While I spent most of August within the boundaries of my apartment ( including 14 days quarantine), September came up with some sense of freedom and happiness in boring life. It also marked the arrival of Fall season, thus more opportunities to capture the beauty of wonderful nature. Leaves are still changing colors in Omaha, we will see more colors in October. Temperature also went down considerably, witnessed some rain too.
Highlights of the Month :-
My wife finally returned to U.S. ,after emergency visa approval
It’s been a while, since I spent some time in Nature. My balcony is the only place, where I can breathe some fresh air. I love watching those birds fighting, playing and feeding in my balcony. Just because of them, I am able to feel connected to the Nature somehow.
This Saturday, I finally decided to come out of my hole. Next thing was to decide a place, where I can spend the day. There are many beautiful parks in Omaha, I chose Zorinsky Lake Park. Who don’t like to be in the silence of a beautiful lake. My camera was also hungry and I had to provide for him. My poor fellow !
I left for the park at 5:30 PM. Lake is just 20 min drive away from my house, so I reached there before 6 PM. I kept extra lens and small water bottle in my jeans pockets, camera filters and other accessories in travel pouch, and got ready for the adventure. 😊
Zorinsky Lake Trail
Park was not too crowded, but still there were some fellows like me, enjoying time outside. I chose a trail and started the hike in hope of some picturesque views. Trail was very beautiful, surrounded by dense green-trees, giving it a touch of a forest. I can’t wait to see it in the Fall season.
Beautiful Zorinsky Trail
The trail was of nearly 3 miles. My goal was to reach the dead-end, and then to return back to view Sunset. I kept my pace so as not to be late in return. I took various shots during this little exploration.
Dense Mini Forest Giant TreesBeauty In Green
Once I was out of that beautiful, rich tree-lined trail, a new trail emerged. Trail was quiet high from the ground, left side of it was parallel to city road, while right side was close to the lake.
Lake Trail
Hardly 10-15 mins from the end of this trail, was the second entrance of the park. There were big playing grounds for Soccer and Football. In the background of these playgrounds, arrival of Fall season was noticeable.
Parking and Playing Ground
Close to the entrance, there were some picnic tables, restrooms and a beautiful pier. There were more people at this side, a big group was having picnic, while another group was involved in a professional photo-shoot. There were few guys fishing at the pier. I spent some time there, took various pictures and started for the trail again. It was time to return.
Pier – Fishing Area
This time I walked close to the lake rather than flat surface of trail. There were various sunflowers plants at the shore which were complimenting the lake.
Sunflowers
Sunset was very close and I didn’t want to miss that, so I hurried back. Two guys were enjoying boating, their presence at that time, enhanced the beauty of the lake.
Two Guys Boating in the Lake
I was moving very fast now, sun was going down quickly, it was just a matter of minutes. In below two pictures, notice the movement, both pictures were taken within a minute.
Just before HorizonStuck In Trees
So finally I was back to the place (starting point of hike) on time. Colors had just started appearing, it was the Golden Hour. I walked towards a bench in front of the lake, to capture those beautiful moments. Just then, one of my office mate, who was also there, riding bicycle, called me. We had little chat and then both parted our ways.
Golden Hour – Beautiful LakeReflections of Color Clouds and TreesSky is PinkReflection, Trees and Birds
Within few minutes, everything was over and Blue Hour began, which was as beautiful as Golden Hour. Importance of these hours for photography is not a secret.
Beyond HorizonBlue Hour – Zorinsky LakeJust Before the DarknessSilhouettes
I wanted to spent more time, but it was already 7:45 PM, so I had to convince myself. There were only 2-3 cars in the parking lot at this time. I put camera and other things in the car and started for home, with sparkles in the eyes.
Here are the things to do in the park :-
Things To Do :-
Fishing
Boating (no-wake only)
Hiking
Biking
Soccer
Football
Picnic
So if you are in Omaha and want to spend a day outdoor, this park should be in your list. It offers best sunset view in Omaha.
