US embassy dealing with visa application backlog

Jun 03, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The US embassy here is dealing with a backlog in processing the visitor or non-immigrant visa due to COVI-19 pandemic, Violeta Talandis, the Embassy’s Public Affairs Officer confirmed on Wednesday during an interview on HJ radio.

Violeta Talandis, the US Embassy’s Public Affairs Officer.

In the interview which was shared via the US Embassy’s Facebook page, Talandis confirmed that applicants who are looking for a B1 B2 category or visitor’s visa are being made to wait more than a year before they can secure an in person interview.
“At the Embassy, we are aware of this backlog. We are not alone in this, it ‘s actually a global issue that’s happening all over the world, apparently due to the pandemic which had a snowball effect over two years,” she said.
Talandis noted that while this significant delay is affecting the BI/B2 visas, the student, diplomatic and other categories of visas are not affected by lengthy delays.
She explained that visas for emergency such as medical emergencies and, urgent business travel, medical professionals; individuals travelling to the United States as air or sea crew are among the other categories of visas that were not affected by the delay for interviews.
As it relates to persons who were previously granted visitors’ visas, Talandis said they are waivers for persons whose visa expired in the last four years.
She explained that those persons can apply for their renewal and request an interview waiver. If the waiver is granted, it means that the renewal applicants will not have to visit the embassy for an appointment.
In the meantime, Talandis reassured the public that “Our staff is working overtime to try to help with this backlog, but it’s just going to take time.”
“We remain committed to safely and efficiently re-introducing appointments for the full range of non-immigrant visas, including for tourism and business travel. However, there will continue to be extended wait times for appointments for routine travel given the current demand. Applicants are encouraged to plan far in advance,” she said.

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