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The online appointment system is designed to assist every traveler in making a visa appointment at his or her convenience. However, on occasion there may be a wait of several days or more before you can be seen at the Consular Section.
If you have an urgent need to travel immediately and are in need of a visa due to an emergency, you must first make a regular appointment using the online system or using the Visa Information Service call center.
Once you have booked your regular appointment, you have two options to request an emergency visit:
- You may request an emergency appointment by filling out a form on the U.S. Embassy's Web Site at http://germany.usembassy.de/email/niv-emergency.htm Please make sure you schedule a regular appointment before you request an emergency appointment. The date of your regularly scheduled appointment will be required for the request. Your inquiry will be answered no later than the next working day.
- Your second option is to call our Visa Information Service at 0900-1-850055 (Calls through the German land line cost EUR 1,86/min. Mobile phone provider might offer different tariffs. Please check with your provider for detailed information.) and explain to them why your case should be considered an emergency. Live agents are available from 7 AM to 8 PM Monday through Friday except on German Holidays. If you are calling from outside Germany please dial +49 (0)9131-772-2270 (You will be charged for the long-distance call and a EUR 15 service charge will be billed through your credit card.)
Emergency appointments may only be granted for serious emergencies. Emergencies include:
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Life or Death Emergency
- Business Facilitation
- Student and Exchange Visitor Facilitation
- German Airport Turnaround
- ESTA refusal, if you meet the standard Emergency Appointment requirements:
o Life or Death Emergency
o Business Facilitation
o German Airport Turnaround
A lack of planning to obtain the proper visa in advance does not constitute an emergency. The risk of missing a booked flight or other travel arrangements is no reason for an emergency case.
Do not buy your airline ticket before you obtain your visa. Please remember that the granting of an emergency appointment does not guarantee visa issuance.
Please note: Most German nationals can travel to the United States for general tourism or business purposes under the Visa Waiver Program for a period of 90 days or less. For more information on the Visa Waiver Program, please visit the U.S. Embassy in Germany website at http://www.usembassy.de.
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