The US consulate is giving visas to the family of Indian student Neelam Sinde, who was seriously injured and is undergoing treatment in a car accident in California, her parents said on Friday.
Cinde is still in coma at a San Francisco hospital, but her condition has improved slightly, her father said.
The day before, the Foreign Office had taken up an emergency visa request with US authorities.
Neelam’s father, Tanagi Shinde, told PTI that she learned from the doctors that her condition had improved.
“I received a call from my roommate on February 16th, but she didn’t tell me about the accident. Later, I let Neelam’s uncle know about it. Neelam is still coma, but her condition has improved slightly,” he said.
“We went to the embassy today (in Mumbai). They interviewed us and gave us a visa within 30 minutes. We’ll be leaving for the US tomorrow. Both the union and the Maharashtra government helped us a lot. The media also helped us,” Shinde said.
“My daughter is in a coma state. We can’t do much. I hope she gets better soon,” he added.
Neelam’s uncle Yogesh Kadam told PTI that he had met the accident on February 14th, but they learned about it just two days later.
He said the family is in the process of booking flight tickets and will leave for the US as soon as possible.
They had a phone conversation with the doctor on Thursday evening and were told she was in a stable condition, Kadam said.
US authorities had not yet asked them to pay, and the university Neelam was studying also helped ensure she received good treatment, he added.
“Her roommate said she had news that a local newspaper there had been arrested that a Nigerian citizen who attacked her,” Kadham said.
