Global
The U.S. State Department hopes to resume visa issuances “sometime this week.”
Technical problems have left it unable to process the biometric data needed to issue visas for two weeks, according to a statement. As of noon Monday, the department had reconnected posts representing half the global nonimmigrant visa volume. It is “working on this 24/7 to restore the systems to full functionality,” according to the statement. The department handles 50,000 visa applications each day and is prioritizing “urgent medical and other humanitarian cases” as it works though the backlog. Domestic and overseas passport operations are functioning, albeit with some processing delays, according to the department. American Airlines this week said it would waive change fees for customers traveling through July 5 to destinations that require U.S. visas. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have not announced similar policies.