Colorado Springs is a beautiful place, center of many popular attractions. If you want to explore it, but time is a constraint, here is the itinerary to cover famous attractions in short span of time. We spent whole day there and experience was just unmatchable.
Points Covered :-
Pikes Peak
Seven Falls
Garden Of The Gods
Seven Falls
Colorado Springs
We stayed at Quality Inn & Suites, Garden of the Gods which was very close to Garden Of The Gods, evident from property name. We decided to cover the attraction at the end of trip, due to its proximity from the hotel. In the vicinity of the hotel, there are various restaurants with good dinning options.
We left early for Pikes Peak , highest summit of southern front range of Rocky Mountains which was just 1 hour drive away from the hotel. We drove through Pikes peak highway – 19 miles drive with elevation of 14,115 feet. This drive was one of the steepest among all our previous trips and full of breathtaking views. Temperature completely flipped as we moved closer to the top, thus we had to wear hats, gloves and jackets (in May). Luckily we had all such stuff with us (some learnings from past road-trip experiences). It was really fun to wear winter clothes in summer and to watch skaters playing on ice in the surroundings. There is a point just before the peak, from where only shuttles are allowed due to narrow and steep road. We parked our car and waited for our turn (frequency is too slow) close to 25 mins, lady driver shared many facts about the area. At the top, it was just beautiful, whole city can be viewed from there and clouds were almost touchable. There is also a railway service for the peak which was under renovation, that could have been a good experience as well. There was a restaurant and visitor center which was a real treat in that cold, it’s unbelievable they were selling hot coffee, donuts, french-fries and many other fresh stuff. After spending quality time there, we returned to our car through shuttle and drove to our next destination. We were advised to drive in low gears (manual mode) so as not to damage the vehicle.
Road to ParadiseAt the Peak
Activities to Do :-
Biking
Hiking
Railway Tour
Shuttle Tour
Drive
Skating
Entry Fee :- 15 $ per adult
Next place on our list was Seven Falls, which was also close to our Hotel, so we drove back (1 hour) towards the hotel. It’s the only natural waterfall of Colorado to be listed in National Geographic’s list of international waterfalls. It’s a privately owned attraction, opened to public since 1880, formed naturally in attractive South Cheyenne Canyon. We left for the Norris Penrose Event Center in the morning, our pickup point for the park. They don’t have parking space (only bike parking) at the park, so complimentary shuttle services are provided to the tourists from Norris Penrose Event Center. We reached at Norris Center which was bit difficult to find (poor GPS), parked our car in parking lot and waited for the shuttle. There was a long queue of tourists, all waiting for the shuttle. When the shuttle arrived, it got full soon and we were still behind in the queue. To our luck, somehow two seats were still unoccupied and people before us were in big groups so we were asked to on-board.
Ready for the Stairs
Park is about 4 miles from the Norris Center, so it didn’t take much time to reach there. At the entrance, again there was a long queue for tickets (wished this could have been done in center itself) in which we spent close to 1.5 hour (cap is recommended, there is no shade). Ticket price is 16$ per adult and they also have Tram facility (costing 2$ per adult) to reach the Fall which is about 1 mile walk from there. We wanted to opt for Tram after standing for so long, but didn’t have patience to be in another line for it(not to talk about their frequency ), so we decided to walk. Walk was actually a good option, as the place is surrounded by beautiful rock formations and creative structures giving opportunity for photography. We reached at the fall after taking enough time in the observation of surrounding. Seven Falls ,as name suggests , is a water stream falling down from height of 181 feet, forming 7 waterfalls, each with it’s unique name. To watch the falls from close, one has to climb the staircase having 224 stairs. Those who don’t want to or can’t climb the stairs, have the option to watch the fall from an observatory just opposite to the Falls. There are 2 trails, once you reach at the top. Beside watching the fall from top, hiking is a good option. We hiked a trail for few minutes ( didn’t complete it, so as to return on time ) and then returned to the view point.
