Hello, this is Matsui of IMS Legal Professional Corporation. On March 31st, the Executive Order regarding the restriction of U.S. non-immigrant visas expired, and Embassy interviews for the L, H, and J visas returned to normal. I believe many had to wait a year or more to go to the U.S. On the other hand, interviews for B visas (Business/Tourism) have been temporarily suspended since March 20, 2020; as of today, they still have not officially resumed. Despite this, some interview slots irregularly opened over the past year, and some applicants were lucky enough to get an interview. This past April, it looked like there were many B visa interview slots available for the following months, but this number decreased every time you checked. I assume this is because the state of emergency was redeclared. Right now, reservations are booked until after September for both Tokyo and Osaka.
Even under these circumstances, going to the U.S. using ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) has not been suspended. Those with a valid ESTA should have no problems going to the U.S. However, for those who cannot use ESTA for whatever reason, the situation continues to be very difficult. For those who urgently need a B visa due to work, etc., the only solution is applying for an expedited appointment.
Expedited appointment criteria
You can apply for an "Emergency Appointment Request" if you meet any of the following criteria:
- Medical needs: to obtain urgent medical care, or to accompany a relative, etc., in need of urgent medical care
- Funeral: to attend the funeral of or to make arrangements for repatriating the body of an immediate family member (mother, father, brother, sister, child, grandparent, or grandchild) in the U.S.
- Urgent business travel: to attend an urgent business matter that could not be predicted in advance
- ESTA denied: ESTA application was denied and the applicant meets any of the following conditions:
- Dual national of Iraq, Iran, Sudan, or Syria
- Traveled to Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, or Somalia after March 1, 2011 and needs to travel to the U.S. urgently
Expedited visa requests are submitted online from the account which made the visa interview reservation. However, all procedures must be done in English. Also, you only have one chance, so please proceed with the process carefully.
It seems likely that applying for a B visa interview will continue to be difficult for the near future. There are still very few slots available. If you are in an urgent need to travel to the U.S. and need to apply for a B visa, please contact IMS.
For more information, please contact us below ↓
https://imsvisa.support/en/contact/
