State Department System Outage Persists, Further Delaying Visa Processing

United States

The State Department continues to address the technical problems that have crippled U.S. visa processing since last week. There are indications that the system outage may not be resolved before June 27, according to communications that several U.S. consulates have sent to visa applicants in recent days. Even after the system is restored, foreign nationals and employers will need to prepare for prolonged visa issuance delays, as it is likely to take several weeks or more for consulates to work through the backlog of applications accumulated during the outage.

Pending Visa Applications and Appointments: What to Do Now

Because current procedures at U.S. consulates vary widely, applicants with an upcoming visa appointment should check the consulate’s website and online case status system frequently to determine whether their interview will take place as scheduled. Some consulates are contacting applicants directly to request rescheduling, while others are rescheduling appointments automatically without advance notice to applicants.  

Unless their appointment is rescheduled, visa applicants should attend their interview as planned, but should be prepared to be asked to return if the consulate cannot access their application or other records on the day of the appointment. In some cases, foreign nationals may be asked to resubmit their visa application if it is inaccessible in the system.

Emergency Travel to the United States

Consulates may be able to grant visas to foreign nationals with a humanitarian emergency, such as a serious health issue. Those with an emergency need to travel to the United States should contact their designated Fragomen professional and local U.S. consulate for assistance.  Emergency visa issuance is in the discretion of the consulate and cannot be assured.

Urgent business demands are not generally being accommodated under emergency procedures, though State Department officials today disclosed that the agency has issued some H-2A temporary agricultural worker visas to address an industry need.

Other International Travel Considerations During the Outage

Foreign nationals awaiting visa issuance abroad can ask the consulate to return their passport if they have an urgent need to travel, but they will not be able to reenter the United States unless their current U.S. visa remains valid. If a foreign national requests passport return, his or her pending visa application may be deemed to have been refused, which the foreign national would be required to disclose in future visa applications or when applying for ESTA authorization to use the Visa Waiver Program.  This could result in future application delays.

Foreign nationals in the United States with an expired or soon-to-expire visa should consider postponing most international travel plans until the system problems are resolved. However, they may be able to make trips of 30 days or less to Canada or Mexico and reenter on the expired visa under the State Department’s automatic visa revalidation procedures. Automatic revalidation may be available to foreign nationals if their passport is valid, their U.S. period of stay has not lapsed, they have not violated their nonimmigrant status and did not apply for a new visa while abroad. Those considering use of automatic revalidation should contact their Fragomen professional before making any travel plans.

What to Expect When the Visa System Outage is Resolved

Once the visa system is back online, it is likely to take several weeks or more for visa processing to return to normal and for backlogs to be cleared. Consulates may give first priority to student visas, immigrant visas and adoption cases, and are unlikely to expedite nonimmigrant visa cases absent a humanitarian emergency.  

Fragomen is closely monitoring the visa system outage and will provide updates as the State Department provides new information. If you have any questions about visa processing, please contact your designated Fragomen professional.

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