View of Seven Falls
We decided to head back to our hotel and before that checked the gift shop, which was actually pricey, also didn’t find anything attractive either. We bought two ice-creams from there and started walking (1 mile) towards the entrance. Queues were not yet done with us, now one more long queue for the shuttle. We waited in the queue for long and were very much tired. After 2 shuttles, our turn came and we were like dead in the bus. Shuttle dropped us at the Norris center and we drove back to our hotel.
Points to Consider :-
Park is open all days except Tuesday and Wednesday.
Be prepared for long, long queues.
No parking at the park, except bikes.
Shuttle is the only option, available from Norris center.
Keep in mind, more time would be invested due to lines for shuttles, tickets and trams.
Bring water
Activities to do :-
Hiking trails
Walking
Zip-lining (yes, it’s available, but at our time it was closed due to some reasons)
Dining
Park Fee :- 16 $ per adult
Next and last point was Garden Of The Gods , it is something you can’t miss, c’mon it’s GODS’ garden. As history goes, initially it used to be called as “Red Rock Corral”, but later on renamed to “Garden of the God” due to its wonderful rock formations. we explored whole garden by ourselves, without guide. There are various formations , each having unique name, unique structure, that will wonder you. Structures are made up of limestone, sandstone and conglomerate and are the results of the uplift of Rocky Mountains and Pikes Peak.
Park entry is free, we firstly went to Visitor Center, gathered information about the recreational activities and available tours. They have Segway tour, bus tour, rock climbing, mountain biking and few other activities. At that time in evening, nothing was available so we just visited the park.
With Rock Formations
What to expect in Visitor Center :-
Booking for personal or group tours at the counter
Information about the park, operational hours, it’s history and other facts
Short movie on the history of park, every 20 mins
Nice cafeteria with great view of park
Exhibit for Geology, Plants, Wildlife and Native Americans
Gift Shop
There are nearly 20 miles of trails, it’s kind of paradise for the hikers. We also spotted cyclists and skaters in the park. Rock-climbing is also a popular activity here, but we couldn’t do that due to lack of time. Trust me, it’s a heaven for photographers and nature- lovers. Pikes Peak can also be viewed from the park, it was amazing to see the peak from the park which we covered just in morning.
In the park of Gods
Activities to do :-
Hiking
Cycling
Skating
Rock-Climbing
Segway
Photography
Park Entry :- free
After spending considerable amount of time, we returned to our hotel. It was a great experience, full of nature’s beauty. Colorado Springs is highly recommended destination, 1 or 2 days are enough to cover its beauty.
Tips:-
Seven Falls can be covered at the end. Since they illuminate the fall with lights in night, it will definitely be an amazing experience . Also it will save some time to explore Garden Of The Gods.
Other famous attractions -> The Incline, Manitou Cliff Dwellings and Cave of the Winds Mountain Park
Let us know, have you find this place interesting ? Are you planning to visit anytime soon ?
My visa Interview was scheduled for Sep 4 at 8:30 AM. This time too, just like my Biometrics interview, I had pre-booked a taxi, which came on time and we left for US Embassy (Mumbai) at 6:00 AM. Traffic was very light, so we reached embassy at around 8:15 AM (my residence is very far from embassy). There was a small queue of nearly 15-20 applicants at the entrance (8:00 AM slot), I was asked to wait till my slot opens, which didn’t took much time.
I kept my purse, smart-watch, mobile in the taxi and got in line. There were just 7 guys ahead of me and everything was quick. We were asked to keep passport and appointment-confirmation document handy. When my turn came, documents were verified and post hand sanitization, I was asked to proceed.
