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Getting US visas to take more time as American embassies experience technical snag
18 Jun 2015, 09:13 am
New Delhi, June 18 (NITN): Getting a visa for travel to United States is likely to take more time as the country's embassy is experiencing technical problems with their visa systems across the world.
Following the problem, all non-immigrant visa interviews scheduled at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi or the U.S. Consulates General in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, or Hyderabad during the period June 22 to June 26 have been cancelled.
Visa applicants with appointments during that same period have been requested by the embassy to reschedule their appointments for biometric enrollment and visa interview to a date after July 6.
"There is NO need to contact the call center or customer support—simply login to your visa appointment system profile and reschedule both of your appointments atwww.ustraveldocs.com/in," the US embassy said in an official statement.
"Upon the restoration of visa services, you will be notified via email or SMS when your passport is ready for pick up. You DO NOT need to call us. Once you receive our SMS, you may go to your Visa Application Center any day between the hours of 10:00 am and 3:00 pm to collect your passport. can track the status online by visiting our website: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/
It has also assured that experts are trying hard to fix the problem soon.
"The Department of State continues to experience technical problems with our visa systems. This is a global issue, and we are working around the clock to fix it. More than 100 computer experts from both the private and public sectors across the United States are working on this problem 24/7. That said, we do not expect the system will be online before next week," the statement said.
In case of emergency travel to other countries, the embassy stated that :"If you have other urgent upcoming travels requiring you to have your passport back, we will place your case on “Administrative Hold”. You must contact support-India@ustraveldocs.
" Your passport will NOT have a U.S. visa at that time. Your passport can be collected at your local Visa Application Center (VAC). When you return from your travel, please return your passport to the VAC and we will continue the processing of your U.S. visa. Your case will remain open for up to 12 months," it added..
According to the statement, the problems stem from a hardware failure in a State Department facility in the United States on June 9. That failure is preventing the Department from processing and transmitting biometric data checks at visa-issuing embassies and consulates.
"We cannot bypass the legal requirements to screen visa applicants before we issue visas for travel. Each visa decision is a national security decision, and we take our obligation to protect the United States seriously," it said.
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