If an expedited appointment is necessary due to an emergency such as illness, death, or business and have documentation to show the urgent need to travel, the applicant may schedule an appointment through the call center.
Step 1: Pay the MRV fee and complete the DS-160 application form
- Complete the Nonimmigrant Application DS-160 Form at https://ceac.state.gov/genniv.
- Log into this Web site and pay the MRV fee. For more fee information please Fee Payment Options.
Step 2: Request to schedule an appointment by calling the Call Center
Call the call center, please see telephone service.
The telephone operator will request information concerning the emergency to determine if an expedited appointment will be granted. The operator will determine whether or not to schedule an expedited appointment or a regular appointment.
Note: Applicants are advised not to purchase a ticket prior to obtaining a visa. The possession of a booked ticket does not mean the qualification for an emergency appointment or the issuing of a visa.
The following is a list of typical circumstances that may merit favorable consideration. Please note that the list is not all-encompassing.
- Applicant's grave illness requiring immediate travel to the United States
- An immediate relative's death, grave illness or life threatening accident taking place in the United States
- An applicant for a student or exchange visitor (F/M/J) visa whose I-20 or DS-2019 shows a start date that is earlier than the first available visa appointment
- An unexpected need to travel to the United States for urgent business purposes
In all cases, the applicant will be expected to bring documentation which describes and proves the emergency.
Step 3: Attend the scheduled appointment
Please be advised that the granting of an expedited appointment in no way guarantees visa issuance. U.S. law places the burden of qualifying for any visa solely on the applicant.
The applicant must bring all required application documents including:
- DS-160 Confirmation page with the confirmation barcode
- All required documents for the trip purpose
- Documents that prove the urgent need to travel
- Medical Reason:
- Letter from applicant explaining why and when they need the U.S. treatment
- Recent (past month) letter/chart from Colombian doctor explaining problem and why the applicant needs to be treated in the US instead of Colombia.
- Recent (past month) letter from U.S. doctor with date of appointment and what problem they will treat.
- Proof of ability to pay cost of the medical treatment in the U.S. (bank statements, letter from charitable organization, etc)
- Illness of a relative:
- Letter from applicant explaining why, when and where they need to visit the ill relative.
- Recent (past month) letter from U.S. doctor explaining the problem.
- Death of relative:
- Letter from applicant explaining the death and relationship to deceased
- Death certificate from the United States. If there is no proof that someone died in the United States, the visa will not be issued.
- Business
- A letter from the applicant's employer stating position, outlining the event, and indicating who will pay for travel costs
- A letter from the inviting party in the United States, describing the specific date and purpose of the event, and agreeing to pay the costs if the inviting party is paying
- Other documentary proof of professional, academic, material, or familial ties to Colombia, as well as economic solvency
- Medical Reason:
Note: If the applicant has been refused a visa recently the appointment cannot be schedule in the emergency category.
At this time the Embassy is NOT accepting emergency appointments for applicants traveling to the United States for tourism or vacations. If an applicant appears at the Embassy for an emergency interview and the purpose of the trip is tourism or vacation, the applicant will be asked to re-schedule the visa application appointment.
