Expedited Interviews

The Consular Section expedites interview appointments for certain categories of visa applicants, on a space-available basis.

These categories are:

• Students (F or M visas), exchange program participants (J visas) and work petition beneficiaries (H, L, O, P, or Q visas) who need to report to a U.S. educational institution or employer by a certain date;
• Ship crewmembers applying for C1/D crewmember visas (individually, not via a crew recruitment agency);
• Medical or other emergency travel;
• Business Travelers.

The requests must be sent in writing, either by e-mail to nivappt_sofia@state.gov or by fax to +359-2-937-5209, and must include:

• each applicant’s full three names, EGN, Unionbank yellow receipt number and date of payment;
• the type of visa being applied for;
• details of the situation and the date on which the applicant(s) need to travel;
• an e-mail address or fax number to which we can reply to the request; and
• for students and exchange program participants, the SEVIS number (begins with "N" and is on the upper right-hand corner of the I-20 or DS-2019).
• for work petition beneficiaries, the petition number.

  In the case of a medical emergency, the Consular Section should also receive a fax from the medical institution in the United States that gives a description of the medical condition and the full name(s) of the patient(s) and of the visa applicant(s).

In the case of other emergency travel, please contact the Consular Section at: +359 2 937-5100, every business day between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm.

Unfortunately, due to increased demand for appointments during the busiest travel seasons and the high volume of rescheduling requests we receive, requests for earlier visa interview dates for other applicants cannot be accommodated.

We require that applicants for whom we expedite visa interview appointments submit the "BARCODE" version of the DS-156 Application for Nonimmigrant Visa. The form has to be completed online at http://evisaforms.state.gov, then printed, signed and presented on the day of the interview along with the other forms and supporting documents.