Worldwide Visa System Glitch Affects ALL U.S. Embassies and Consulates!

The U.S. Government has encountered a worldwide glitch with its visa system.  The technological issue affects ALL embassies and consulates worldwide.  Michele T. Bond, Acting Secretary, Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State, stated that they are working around the clock to fix the glitch but that they have no visibility about when the system will be back up and running.  See information at:

http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/english/news/technological-systems-issue.html.  The fix is not expected before next week at best.

ALL visa appointments are being canceled (or have been canceled), with or without notice, at all U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide.  Each consulate or embassy is adopting its own system about rescheduling and prioritizing the interviews when the system is back up.  Many embassies and consulates have updates on their respective website, but not all do. Because this is the busy summer travel season, immigration professionals expect significant delays and backups as a result of this glitch.

Please share this alert with all your employees, families, and friends that need a visa to travel to the U.S. so that they monitor this situation and perhaps reconsider traveling overseas at this time.  An ounce of prevention can save a lot of frustration.

For more information on immigration matters, please do not hesitate to contact Isabelle Bibet-Kalinyak at IBK@brouse.com