Consular Computer Problems and Delays at National Visa Center

It’s not just you! Foreign nationals who consular process their immigrant visas applications at U.S. consulates abroad and thus avail themselves of the State Department’s system for submitting documentation have been experiencing a myriad of technical problems and interview scheduling delays. First, applicants are experiencing problems in paying their visa fee invoices. Fees that seem to be “in process” and then “complete” have later been “rejected.” Completing and submitting the electronic visa application, DS-260, is another frustration. The CEAC (Consular Electronic Application Center) system repeatedly times out and does not save data. Applications also appear to be stalling between the electronic submission of the documents and their acceptance or rejection by the National Visa Center (NVC). To make matters worse, immigrant visa interviews seem to be delayed for several months after a complete set of supporting documents have been submitted to the NVC. Although applications appear to be documentarily qualified, applicants continue to wait for months before an interview is scheduled at a consular post. We sure hope the State Department can fix these problems soon.