U.S. Nonimmigrant Visa Expedited Appointment Legal Wizard [Australia]

What does this U.S. Nonimmigrant Visa Expedited Appointment Legal Wizard [Australia] do?

This innovative Legal Wizard includes Embedded Lawyer-Logic designed to guide you to determine:

⭐️ Your eligibility (subject to availability at an Australian U.S. Consulate) to make an Application for an Emergency / Expedited U.S. Nonimmigrant Visa (In-Person Interview) Appointment due to one of the following prescribed unforeseen travel needs:

✅ To attend the funeral of an immediate family member;

✅ Medical emergency;

✅ Member of cultural group replacing an original member due to illness/unforeseen contingency;

✅ F1/ M1/ J1 visa applicants who received DS-2019 or I-20 form less than 14 days before program is due to start;

✅ Unexpected, time-sensitive business travel significant to U.S. economic interest;

✅ Journalists travelling to cover fast-breaking news;

✅ Applicants who have been unable to enrol in EVUS due to incorrect information on the prior visa.

✅ Applicants whose visa was revoked following attempted EVUS enrollment.

✅ Applicants requiring a visa in response to COVID-19 such as doctors, medical students, crew for air and land.

Limitation

It is important to ensure you meet all criteria because applicants are only allowed to create one emergency / expedited appointment request.

Assumptions

This Legal Wizard assumes you:

⚖️ Have already consulted our U.S. Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Legal Wizard [Global] and determined that your e-passport/s, preferences or your intended travel purpose mean that you do not qualify for a U.S. Visa Waiver;

⚖️ Have already consulted our U.S. Nonimmigrant Visa Renewal (In-Person Interview Waiver) Legal Wizard [Australia] and determined that you do not qualify to apply by mail;

⚖️ Have not yet made a request for an Expedited Appointment;

⚖️ Have already scheduled an appointment online at an Australian U.S. Consulate;

⚖️ An onscreen message appeared showing the earliest available appointment date (which includes Expedited Appointments); and

⚖️ The earliest available appointment date displayed is earlier than the appointment you have already scheduled.

In-Person Interview Exemptions

This Legal Wizard also assumes that you are NOT an applicant who (or applying for a class of visa that) is generally exempt from the requirement to attend an in-person interview, including:

⚖️ Applicants under the age of 14 and who have turned 80^ years old;

⚖️ A1, A2 (official travellers on foreign government business);

⚖️ C2, C3 (foreign government officials in transit on foreign government business); and

⚖️ G1, G2, G3, G4 (foreign government officials travelling in connection with an international organization, or employees of an international organization).

Estimated U.S. Nonimmigrant Visa (In-Person Interview) Wait Times in Australia

The waiting time (as of 14 December 2022) for an appointment to attend an in-person interview for a Nonimmigrant B1/B2 Visa (with other Visa classes showing similar waiting times) at the U.S. Consulate in Australia was:

⏳ Sydney [115 days];

⏳ Melbourne [55 days]; and

⏳ Perth [7 days].

You can use this online tool to determine the current estimated waiting times globally.

Historically, U.S. Visa Interview wait times have always been long (however due to increased demand for travel to the U.S. post-COVID the wait times seem to be getting even longer).

If you use this Legal Wizard and determine that you qualify for an In-Person Interview Waiver this knowledge could potentially save you a lot of time and stress.

Important Notes:

This Legal Wizard was designed and tested in December 2022.

The results from this Legal Wizard do not guarantee that you will receive an Expedited Appointment or will be eligible under law to receive a U.S. Visa.

You must meet all legal requirements of the U.S. Visa for which you are seeking renewal.

Alternative ➲ Apply by Mail

Please consult our innovative FREE U.S. Nonimmigrant Visa Renewal (In-Person Interview Waiver) Legal Wizard [Australia] that includes Embedded Lawyer-Logic designed to guide you to determine your eligibility as an Australian Resident, Citizen/National to renew your U.S. Nonimmigrant Visa by Mail.

✅ If you qualify for an in-person interview waiver, this Legal Wizard will proceed to automatically generate the DRAFT Apply by Mail Standard Cover Sheet for you to make it quicker and easier for you to prepare & lodge your U.S. Nonimmigrant Visa Renewal Application by Mail.

Alternative ➲ Temporary Apply by Mail Expansion

The Department of State announced the temporary waiver of in-person interviews for certain nonimmigrant U.S. Visa applicants up until December 31, 2022.

Please review and complete the Apply by Mail Expansion Coversheet if you are applying for a visa in categories F, M, O, P, Q, H-1, H-3, H-4, non-blanket L or academic J qualifying as secondary and university students, professors, research scholars, short-term scholars, or specialists, who were previously issued any class of visa, or travelled on ESTA, subject to certain conditions.

Due to the fact that this is only a temporary waiver, this Legal Wizard has NOT been modified to incorporate this option or to generate a DRAFT Coversheet.

Such development may be considered if the expansion is made permanent or extended for a significant amount of time.

Alternative ➲ Check the Australian U.S. Consulate Websites for Last Minute Cancellations

Alternatively, you can check the Australian U.S. Consulate websites daily - or even twice daily - for any openings as the Australian U.S. Consulates sometimes have last-minute cancellations.

If an earlier appointment opportunity appears on the website, you may reschedule for that date.

Alternative ➲ Fiji Interview Option

Suva, Fiji (a 4.5-hour flight from Sydney) currently has a 23-day waiting time for a U.S. Visa Interview.

If you would like to proceed to book an appointment at the U.S. Consulate in Suva. Fiji please contact our legal team so that we can assist you to make a fully informed decision, and help you to manage the additional risks and logistics.

If you decide to take this option, at a minimum you will need to consider the following:

🧩 A real risk of additional complications as you are not making an application in your home country;

🧩 If there are delays in processing your U.S. Visa then you will need to stay longer in Fiji and accordingly you will need to ensure you have flexible travel arrangements; and

🧩 In order to make an appointment, a trusted local agent is required to assist.

Intellectual Property Rights Notice

This Legal Wizard has been designed and developed with care 👨‍💻 by James D. Ford | Admitted to Practice as a Lawyer in Australia, New Zealand and California, U.S.A. CA State Bar Profile # 346590 | ⚖️ Principal Solicitor of Blue Ocean Law Group.

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© 2022-2023. Blue Ocean Law Group℠.