hedge32

Hello. My wife is scheduled for her medical in London on April 23rd. She has her Visa appointment on May 4th. She is currently here with me in the USA and her 90 days visit is up on April 23rd. She is booked to fly back to the UK on April 21st but this is unlikely due to the volcano in Iceland. Maybe somone has some experience/suggestions for the following questions:

1. Can she try and reschedule her medical here in the US. If so, would she be allowed to carry it with her to London or would they post it.

2. What sort of problems, if any, would she incur from an overstay resulting from the flight cancellations to the UK

3. Who would we contact to try and reschedule the medical. NVC or US Embassy in London or?

Ginblossom

You arent the first person to wonder. The simple answer is noone knows as yet,....I will try and contact the state department monday.

lostlove

I am sorry that the Icelandic volcano ashes have fallen on your medical plans.
You are not alone, Obama's Poland trip is covered with a dark cloud of ash.

The embassy is well aware of the travelling catastrophe and I assume they will make alternative arrangements for the medical.

I think both the NVC and London can guide you further.

discoviking

You may want to investigate alternate routes. According to norwegian media, the Norwegian Prime Minister was stuck in New York thursday due to the volcanic activity. He was able to fly to Madrid on Friday and continue via land-based transportation from there. Think outside the box, good luck!

TimNiceBut

Problem is getting to Madrid from the UK at the moment as it appears that the availability on ferries and trains is a little suboptimal at the moment, to say the least.

crg

Even though the ash cloud is creating unprecedented travel issues, there is no way to keep her ability to use the VWP intact following an overstay, even under such circumstances. There is something called a satisfactory departure, but that is usually reserved for dire medical emergencies.

If she remains in the US past the 90 days, she will no longer be eligible to use the VWP.

She may want to go spend some time in Canada and then make her way back to the UK once the smoke clears.

Good luck.

Ginblossom

I think given the unprecedented and unique circumstances it would be nice if the US authorities provided some guidance on this matter. After all, we are now hearing some UK citizens stranded cannot get back home for up to two weeks.

Englishmum

The British Consul has posted a link about British citizens in the US in danger of overstaying and official US immigration instructions on what to do about it on the other 'Volcano' thread in the main US forum!

crg

Thanks for the information:

Here's the link:

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?v...ws&id=22076854

It appears that the US government will consider granting satisfactory departure after all. It seems like a rational thing to do. Now she just needs to get her passport and I-94W to someone who can grant it.

agentpeppermint

Yes you can call to reschedule the appointment for the medical from the US, My husband scheduled his from here so, I would assume you can reschedule from here...


And what an awesome link, I would apply for the extension on the overstay as quickly as possible!

Jerseygirl

Here is a link provided by Dean, British Consul for those worried about VWP and visa dates expiring.

Ginblossom

Wished it worked the other way too. Poor Tim and me have PR visas that need stamping.

hedge32

Well my wife actually got on her plane as booked. How lucky is that. Hope everyone else gets there soon.