Document List for the interview :-
My Documents :-
Passport
DS-160 Confirmation
Appointment Confirmation
H4 – i797
i94 Document
4 Passport-size Photos
Marriage Certificate
Wedding Pictures
Aadhar Card
Husband’s Documents :-
i797 copy
Passport Copy
Pay Stubs – Last 3 Months
Bank Statements – Last 3 Months
Tax Return Documents – Last 4 years
Employment Letter
W2 Forms – Last 4 years
Most of the documents are never asked, but you never know, interviewer can surprise you. So better go with full preparation, carry all necessary documents. Most of the applicants were for H4 visas like me and remaining were for F1 visas (student visa).
When my turn came, I was assigned to a window with lady interviewer. She was really nice and appeared to be a new hire. I was asked to sanitize hands and to provide my passport, husband’s i797 copy and DS-160 confirmation page. She asked some basic questions, verified the documents and kept passport with her (visa approved). She informed that passport will be delivered at chosen address. I thanked her and was about to leave, when she asked to scan fingerprints, which she forgot to do earlier 🙂 .
Interview Questions :-
Which place are you going to ? (City, State)
Where do you stay in Omaha ? (Home address)
Have you visited Omaha before ? (Y/N)
What do you like about Omaha ? (Bit description about the place)
What are your quarantine plans, once you reach Omaha ? (Precautions and everything for 14 days)
Whole process took just 1 hour, without wasting any time, I left for the home. I had selected the “Premium Delivery” option during emergency request, as I don’t prefer to travel much in this COVID situation.
Passport came on Sep 8 through BlueDart and it costed 500 Rs. for the premium delivery. Overall it was a smooth experience and delivery was earlier than expected. My recommendation is to go for Delivery option rather than for Pick-up.
If you have any questions, feel free to post in comment section.
Colorado always tops the list of our favorite places. If you love being in nature, Colorado is your place. Each time you go there, you will find something different. As I always say – “Colorado never disappoints”.
Earlier we visited RMNP (Rocky Mountain National Park), which was actually our first road trip in USA. This time we planned to visit Colorado again, but for different places. Do you know, Colorado offers 4 national parks, each one unique in its own way. Our plan was to cover 2 more national parks this time along with some famous attractions in Colorado Springs.
We planned our 5-day road trip from Omaha, Nebraska to Colorado, covering Denver, Gunnison, Montrose and Colorado Springs. I really love road trips because of my passion for driving and to be able to have full control over the trip unlike Air travel (usual delays and restrictions).
DAY 1
We left for Colorado at around 6 AM with almost everything loaded in the car (blankets, food, toaster, camping stuff, books etc). It’s an 8 hours drive from Omaha to Denver, which was our first stop. We took enough halts at gas stations, Starbucks and Taco-Bells and reached Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham,Denver at around 6 PM. Hotel was just average, not what we expected, but our plan was to stay there for just one night, so it was manageable. Location of hotel was good, very close to Denver airport and there were many restaurants near by. We had dinner and went to bed. Next day we were to leave for Gunnison.
DAY 2
We woke up early and after having complimentary-breakfast, left for first attraction of our trip – Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park. National park was around 5 hour drive from the hotel. We started at around 7 AM, our target was to reach there as early as possible, since Canyon is famous for its darkness and lesser amount of sun-light available throughout the day. Drive was just spectacular with amazing scenic views of lakes and snow covered mountains. We reached national park at around 12:30 PM which was actually late, but we tried our best 🙂 . At the entrance we purchased the entry pass which is 25$ per vehicle for 7 days. Make sure to bring cash, as credit/debit card machines often don’t work due to poor signals. We had to wait for few minutes for the card transaction to complete.
From The View Point – Black Canyon
We never visited any Canyon before, this was just mesmerizing. There were various view-points along with hikes, from where canyon can be seen. Park offers hiking, fishing, rock-climbing and camping, some of which require reservations and permits. We visited almost all points and did hiking as well. Park was not that crowded so that was a relief. After sun-set we headed to our hotel in Montrose.
