Applicants who queued before dawn at the U.S. Consulate General in Kolkata on Friday found the gates shut after overnight thunderstorms disabled key IT systems. Interviews were postponed again on Monday when technicians failed to restore connectivity, leaving hundreds—including elderly parents and small children—stranded without rescheduled dates. Many had flown in from other states at significant cost. Consular staff advised them to “await email instructions”, but by Monday afternoon few had received notices. The disruption illustrates the fragility of high-volume posts operating near capacity: Kolkata handles more than 1,000 non-immigrant interviews on a normal day and serves as an overflow for Chennai and Hyderabad. Travel agents urge applicants to monitor the USTravelDocs portal; once slots reopen they are likely to be grabbed within minutes.
![Lightning Strike Knocks Out Kolkata Consulate Systems, Forcing Two-Day Cancellation of U.S. Visa Interviews]()
Amid such uncertainty, VisaHQ’s online platform can shoulder much of the leg-work by tracking appointment openings at every U.S. mission, issuing real-time alerts, and guiding users through form completion; prospective travelers can explore these services at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/
Companies with employees slated for July project kick-offs should map alternate consulates—Delhi currently shows a seven-week wait for petition-based visas—and prepare amendment letters if start-dates slip. The incident also revives calls for a wider roll-out of remote interviewing technology authorised in the 2023 Appropriations Act but not yet funded for South Asia.
Amid such uncertainty, VisaHQ’s online platform can shoulder much of the leg-work by tracking appointment openings at every U.S. mission, issuing real-time alerts, and guiding users through form completion; prospective travelers can explore these services at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/
Companies with employees slated for July project kick-offs should map alternate consulates—Delhi currently shows a seven-week wait for petition-based visas—and prepare amendment letters if start-dates slip. The incident also revives calls for a wider roll-out of remote interviewing technology authorised in the 2023 Appropriations Act but not yet funded for South Asia.
