During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government's network of consulates around the world shut their doors. They were extraordinarily slow to reopen, with 60 percent of consulates still fully or partially closed as of last October.
The scheduling of interviews for nonimmigrant visas—used by business travelers, tourists, and foreigners traveling to the U.S. for other short-term reasons—ground to a halt. Now that consulates are reopening, they're dealing with massive backlogs and forcing foreigners to endure egregious wait times before they can sit for visa interviews.