Canyon View
From Gunnison national park, our hotel Stay Wise Inn ,Montrose was just 15 mins away. We reached at the property at around 6:30, it was a beautiful place and at a wonderful location with mountains surrounding it. We wished we could have stayed here bit longer. We had dinner in a nearby Nepali restaurant and food was just awesome. We went to bed early with happy faces and with the excitement of the trip.
DAY 3
We left for Great Sand Dunes National Park in the morning, it was a 4 hour drive. We reached the park at noon. There was a long queue of vehicles at the entrance, we had to wait around 30-40 mins, just to reach at the entrance. Needless to mention, parking was a big problem. To our luck, somehow we managed to get a parking spot. We had never seen or imagined such Nature’s wonder, Sand Dunes of Colorado are the tallest in North America. To our surprise, there was a creek just before the dunes with freezing water, where people were enjoying.
Time For Pose – Great Sand Dunes
Hiking on dunes needs real strength, due to the elevation and strong winds, it was a mistake to wear shorts. Among the activities are snowboarding, hiking, camping, horseback riding and seasonal hunting. We just hiked, took pictures and left for our next destination. Just before the entrance, there is a nice restaurant, where we had some food before leaving for Colorado Springs.
Beautiful Dunes
Our stay was at Quality Inn & Suites, Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs which was nearly 3 hours drive from Great Sand Dunes. We left the park at around 6 PM and checked-in hotel at nearly 9 PM.
DAY 4
Quality inn was very close to Garden of the Gods , prime attraction of our trip and we had still 2 days left in the trip, so we chose to cover it at the end. We inquired at the reception about nearby popular places and got some good advice. We planned to visit Pikes Peak, highest summit of southern front range of Rocky Mountains. It was not too far from our hotel, just 1 hour drive. We had a nice complimentary breakfast and left for the place. There was a small queue of vehicles at the entrance of the destination, ticket was 15$ per adult. If you are in Colorado Springs, this attraction is highly recommended. Driving till top was not easy, as it has elevation of 14,115 feet with deep and steep valleys.
Road to Pikes Peak
They also provide tourist-bus option for those who don’t want to drive. There is a checkpoint just before the top, from where you must take shuttles, as it’s too risky to drive. Whole drive was scenic with visitor centers in between, once we reached at the checkpoint, we parked our car and waited for shuttle. Make sure to bring your winter essentials, as it was too cold out there, people were ice-skating, yes there was snow in May. Thankfully we had loaded our car with jackets, gloves and woolen hats. At the top, it was just beautiful, whole city can be viewed from there and clouds were almost touchable.
In The Clouds
There was a restaurant and visitor center which was a savior in that cold, it’s unbelievable they were selling hot coffee, donuts, french-fries and many other fresh stuff. After spending quality time there, we returned to our car through shuttle and drove to our next destination.
Seven Falls was near our Hotel so we drove back for an hour to reach there. It’s the only natural waterfall of Colorado to be listed in National Geographic’s list of international waterfalls. It’s privately owned by Broadmoor and opened to public since 1880. There is no parking space available there, so they provide shuttles from Norris Penrose Event Center. We parked at the Norris center and waited for next available shuttle. Once we reached the park, there was a long queue for tickets, we waited for almost 1.5 hours there. Waterfall is at 1 mile distance from the entrance, so we decided to take a walk. Fall is really cool and can be viewed from observation center or from the the top (there are 224 stairs). There are hiking trails at the top, we did a small hike, took some pictures and left for Garden of the Gods . Restaurant there was costly and so was the gift shop. On our way back, there was again a long queue for shuttle, we waited for our turn and finally returned to Norris center.
Seven FallsSelfie Time
From there we headed to Garden of the Gods , which was the prime reason, we came to Colorado Springs. It was already late, so we decided to just cover the park by ourselves without any guided tour. We firstly went to Visitor Center and inquired about the park and available tours. We liked Segway tour among all available guided tours and booked one for next day early morning. Just to mention, park entry is free. After watching a movie regarding park’s geology and history, we visited the park, It was amazing to see such rock formations, each unique in it’s own way. Really park justifies its name. It was a good hike, we covered almost whole park and took many pictures. After sun-set we returned to our hotel.
