“This isn’t supposed to happen.”
Jerusalem, November 11 – Consular officials promised a thorough procedural audit today following a scandalous incident in which an overseas US citizen got his travel documents issued without being sent away at least once to produce materials he was never informed were necessary.
State Department and Embassy staff convened an emergency meeting this afternoon, after an American national made an appointment online, arrived outside the facility in the Arnona neighborhood with plenty of time to spare, provided all the photos and documentation that the clerk at the window requested, passed through the security check, entered the American Citizen Services section of the building, and waited for his number to appear on the monitor.
The man submitted all of the relevant papers, paid the processing fee, and waited again for his name to be called, whereupon the consular staff had him complete on a few additional forms regarding shipment or pickup of the renewed passport. He emerged from the embassy a mere hour and twelve minutes after arriving, which the staff believes to a record.
“This isn’t supposed to happen,” acknowledged an abashed aide to Ambassador Mike Huckabee. “The first time, maybe the first two times, you’re supposed to send the applicant away to get different photos, or his credit card gets declined, or there’s something wrong with the supporting documentation. