COVID-19 Response Impacts Visa Interviews and General Consular Services

In light of the fast-changing COVID-19 situation worldwide, the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) consular posts are beginning to alert visa applicants, and prospective visa applicants, of the cancellation of visa interviews and disruptions to consular services more generally.

As of Monday, March 16, certain consular posts have advised that they are no longer able to print visa foils (for those individuals who have already been interviewed). Others are announcing the cancellation of scheduled visa appointments. For example, on Monday, March 16, the U.S. consulate in London advised that effective March 17, all nonimmigrant and immigrant visa appointments will be cancelled, with no date provided for the resumption of interviews. In other instances, applicants are receiving replies to their electronic visa application submissions alerting them to cancellations.

Not surprisingly, other U.S. embassy services are likely to be impacted in the coming days, for example: U.S. citizens needing to replace passports or to register the birth abroad of a child.

For those seeking the latest information on operations and the situation in a particular country, the DOS has set up a webpage with country-specific information related to COVID-19. (As of May 2023, the referenced DOS webpage is no longer available, but this is the DOS travel general page).

For information regarding consular closings, please refer to the webpage for the local U.S. Embassy.