US citizens and visa applicants in the UAE faced unexpected disruption this week after the US Mission announced a three-day suspension of consular appointments from 13 to 15 July, citing “the regional security situation.” All routine visa and citizen-services interviews were cancelled, and the embassy urged Americans not to travel to either facility during the shutdown. The mission remains on ordered-departure status—meaning non-essential staff and dependants were previously relocated—and is currently providing only limited emergency assistance via an online navigator tool. Routine visa processing has been suspended since early March, forcing travellers to seek appointments in neighbouring countries or postpone travel plans. For businesses, the interruption widens an already significant bottleneck for US travel. “We have senior engineers waiting four months for H-1B renewals; this freeze adds more unpredictability,” says Ahmed Khan, Global Mobility Manager at an Abu Dhabi energy firm. Some employers are temporarily re-routing staff through US Consulates in Muscat or Manama, though appointment backlogs there are also growing. Immigration advisers expect continued volatility as Gulf airspace restrictions and the wider US–Iran conflict fluctuate. Companies with critical US-bound assignments are advised to build in extra lead-time, keep employees on ESTA-eligible passports where possible, and monitor the mission’s alerts closely. Applicants whose slots were cancelled will be contacted directly to reschedule once services resume.
Source: Gulf News