Twin Tower
DAY 5
So finally, last day of the trip, we were to leave for Omaha today. After having breakfast, we checked-out of the hotel and left for Garden of the Gods. Our Segway tour was at 8 AM, we were there 15 mins before. Our guide was very friendly, he taught us how to ride Segways and asked us to practice in the parking area. There was no-one else for this tour, mainly because it was Monday, also park was less crowded. Guide appreciated our timing 🙂 . Tour was really good, he told us about each rock formation and took us to a place from where Pikes Peakcan be viewed.
Pikes Peak View
Segway was real fun, so was the informative tour (Highly recommended). Whole tour took just an hour and we were ready for drive. It was an amazing trip with so many wonderful places. We reached at home in evening with beautiful memories still fresh in our minds.
There are few more activities to do in Colorado Springs, so they can be planned as well based on your preferences. Let us know, if there is any place, that should have been on the list.
In previous post, my emergency visa request got approved and interviews were scheduled without any glitch. First interview was Biometrics which is for fingerprinting and capturing applicant’s photograph. These interviews are conducted at Visa Application Centers, also knows as VACs.
My appointment was scheduled for 12:30 PM on 29th Aug. I knew it would be a long day for me due to distance of Mumbai VAC from my home. I woke up early at 6:00 AM and got ready till 7:45 AM. Taxi was booked in advance, so no last minute surprises there. Driver was on time and we left for VAC at 8:00 AM. It took us around 4 hours to reach there due to traffic. I was at the VAC center at 11:50 AM.
There were two guys wearing masks at the gate. One of them asked about the appointment time and directed me towards the entrance. Whole area was kind of deserted with just 3 guys (with masks) at the entrance. One of them checked my body temperature and asked to sanitize hands while other one provided a token number. They directed me to first floor.
At first floor, I presented the token number to a guy-in-uniform. He asked me to have a seat and wait for my turn. There were just 4 applicants before me and to maintain social distancing, every middle chair was marked with “do not sit” slogan.
Documents Required :-
DS-160 confirmation
Appointment Confirmation Letter
Visa Application Fee Receipt (Included in appointment confirmation itself)
I waited for few minutes and when my turn came, went to the assigned counter. At the counter, lady officer asked to sanitize hands and to provide passport with DS-160 confirmation. She reviewed the documents and informed that travel date on the form is not updated. I got confused and bit nervous as Biometrics generally goes very smooth, without much questions, and here there was some issue with travel date itself. After she explained properly, I understood the situation.
The problem was that my earlier visa interviews were cancelled due to COVID by embassy itself and they were based on DS-160 with Intended travel date as 25 March. For this emergency request, we used same DS-160 without updating it, making travel date as incorrect.
There was another lady with the officer who were very keen to reject my application. She kept telling the officer, that just reject it and ask her to come again with correct data. I was very furious on her, but didn’t expressed myself 🙂 . I asked for the solution and officer asked me to get it corrected in the VAC itself, I never knew this can be done there as well.
Correction facility was on the same floor, just in-front of the elevator. There was a guy with computer sitting there. I explained him the whole situation and he told that, it will cost 500 Rs. Unfortunately I had left the money in taxi itself, so I had to go outside to bring money.
Once outside, I just thought of checking with the guard about this. Guard was very helpful, he told me about a nearby cyber cafe good enough to understand the requirement. Cyber cafe is around 5 mins from the embassy. I took the money from the taxi and went to that cafe. That decision proved to be really fruitful, as there were some other fields in the DS-160 form that required corrections. Cafe guy was smart, he retrieved the application online and did all the corrections quickly. As per him VAC charges 500 Rs. per correction and he did all changes in just 300 Rs.
