Visa Processing Delays May Be Intentional, Lawmakers Say (1)

The agency responsible for processing visa applications is facing such “alarming” delays and backlogs that it appears to be part of the Trump administration’s policy goals, a group of 86 lawmakers say.

“Rather than continuing to seek ways to simplify and streamline its benefit-delivery systems,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “now appears more focused on erecting barriers to the benefits it administers, including by significantly delaying adjudications,” according to a Feb. 12 letter spearheaded by freshman Rep. Jesús Garcia (D-Ill.), along with New York Democrats Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Nydia Velázquez.

The potential impact of the delays extends beyond ...