Q: I have an urgent family crisis and need to travel to the US immediately. How can I get a visa interview as soon as possible?

A:  The embassy understands that sometimes there are some emergencies where an applicant needs to travel to the United States urgently. If the available interview appointment date provided is not early enough for your travel needs, there are situations where the embassy may be able to expedite the request for an appointment.

It should be noted that the decision to expedite an interview appointment is discretionary and depends on several factors, including the urgency of the travel and the US national interests involved. Any expedite request should clearly explain why it is important (that is, explain what is at stake) to expedite the case.

We recommend that all requests for expedited appointments note the date when you need to travel and provide up-to-date contact information. Applicants should be very judicious in the use of expedite requests.

Q:  How do I request an expedited appointment?

Based on the considerable demand for visa appointments in Kingston, expedites are usually only granted in truly urgent cases of medical necessity or family emergency.

A:  Travellers with imminent travel may submit a request for an expedited visa appointment via the website of the embassy’s contracted visa appointment service provider, CSRA. To request an expedited visa appointment, first schedule a regular visa appointment on the closest available date.

To do this, please visit www.usvisa-info.com, which is the same website you can use to obtain visa information, pay the application fee, and submit your online application.

Once you have scheduled an appointment, you can submit a request to expedite that appointment by simply signing into your account, clicking ‘Continue’, and selecting ‘Request Expedite’. Please follow the instructions provided to explain the urgent reason for travel. Also, note that the officer, at the time of interview, may request to see the supporting documentation for your specific emergency or urgent need for travel.

You can find more information on our website, www.jm.usembassy.gov or by visiting www.travel.state.gov Keep on top of Embassy news on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/USEmbassyJamaica/ and by following @USEmbassyJA on Twitter. We also answer general visa questions on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

By going through the steps above, it is not necessary to attempt to contact the embassy directly. The inquiry will automatically be forwarded for consideration. If you are having trouble with the website you can also contact CSRA call centre. The call centre can be reached from Jamaica at (876)656-8535 or (876)630-2040. In addition, the centre can be reached from within the United States at +1 (703)988-7005 or via Skype at USVISAJAMAICA. We encourage you to take advantage of these services available for your convenience.