More U.S. visa application delays?

Last week, the US Embassy in Manila issued a couple of announcements on its official website, one of which has the potential to cause additional delays in the visa application process.

Beginning 28 September, all visa applicants, immigrant and nonimmigrant, will be required to schedule and undergo a preliminary biometrics appointment for photo capturing and fingerprint scanning at a separate location away from the US Embassy’s main office on Roxas Boulevard.

The new site, aptly called Visa Application Center (VAC), is to be housed on the third level of Parqal Building 8 along Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in Parañaque City.

Thus, every visa applicant from 28 September onward will be required to make a VAC appointment (via a new online scheduling system) before being given a visa interview date at the US Embassy.

For non-immigrant visa (NIV) applicants, this is a new requirement. For immigrant visa (IV) applicants, this is in addition to the existing pre-interview medical exam requirement at St. Luke’s Medical Center Extension Clinic (SLEC) in Ermita, Manila.

At this time, no one knows how the process will play out as far as the scheduling timeline and its outcome-based efficiency are concerned.

It is possible that these additional pre-interview steps will have no impact on the overall pace of the consular visa application process. However, based on the real-world experiences of people who have encountered medical screening delays at the SLEC, it is not outside the realm of possibility that these new off-site requirements may prolong the process consequentially.

For one thing, the fingerprint scanning may be used — and this is perceptively a strategic move by the US government given the alarming level of global security threats nowadays — to fully vet all visa applicants in order to winnow out potential troublemakers and fraudsters.

The biometrics vetting will also enable the US government to collect a vast cache of fingerprint and photo imaging data from potential travelers to the US, including those whose visa applications will ultimately be rejected.

Unfortunately, there is no telling how long a routine VAC security vetting will last, for example, in case of a visa applicant whose wretched misfortunes include having a namesake who’s flagged on the TSA’s no-fly list, or worse, listed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted.

For another, the loss or destruction of biometrics data is not uncommon during digital storage breakdowns or thefts or due to an error on the part of the person capturing or uploading the data. Also, digital fingerprint scanning requires advanced training and expertise on the part of the biometrics technician.

Thus, if a visa applicant’s fingerprints are not captured properly or seamlessly or are otherwise corrupted due to human error or computer glitches, the applicant may be asked to return for corrective actions. Additional delays are inevitable in this type of situation.

Ironically, even the scheduling system for attending a VAC appointment may not be immune to potential backlogs or breakdowns.

Still, no one can fault the US State Department for introducing a new type of digital-age mechanism, not only to address the ever-widening global security threats, but also to streamline the consular online scheduling processes. In fact, one of the more important subjects of the US Embassy release is the planned unveiling of a new and secure user-friendly interface for scheduling online appointments.

As a side note, a new call center will be launched to assist US citizens with general, non-emergency American Citizen Services (ACS) queries, as well as a new and dedicated e-mail address (support-acs-philippines@usvisascheduling.com) and website (ustraveldocs.com/ph/en/American-citizens-services) for passport, citizenship, and notarial service questions.