The Department of State (“DOS”) has announced that it has made substantial progress in resolving the performance issues with the Consular Consolidated Database. This database crashed in late July, which caused the DOS to be unable to issue visas to applicants. Since this problem affected Consulates throughout the world, the DOS was experiencing a significant backlog. It appears that the Consular Consolidated Database is operational again. The DOS has issued visas to applicants who were part of the backlog throughout the world. Furthermore, the DOS stated that it is printing visas for all cases with very little delay. At this time, individuals who were delaying making travel plans due to concerns about whether a visa would be issued in a timely manner can begin to arrange for trips abroad.