He gave me fresh copy of DS-160. I came back to embassy and submitted the copy at the counter. Officer validated form and asked to sanitize hands again. Fingerprints (firstly left hand four fingers, then right hand four fingers, at last thumbs of both hands ) were scanned and then I was asked to remove the mask for photograph. Once done, she returned my passport along with stamped copy of DS-160 which is required for main interview.
Points to consider :-
If you have filled DS-160 long time back, check for the travel date before going for interviews ( travel date should be the future date )
Carry some money with you for such situations. Debit/card cards are also accepted.
If you bring your own car, would suggest to go for nearby Cyber Cafe for such corrections.
I was happy that even after this small trouble, everything went well (thank god, that second lady was not in charge 😀 ). I was back to my house at around 6:00 PM. As guessed, it took my whole day but it was totally worthy.
Hope you find this helpful. In case of any question or doubt, feel free to leave comments.
Most important document to visit a country, other than passport, is Visa that basically determines traveler’s eligibility to enter in that country. With latest U.S. travel restrictions due to COVID, embassies in India are not processing new visa requests till December 31, 2020. Those without visa are now stuck in India and many families are impacted due to this.
Question is why am I talking about this ? Let me give some context – I am working as Software Professional in U.S. on H1B work visa and my spouse in on H4 dependent visa which is kind of family visa. She went to India last October before this COVID madness and I planned to join her after few months. Our Visa got expired in 2018, means stamping is required in order to re-enter U.S. from India.
I traveled India this March for stamping purpose and to celebrate our wedding anniversary. She had scheduled visa appointments prior to my arrival and even completed her bio-metrics interview. We thought of getting same date for F2F interview for both of us, so she cancelled her interview in order to match my date. That proved to be a wrong decision as she didn’t get same date. My visa got approved, and just after 2 days, embassy got closed due to COVID lock-down. So basically her interview got cancelled automatically by embassy and now she was without visa.
Due to all this, she couldn’t accompany me on my return to U.S. on Aug 8. Long separation was taking a toll on us and to wait till December was just worse. We searched for best available options and after some research got the solution of our problem – Emergency Visa.
Emergency visa is assigned in case of any emergency be it medical , related to any death, pregnancy, or family separation. One has to present very strong case to get the request approved.
Prerequisites:-
Regular appointments – Only thing needed for emergency visa is to have regular appointments scheduled. One has to first select the available dates for both Bio-metric and F2F interviews before even thinking about emergency option.
Steps for Regular Visa :-
DS-160 form – Form needs to be filled and submitted, confirmation page must be saved.
Fee submission – 190 $ must paid to recipient account mentioned in portal. Once received, it will reflect on the portal.
Appointment schedule – There will be 2 appointments, first for Biometric and second for Face-to-Face interview (Both can’t be scheduled for same date). From the website, available dates can be chosen for both the interview. For now all available dates are in 2021.
Once above steps are complete and regular appointments are scheduled, Emergency Request option will appear on the dashboard.
Request For Emergency Appointment
Our payment and everything was already in place as she had given bio-metrics earlier, so we just needed to select new dates and look for Emergency Visa option. We selected available dates of Feb 2021 and applied for emergency request. Applicant has to select Purpose of Travel, fill the reason for emergency request and need to upload the supporting documents for his claim. We selected “Medical Needs” as the purpose and reason for emergency was “depression and constant mood swings due to separation which is impacting my family”. Reason itself was clear enough, so we didn’t uploaded anything for it.
Emergency FormFields :-
Purpose of Travel
Reason for Emergency Request
Supporting Documents
Post submission of request, page gave some technical error and emergency visa option also vanished from the dashboard. Now there was no way to know what happened with the request other than waiting for some communication from USCIS or to call them. We waited 🙂
Page Error on Submission
Request was submitted on Aug 13 and we didn’t receive any mail regarding approval or denial till Aug 24, when we were notified about the approval through email. Bingo !
