This article was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, of which Loan Huynh, Fredrikson Immigration Department Chair, is a member.
On February 24, 2021, the Department of State (DOS) released the latest update on phased resumption of routine visa services.
Among other things, the update notes that as a result of the pandemic, many visa applicants have paid the visa application processing fee but are still waiting to schedule a visa appointment. DOS said it is "working diligently to restore all routine visa operations as quickly and safely as possible." In the meantime, DOS has extended the validity of machine-readable visa (MRV) fees until September 30, 2022, "to allow all applicants who were unable to schedule a visa appointment due to the suspension of routine consular operations an opportunity to schedule and/or attend a visa appointment with the fee they already paid."
