Every day, the U.S. State Department receives an average of 50,000 visa applications around the world, and for two weeks, that growing stack has gone untouched. State Department officials admitted on Monday that a computer hardware failure has left the department unable to issue visas to travelers for weeks now — and the issue still remains unresolved. While 100 computer experts from across the country are working to remedy the problem as quickly as possible, the earliest the system is expected to be back up and running is next week.
The computer glitch does not appear to be the consequence of a malicious act or a cybersecurity breach, but rather a hardware issue with the biometric data, The New York Times reports. This issue prevents the processing and transmission of fingerprints and photographs, both of which are necessary for security checks to obtain a visa. The two-week computer snafu caused countless embassies and consulates to reschedule visa appointments, and has hampered the plans of people traveling for work and vacation purposes.
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