Mumbai:
The family of an Indian student hospitalised in the US after an accident is waiting to get a visa to visit her. Nilam Shinde, 35, is in a coma after an accident in California on February 14, and her family in Maharashtra’s Satara has been trying to get a visa since then.
Speaking to NDTV, her uncle, Sanjay Kadam, said that they have been trying to book visa slots, but the next slot is for next year.
“The hospital has been asking us to visit her as soon as possible as she is in a critical condition,” Mr Kadam, who learnt of the accident on February 16, said.
“We call the hospital every day and hear that she is critical,” he said.
“The visa slot we are getting is for 2026,” he added.
Some Indian students have been with her at the hospital, but no one yet from her family, he said.
Speaking about the crash, Mr Kadam said she suffered fractures and injuries to her chest and head.
He said the hospital had sought their permission to operate on Ms Shinde’s brain.
NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule has posted in support of the family and has requested External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s help to get her father a visa, tagging him in her X post.
She also spoke to NDTV and said this is an “alarming issue” and that we all need to work together to resolve it.
She said she may have “political differences” with Mr Jaishankar, a BJP leader, but he is “very helpful and empathetic” about the issue of Indian students abroad.
“My experience with the MEA (the Ministry of External Affairs) has been extraordinarily very very good. They always go the extra mile to help,” Ms Sule said, adding that she has also reached out to the US Embassy in Mumbai.
India has now also reached out to the United States government over a visa application for relatives of Ms Shinde. Sources told NDTV that the External Affairs Ministry’s Americas Division has contacted the American administration to issue a visa or at least an emergency travel permit.
Ms Shinde, a Master of Science student, has been in the US for four years and is in her final year.
How To Get Emergency US Visa
To get an emergency visa for the US, a person can request an expedited appointment online and provide supporting documents.
It can be requested if the person has an urgent medical or humanitarian need to travel.
The person first needs to schedule a regular visa appointment online and then select “Request Expedite”. The person should then provide the destination in the US and explain the emergency, along with the supporting documents.
The emergency visa appointment slots, however, are in a limited number.
