to resume regular services to appear for an interview. If the applicant seeks an emergency appointment, rather than waiting for the regular consular services to resume, this is only possible by paying the visa application fee again and initiating the request for emergency appointment. It is unfortunate, but, contacting the helpdesk or the consular section to permit the applicant to appear for a personal interview, however deserving the case may be, does not seem to work as of this writing. We are hoping this situation will change.

We will continue to bring any updates on this subject.