US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visas

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US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visas

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

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Worldwide: United States embassies around the world are unable to issue passports or visas due to a technical problem.

They have no idea what caused this outage and no clue when they will be able to issue passports and visas again.

Technological Systems Issue
JUNE 12, 2015

Passport/Visa Systems Errors
The Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with our overseas passport and visa systems.

This issue is not specific to any particular country, citizenship document, or visa category.

The Consular Consolidated Database (CCD) problems we are experiencing are not the same challenges we overcame last summer. We are working urgently to correct the problems and restore our system to full operational status as soon as possible.

We apologize to applicants who are experiencing delays or are unable to obtain a passport overseas, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or U.S. visa at this time. Domestic passport issuances are not affected at this time. We are able to issue emergency passports to U.S. citizens overseas for urgent travel.

We are seeking to assist non-immigrant visa applicants with urgent humanitarian travel. Travelers with an urgent humanitarian need for travel should contact their nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

We are aware of pending overseas adoption cases, including in China. We are prioritizing these cases and seek to issue these visas with few delays.

We regret the inconvenience to travelers, and remain committed to facilitating legitimate travel while protecting our borders. We are working urgently to correct the problem and expect our system to be fully operational again soon.

We will post updates to http://Travel.State.Gov as more information becomes available.



Q: Is this the same issue as last year? Was it not fixed?

This is not the same issue as last year.

Q: What is going on? Why can’t the Department issue visas, passports, and other travel documents?

We are working as quickly as possible to pinpoint the root cause of our technical issues.

We apologize to travelers and recognize that this may cause hardship to individuals waiting for visas and passports overseas.

Q: How is this affecting consular operations?

Passport applications accepted overseas on or after May 26, 2015 are affected. If you applied for a U.S. passport during this time frame and have travel plans within the next 10 business days, please consider requesting an emergency passport at the U.S. embassy or consulate at which you originally applied. Information about how to apply for an emergency passport is available on the website of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

A hardware failure on June 9 halted the flow of biometric clearance requests from posts to the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD). Individuals who submitted online applications or were interviewed for visas on or after June 9 may experience a delay in the processing.

The systems in place to perform required national security checks before we issue visas are experiencing technical difficulties. As a result, we are unable to print visas, regular passports overseas, and other travel documents.

We cannot bypass the legal requirements necessary to screen visa applicants before we issue visas for travel.

As a result, there is a backlog of visas waiting to be processed. We are working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue and to clear the backlog.

The technical issues we are experiencing have disrupted or prevented some of the Department’s primary data-share partners from accessing visa records.

Q: Can you print a visa without using the data system?

Security measures prevent consular officers from printing a passport, report of birth abroad, or visa until the case completes the required national security checks.

Service to our customers will be interrupted until the system is brought back online.

Q: Can the Department just print travel letters for those who need to travel quickly?

At this time we are able to issue passports to U.S. citizens overseas for emergency travel.

Domestic passport operations are not affected at this time. U.S. citizens applying for a passport domestically will receive passports within the four-to-six week standard for routine passports.

We are seeking to assist nonimmigrant visa applicants with urgent humanitarian travel. Please contact the embassy or consulate where you applied for additional information.

Q: What caused this outage? Was it a malicious action or hack?

There is no evidence the problem is cyber security related. We are working urgently to correct the problem and expect the system to be fully operational again soon.

Q: How long before you restore full system functionality?

We do not yet have a timeline. We are working urgently to identify the problem and correct it. We expect the systems to be fully operational again soon.


http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/ ... issue.html
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General Mackevili
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Re: US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visa

Post by General Mackevili »

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Re: US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visa

Post by OrangeDragon »

They hired the Obamacare programmers again...
Sailorman
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Re: US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visa

Post by Sailorman »

The PP embassy system was probably set up by past Head of Consular Affairs Anita Allegera, who thanks to me is now probably pushing papers in a sub-sub-basement in Washington DC. She is the one that neglected to do her job and let the Social Security Administration ban senior citizen Americans from living/visiting Cambodia and collecting SS benefits.

The Dept. of State and the good ol' boy/girl embassy club are sooo screwed up and inbreed. I hope they all burn in hell.
Sir_Quality_U_Feel
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Re: US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visa

Post by Sir_Quality_U_Feel »

I was about to process a tourist visa tomorrow..... No joke :(
I'll give ya 500 Riel for it...
Sir_Quality_U_Feel
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Re: US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visa

Post by Sir_Quality_U_Feel »

It was very time sensitive due to our work....
I'll give ya 500 Riel for it...
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Re: US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visa

Post by General Mackevili »

Sir_Quality_U_Feel wrote:I was about to process a tourist visa tomorrow..... No joke :(
Sir_Quality_U_Feel wrote:It was very time sensitive due to our work....
Ouch.
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frank lee bent
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Re: US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visa

Post by frank lee bent »

see the latest- the russkis and chinese have decrypted the snowden files.

who wants to bet that this is linked to the china hacks last week?
wackyjacky
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Re: US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visa

Post by wackyjacky »

It's says that "there's no evidence that the problem is cyber security related', but I wouldn't be surprised if PLA Unit 61398 had a hand in it.
Sir_Quality_U_Feel
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Re: US Embassies Currently Unable to Issue Passports or Visa

Post by Sir_Quality_U_Feel »

Sucks for all the people delayed by this
I'll give ya 500 Riel for it...
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