Department of State Adopts New Technology to Reduce Administrative Processing Wait Times

Without much fanfare, the Department of State has put out a news release titled “Facilitating Travel and Safeguarding National Security.”  In it, the Department announces a more streamlined process for the “extensive security screening” all visa applicants must undergo prior to visa issuance.  It states that since October 2022, most cases that would have previously required additional administrative processing were resolved immediately without additional, time-consuming handling.

Anecdotally, attorneys have not been reporting lower instances of individuals being placed in Administrative Processing, but we don’t have the hard data to back up any conclusions either way.   While it has been over six months, it is still too soon to tell the larger scale impacts of these newly adopted technologies and “enhanced coordination.”  I don’t doubt that the Department of State’s assertions that wait times have been reduced and total cases in administrative processing are down are fully correct, but it would be helpful to see the data behind this announcement to determine where problem areas still exist.  Administrative Processing is a legal limbo for those stuck in it, and can be a black hole for those attempting to understand the reasons behind it.