I want to travel to the US for medical treatment

Tue, Nov 1. 2011

Question: I want to travel to the United States for medical treatment. What do I need to do?

Answer: Receiving medical treatment is a permissible activity on a regular tourist (B-1/B-2) visa.{{more}} If you want to travel to the United States for medical treatment and don’t already have a visa, you must schedule an interview appointment by visiting U.S. Embassy Bridgetown’s website: http://barbados.usembassy.gov/non-immigrant_visas.html.

On the off chance that no appointment is available prior to the date the applicant must travel you can either: send an email to BridgetownNIV@state.gov; send a fax to (246) 431-0179: or call the Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV) unit at (246) 227-4000 (Monday-Friday 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.) to request an emergency appointment. Please include your full name, date of birth, proof of your medical appointment, and the date and time you wish to have your appointment.

In addition to the documents required of all B-1/B-2 applicants, we strongly recommend that applicants whose purpose of travel is to seek medical treatment bring the following documents/information to the visa interview:

•  Detailed information (issued by a hospital or the attending physician in your home country) concerning the nature of the illness or disability that requires medical treatment

• Evidence that a medical appointment has been scheduled in the United States

• Documentation from the U.S. hospital or physician concerning the projected cost of the medical treatment in the United States

• Documentation concerning how the medical treatment will be paid for

• A letter from your attending physician explaining why the proposed medical treatment is unavailable in your home country (if applicable)

Please remember that simply demonstrating that the medical treatment is necessary is insufficient to qualify for a visa; the applicant must also overcome the presumption of immigrant intent outlined in Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

More information is available as “Frequently Asked Questions” on the U.S. State Department’s web page: http://travel.state.gov/visa/forms/forms_4401.html.

Additional information on the visa application process is available on U.S. Embassy Bridgetown’s website at http://barbados.usembassy.gov/.