U.K. grapples with backlog of biometrics data

IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? U.K. authorities are dealing with a biometric data processing backlog. Delays appear to be limited to New York City and Sheffield, England.

What does the change mean? Foreign nationals who recently had biometrics taken for U.K. visas in the locations above may have to wait longer than anticipated for visas.

• Implementation timeframe: Immediate and ongoing.
• Visas/permits affected: K. visas that require biometrics.
• Who is affected: Visa applicants who submitted biometrics within the last week in New York City and Sheffield, England.
• Impact on processing times: Visa processing times could be delayed as U.K. authorities work through the backlog.

Background: The backlog resulted from a system outage earlier this week in the U.K. Foreign nationals who had biometric appointments this week in New York or Sheffield should note that processing may take longer than normal.

BAL Analysis: BAL continues to monitor the situation and will provide updates as necessary.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in the United Kingdom. For additional information, please contact uk@bal.com.

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