Americans Applying for UK Visas Turned Down Over ‘Technical Issue'

A glitch in the system has created a bureaucratic fence for applicants in the US who were told the biometric enrolment service provided by the Department of Homeland Security was suspended.

"Alert for UK visa customers: Biometric enrolment services provided by US Dept. of Homeland Security Application Support Centers are temporarily suspended due to a technical issue. Work is ongoing to restore service as soon as possible. Follow link in thread for info & updates," the British Embassy in Washington DC tweeted.

— British Embassy Washington (@UKinUSA) April 12, 2019​

The British government allegedly missed a payment to the Department of Homeland Security, causing a halt in services.

Meanwhile, US visa centres have arranged access to a limited standard service via VFS Global, which manages visa and passport issuance-related administrative and non-discretionary tasks for its client governments. 

With 10 VFS Premium Application Centres across the US, American citizens are encouraged to find the closest office to them in order to submit a work, study or settlement visa application.

"We are working on setting this in place as soon as possible — please monitor this page for updates on restoration of ASC services. We apologise for the inconvenience caused," UK Visas & Immigration said.