Technical Difficulties Cause Delay in Nonimmigrant Visa Processing at U.S. Consulates and Embassies Worldwide

The U.S. Department of State (DOS), Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with its visa system which has resulted in delays in printing visas and may mean rescheduling visa interviews. This issue is not specific to any particular country, citizenship document, or visa category.

According to DOS, the technical problems are reportedly due to a hardware failure on June 9th that halted the flow of biometric clearance requests from consular and embassy posts to the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD). As such, visa applicants who submitted online applications or were interviewed for visas on or after June 9th are experiencing significant delays in the processing of their visas.

DOS states that it is working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue and to clear the visa backlog.

We will post updates as more information becomes available. At this time, we caution visa applicants against traveling abroad for the sole purpose of renewing their visas if not necessary. Individuals currently abroad, subject to these delays but with an urgent humanitarian need to travel should contact their nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. 

Please see the following link for an FAQ from DOS on this issue: http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/english/news/technological-systems-issue.html

This client update is prepared for the general information of our clients and friends. It should not be regarded as legal advice. If you have any questions regarding this update, or for more information about this topic, please contact any of the attorneys listed above, or the attorney with whom you normally consult.

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