National Interest Exception (NIE) - Travel to India for a short visit.

[bytes]

Hi,

I and my spouse reside in the US currently and are on L1A & L2 visas. We intend to travel to India for a month around Nov/Dec.

1. Is NIE required for our return?
2. If yes, is it better to apply for NIE prior to the travel? If there's a precedence in this forum, could you please share how you went about it?

Thanks in advance.

[rkk09]

Hi,
Here is my response.
1. It is very hard to predict for the month of Nov and December. At present, NIE approval is required for Non-immigrants.
2. No. It can not be applied when you are in the USA.. It can be processed only in the consulate/ embassy. If you need to go for visa stamping then it will be processed at the time. If you dont require visa and you have already valid visa then you will need to send email to consulate to get NIE Approval.
Thanks

[correrag72]

Hi,

if you and your spouse are fully vaccinated then you can travel from India to the UK and stay in the UK for 14days. After you will be able to travel to the US without NIE. This will only be valid for fully vaccinated and after November when the travel ban will be lifted for EU/UK.