After yet another postponing, thousands of existing appointments for Israeli US visa applications scheduled in the next few months will be rescheduled to an unknown date, and new applicants will only be able to apply starting from March 2023, a year from now, the US Embassy said on Tuesday.
The embassy explained that on top of the backlog of requests that have piled up for the past two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, all US embassies are now facing challenges with visa processing.
Their statement notes that the Embassy in Israel has had to change the dates of some of the applicants that had their appointments for visa interviews scheduled for August and early September 2022, and they will be receiving new appointments at no additional charge as part of the process of returning to the work routine.
The US embassy said in the statement that regardless of how bleak the situation in Israel may seem due to the backlog of requests, it is, apparently, much better than in other countries around the world since all US embassies are facing challenges due to the unprecedented demand for visas as a result of two years of service restrictions.
The statement also said that delays in processing requests will last for some time.
Even American olim are still struggling to secure appointments with the US Embassy for essential activities, including passport renewal, a year and a half into the pandemic, with many seeking aid from technology professionals and groups on Facebook groups to attempt to confirm appointments with the consulate.
The State Department said it’ll be offering additional resources at the Jerusalem Embassy and Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, hoping they’ll be a major relief to US immigrants who had faced another backlog of requests piling up for passports and CRBAs due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
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