Not Good news "Glitch crashes global US passport, Visa operations"

[sweetswinks 400]

Was everyone buying plane tickets before they even got their passport back? Risky...

[JIJourney 96]

Was everyone buying plane tickets before they even got their passport back? Risky...

So at the Interview they take the passport?

Then they mail the passport and visa to you ?

[sweetswinks 400]

So at the Interview they take the passport?

Then they mail the passport and visa to you ?

That's correct! They have to keep the passport in order to place the visa in it, once it's ready they will notify you (this varies as per different methods of delivery/pickup per consulate) Sometimes your CEAC can remain in AP for quite some time, that's why the U.S. consulate always say to wait until your visa has been approved and you have received your passport back before booking any travel arrangements or making drastic irreversible changes (such as selling cars/houses/belongings)

There was one unfortunate girl who has waited 2 months for her fiancé to gen his passport back, He had his interview the first week of June, they're STILL waiting to receive his passport and he hasn't gotten an RFE or 221g or anything.

[JIJourney 96]

That's correct! They have to keep the passport in order to place the visa in it, once it's ready they will notify you (this varies as per different methods of delivery/pickup per consulate) Sometimes your CEAC can remain in AP for quite some time, that's why the U.S. consulate always say to wait until your visa has been approved and you have received your passport back before booking any travel arrangements or making drastic irreversible changes (such as selling cars/houses/belongings)

There was one unfortunate girl who has waited 2 months for her fiancé to gen his passport back, He had his interview the first week of June, they're STILL waiting to receive his passport and he hasn't gotten an RFE or 221g or anything.

Thanks. Why are there some topics of people saying they got their visa, just not their passport back yet? lol last question ha

[sweetswinks 400]

Thanks. Why are there some topics of people saying they got their visa, just not their passport back yet? lol last question ha

Those topics are just saying they were approved at their interview, it's like saying "Hooray! got my visa!" - they mean their visa was approved, they haven't got their passport back yet. If you have a look at my timeline you'll see a difference in dates of Interview "Approved" and Visa received.

[NickB 3]

I had my interview (CR-1) on Jul 24th at London Embassy and will post any developments. Would be very interested to hear of any developments (e-mails, visa arrivals, communication from courier company etc.) from people who've had interviews in London at round about the same time. Thanks in advance.

[bdrew612 1,071]

I had my interview (CR-1) on Jul 24th at London Embassy and will post any developments. Would be very interested to hear of any developments (e-mails, visa arrivals, communication from courier company etc.) from people who've had interviews in London at round about the same time. Thanks in advance.

Finally a CR-1 in London! Did they mention anything to you at interview about a delay? My husband's interview is next week. DoS posted an update on Facebook that immigrant and adoption visas are priority, so I wonder (and hope) that our visas are not delayed!

[t0m 1]

Not sure if this was already posted here - sounds like a botched Oracle database maintenance job...

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2458180/state-department-computer-crash-slows-visa-passport-applications-worldwide.html

[NickB 3]

Finally a CR-1 in London! Did they mention anything to you at interview about a delay? My husband's interview is next week. DoS posted an update on Facebook that immigrant and adoption visas are priority, so I wonder (and hope) that our visas are not delayed!

I was told to expect the visa within 10 days and there was no mention of a delay. However, this was on the 23rd, and apparently the system crashed on the 24th (though some reports do say it crashed on the 19th.) I have not heard anything from the embassy since the interview, and my visa is definitely not with the courier yet. I will update here as soon as I have anything.

Seems like we all need to just dig-in for one final wait. Hopefully a short one!

[bdrew612 1,071]

I was told to expect the visa within 10 days and there was no mention of a delay. However, this was on the 23rd, and apparently the system crashed on the 24th (though some reports do say it crashed on the 19th.) I have not heard anything from the embassy since the interview, and my visa is definitely not with the courier yet. I will update here as soon as I have anything.

Seems like we all need to just dig-in for one final wait. Hopefully a short one!

The system crashed before then, they just didn't bother to mention it until the 23rd. I'll be watching this space as my husband and I are leaving 11 working days after his interview!!

[NickB 3]

The system crashed before then, they just didn't bother to mention it until the 23rd. I'll be watching this space as my husband and I are leaving 11 working days after his interview!!

Ok, so if they are as good as their word, we can expect our visas within 10 days of interview (as this was what I was told, post-crash.). Given my experience of this process though, I will only believe it once the visa is in my hand.

[bdrew612 1,071]

Ok, so if they are as good as their word, we can expect our visas within 10 days of interview (as this was what I was told, post-crash.). Given my experience of this process though, I will only believe it once the visa is in my hand.

I so hope this is the case for you. One of my friends in Portugal had her interview last week and was told today they're unable to do background check due to the system crash (because they haven't checked their background enough by this point?) and cannot tell her when to expect the visa.

Have you tried to contact the Embassy? I wonder if they can give you any insight?

[JimyAnita 8]

Was everyone buying plane tickets before they even got their passport back? Risky...

There's a few ways of looking at this. If you buy your ticket for the day after you receive the visa you are going to pay a fortune for that. What we did is buy tickets for a week after the interview but we made sure the date could be changed and investigated how much that would cost. (It varies by airline). You pay a penalty and the difference if the new ticket is more. Generally you can only do this if you buy directly from the airline. If you buy from Expedia etc. They will NOT change the date. For us it's about getting together as soon as possible since we are a world apart!!! Good luck to all!

[NickB 3]

I so hope this is the case for you. One of my friends in Portugal had her interview last week and was told today they're unable to do background check due to the system crash (because they haven't checked their background enough by this point?) and cannot tell her when to expect the visa.

Have you tried to contact the Embassy? I wonder if they can give you any insight?

Thank you for your concern and good wishes. I will try submitting an e-mail enquiry to the Embassy, though not over-hopeful of a useful reply. I will post any response I get here.

Background checks after the interview? I thought background checks were completed at the USCIS stage. Anyone know more on this?

Re. your case, hopefully the crash and backlog will be sorted by the time you are planning to fly. Best of luck to you.

[bdrew612 1,071]

Thank you for your concern and good wishes. I will try submitting an e-mail enquiry to the Embassy, though not over-hopeful of a useful reply. I will post any response I get here.

Background checks after the interview? I thought background checks were completed at the USCIS stage. Anyone know more on this?

Re. your case, hopefully the crash and backlog will be sorted by the time you are planning to fly. Best of luck to you.

One of my CR-1 friends in Portugal received word from the Embassy after her follow up call and was told because of the system crash they've been unable to complete background checks. When they take your fingerprints, I do believe they give your background one more check.

Thank you :-) I hope this is resolved soon!!