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DOS Announces Gradual Resumption of Routine Visa Services

Gradual resumption of routine visa services

  • The State Department suspended routine visa services worldwide in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As global conditions evolve, US embassies and consulates begin a gradual resumption of routine visa services.
  • The resumption of routine visa services will take place post-by-post, in coordination with the Department's strong Diplomacy framework to safely return our workforce to Department facilities. US embassies and consulates have continued to provide emergency and mission critical visa services since March and will continue to do so as they can. As post-specific conditions improve, our missions will begin to provide additional services, eventually culminating in the full resumption of routine visa services.
  • We are unable to provide a specific date for when each mission will resume specific visa services, or when each mission will re-process at pre-Covid-19 workload levels. Visit the website of each US embassy or consulate for information on their operational status and the services they currently offer.
  • Our missions abroad continue to provide all possible services to American citizens. More information is available on each publication's website.
  • This does not affect travel under the Visa Waiver Program. See https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/faq?focusedTopic=Schengen%20Travel%20Proclamation for more information.
  • Applicants with an urgent matter who need to travel immediately should follow the guide provided on the website of their nearest embassy or consulate to request an emergency appointment.

Frequently asked questions:

Q. What additional visa services are embassies / consulates beginning to provide?

  • All of our missions continue to provide emergency and mission critical visa services. As post-specific conditions allow, our missions will begin processing some routine immigrant and non-immigrant visa cases, for example: travelers with urgent travel needs; students (F-1, M-1 and certain J-1); and certain family members of US citizens pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 10014. We expect the volume and type of visa cases each publication processes will depend on local circumstances. An embassy or consulate will resume adjudication of all routine non-immigrant and immigrant visa cases only when adequate resources are available and safe to do so.

Q. What criteria do missions use to determine when to resume routine services?

  • We are closely monitoring local conditions in each country where we have a presence in the United States. Local conditions that may affect when we can begin to provide various public services include medical infrastructure, COVID-19 cases, emergency response capabilities, and restrictions on leaving home.

Q. What steps are being taken to protect customers from the spread of COVID-19?

  • The health and safety of our workforce and customers will continue to be paramount. Our embassies and consulates are implementing safeguards to keep staff and clients safe, including implementing physical distancing in our waiting rooms, scheduling fewer interviews at a time, frequent disinfection of high-touch areas, and adherence to regulations. local health and safety regulations.

Q. Do the various Presidential Proclamations / travel restrictions still apply, or are they being lifted with the resumption of visa services?

  • The five COVID-19 Geographical Proclamations (PP 9984, 9992, 9993, 9996, 10041) and the two COVID-19 Labor Market Proclamations suspending the entry of certain foreigners (PP 10014 and 10052) remain in effect.

Q: Is my situation an emergency? I need to go to the United States immediately for X.

  • Applicants can find instructions on how to request an emergency visa appointment on the Embassy or Consulate website.

Q. What happens to my MRV rate that expired while routine services were suspended?

  • The Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee is valid and can be used to schedule a visa appointment in the country where it was purchased within one year from the date of payment.
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