申请人道主义，赴美就医及处理家庭紧急情况签证----我们如何提供帮助？

 一些访客在我们的博客上问到,由于他们的亲属在美国遭遇紧急情况甚至不幸而需要紧急赴美，在这种情况下我们使馆应该如何提供帮助。

不论他/她的家庭背景或者赴美目的，美国签证法律对待每一位申请人都是公平的。针对商务及旅游签证包括赴美探亲或寻求紧急医疗救助，签证法的主要部分规定签证官员必须事先假定所有申请人具有移民倾向,除非申请人能够证明他们会在美国短期合法停留后如期返回。

签证官员只能根据这个法律对一个申请案例作出决定,我们不能根据自己个人的感情和同情心来颁发或拒绝一个签证申请。在我从事签证工作九年的生涯中， 我体会到以下这一点是最难的： 大部分中国申请人都符合颁发签证的要求， 但在一些极其罕见的案例中，申请人不能克服法律规定的移民倾向的假设，但签证官员真的很想批给他们签证。在这种情况下，唯一合法及恰当的做法是拒签这些申请。我们的官员们通常对这些申请会进行非常仔细的考虑。美国法律严格要求签证官员在面对个人情感挑战或悲伤时作出决定，但是法律对所有申请人都是透明的，也是公平的。每一个申请都是根据法律来作出决定，而不是情感。

但是，依据法律做出的决定就意味着美国使领馆对申请人的感情和紧急要求视而不见吗？当然不是。

虽然很遗憾我们不能把个人的同情放到法律的决定界线中, 但是我们可以在申请人面临困难情况下给予调整签证申请程序,让我们的申请人容易快捷的办理申请赴美签证. 尤其, 每当我们获悉像医疗救助,丧办, 或者其他人道主义申请中, 我们都会给予赴美申请人一个加急预约的面谈服务, 我们甚至在晚上, 周末, 节假日来也照常上班,,来确保那些在美国的中国公民因交通事故受伤的家庭成员能在获得中国护照后尽快面谈。 同时, 我们会给申请人机会来证明他们符合签证要求，并认真仔细的考虑这些申请。对于年长者和体弱的申请人, 我们会在面谈大厅尽可能安排缩短他们的等待时间.

我希望我们的博客读者能理解我们在法律硬性要求及个人欲支持我们的申请人及中国公民的愿望之间所作出的平衡。我感谢你们通过博客及传真给使馆的方式与我们一起分享评论及问题,我也欢迎你们在博客的评论区或在每月的网聊上讨论这个话题。

安丽珊处长

Visas for Humanitarian, Medical, and Family Emergencies – How Do We Help?

A number of visitors to our blog have asked how we help people who need to travel to the United States urgently because their relatives there have experienced an emergency or even, sadly, a tragedy. 

U.S. visa law applies equally to every applicant, regardless of his or her family background or purpose of travel.  The main section of the visa law for business and tourism visas, including visas to visit family or seek medical care in the United States, states that visa officers must assume all applicants are unqualified intending immigrants until the applicants demonstrate that they will be compelled to return home after a temporary and legal stay.

Visa officers are only allowed to decide a case based on this law; we are not allowed to issue or refuse a visa based on our personal feelings or sympathy for the applicant.  In my nine years of visa work, I’ve realized this may be the most difficult part: although the vast majority of visa applicants in China are qualified for a visa, in some rare cases a visa officer would really like to issue a visa to an applicant even though the person does not overcome the law’s presumption of immigrant intent.  In these situations, the only legal and appropriate action is to refuse the case, and we officers always think very carefully about these cases.  It may seem very strict that the law requires visa officers to make a decision that they find personally challenging or sad, but the law ensures transparency and fair treatment for all applicants.  Every case is decided by law, rather than emotion.

So, does this legal approach mean the U.S. Embassy and Consulates are blind to the emotions and urgent needs of our customers?  Of course not. 

Although we cannot make legal decisions based on our personal sympathy for applicants, we do adjust visa procedures to make them as easy and quick as possible for applicants who are in stressful situations.  Whenever we hear about a medical emergency, bereavement, or other humanitarian case, we give the traveler an expedited visa interview appointment.  We have even opened the Visa Unit late at night, on weekends, and on holidays to ensure family members of Chinese citizens injured in a traffic accident in the United States had the opportunity to interview as soon as they obtained their Chinese passports.  We give the applicants the chance to demonstrate their eligibility for a visa and give the case careful consideration.  For family members who are elderly or ill, we arrange for them to wait as little time as possible in our waiting room before the interview.

I hope our blog readers understand the way we balance the impersonal requirements of the law with our personal desire to support our customers and the citizens of China.  I appreciate the comments and questions you have shared with us on the blog and by fax to our Embassy, and I welcome you to discuss this matter in the blog comments and in our next monthly web chat.