Visa Processing Delays Hit U.S. Applicants

In recent weeks, approximately 15 to 20 percent of U.S. visa applicants with approved visas have faced visa issuance delays. These delays are a result of technical issues with the U.S. visa processing system used by U.S. consular posts worldwide. The Bureau of Consular Affairs is working to resolve these problems.

The Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC), the system that displays the status of U.S. visa applications, shows these delayed visa issuance cases as undergoing “Administrative Processing”. In these cases, the “Administrative Processing” status only means that the case is pending and does not mean that further review is required.

While the Bureau of Consular Affairs has made progress in resolving the technical issues, visa processing has not been fully restored. The Bureau of Consular Affairs has not provided a timeframe as to when functionality of the visa processing system will be fully restored.