Global US visa glitch stalls some travel plans for at least a week

Thursday 18th June 2015

Some New Zealand travellers will face delays going to the US if they require a visa for entry, as a global technical glitch is holding the processing of the country's 50,000 daily applications worldwide.

The Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs is still experiencing technical problems with its visa systems, and the US Embassy in Wellington has asked some applicants to reschedule their visa interviews because of the delays, according to a statement on the US agency's website. The department can't print immigrant or non-immigrant visas approved after June 8, and consulates and embassies aren't able to process new applications submitted since June 9.

Online applications for so called ESTA permits, which grant 90 day visitor access, are unaffected.

The agency doesn't anticipate the systems being back up before next week, with the problem sheeted back to a hardware failure in a US State Department facility on June 9, a US embassy spokesman said in an emailed statement. The New Zealand embassy couldn't provide a number on how many New Zealanders are affected by the glitch.

"That failure is preventing the department from processing and transmitting bio-metric data checks at visa-issuing embassies and consulates," the spokesman said. "We cannot bypass the legal requirements to screen visa applicants before we issue visas for travel."

New Zealanders can travel freely in the US for up to 90 days with a visa waiver programme, though some types of travel, such as work or study, requires official documentation.

About 170,000 New Zealanders travelled to the US in the 12 months ended April 30, up from 148,000 a year earlier, according to government data.

The glitch has also affected the department's ability to process applications for US passports accepted overseas between May 26 and June 14.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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