Now next step was to select the new available dates on the portal (post approval, earlier dates become available ). Dates were selected for both interviews for 28 Aug and 4 Sep respectively.
Don’t want to make this post lengthy by including interview experiences. That part will look better in separate post. Hope you find it useful. Would love to hear back.
Lying in my bed, woke up from last night’s sleep, ready to start my day, I slowly opened the eyes. There is hell lot of sun-light in the room, actually it’s quiet late (never been an early riser).
Everything looks normal, except the fact that I am sweating profusely. May be just a nightmare (oh boy ! real nightmare is going to start soon), they are common, aren’t they ?
I sleep on a mattress on bedroom floor, so I tried pushing my left hand in mattress in order to get up, but hand is just dead, totally unresponsive. I don’t feel it even after trying hard. I try for right hand, same result.
Am I dreaming or is it real ? How to know that ? My body is not in my control. After some struggle, came to my senses and found out that someone is sitting on my chest. He got a strong hold of me. I try my best to get up and throw him away but he is too strong to topple. I don’t see him but can feel for sure and I am not a psycho. It’s happening in real (oh ! lord). My mind started processing and gave me horrors by providing some dreadful visuals. I really don’t know what to do. Crying for help is the only viable solution.
I started shouting at the top of my lungs, my chest puffing like a gas balloon, but nothing came out from my mouth, no voice, just some air. Only I know the internal struggle, he witnessed all this while sitting on me and pushing me down.
I asked him what he actually wants (brain to brain communication) ? He didn’t responded but maintained his heavy grip on me. He is very strong and rigid. I begged to God to help me out of this situation.
When nothing happened, I just closed my eyes. I can’t be in this frightening state for long, better not to see it. Let him to do what he wants.
Few moments later, he was gone like a passing breeze and everything went quiet again. No more struggle, no heaviness and best thing my hands were responding. I got up from the bed, still afraid and surprised about what happened.
Went to washroom, relieved myself and saw in the mirror, if there is someone that can be spotted, just like in Mirrors movie (my mirror version will stare and try to kill me ). But to my luck, nothing such happened. I went directly to my worship place and asked blessings from God.
I was now so sure of presence of a ghost in my house that I was thinking of options for next night. But my technical and smart mind was not ready to accept this. I opened my laptop and googled about this incident with proper search keywords (my searching skill is really good 🙂 ) and got the cause of this incident – Sleep Paralysis.
Sleep Paralysis is a state where your mind is awake but body isn’t, just opposite of Sleep Walking where body is awake but mind is still in sleep. People hallucinate in this state and feel very helpless. Based on the imaginative power of brain, one can imagine anything horrible, in most cases a ghost. Good thing is that it don’t lasts more than 2-3 minutes.
Have you experienced Sleep paralysis ? Would love to hear your experiences 🙂
August was crucial month for me, as I was able to return to U.S. after spending nearly 5 months in India. This was the month, when things came back to normal, be it ease in lock-down or flights operations.
I spent first week in Mumbai and rest of the month here. After reaching here safely, I had to quarantine myself for 14 days which limited my view area to my balcony. I observed almost everything from the balcony, even spotted a bunny an evening.
After 14 days, I went out just once to get groceries from Costco, Walmart and Indian store. I love to walk, go to nearby park and take photographs but for now preferring to be inside only, Why? You know the answer 😊
Passed this whole time with my camera, my best buddy who never leaves me alone. Hey ! Why I am talking this much ? better my photos do the rest of the talk :-
ParkingWindows & BalconiesHappy Morning !Vibrant GrassWhat’s This ? Can I Taste It ?TripletsSpot MeAt DuskIn The Dark
All these pictures are taken from my balcony except first two, which were in Mumbai. I tried to capture whatever I can and shared my favorites among hundreds of them.
Which picture you liked the most and why ? Would love to see August from your lenses 🙂
HarPiyTravel 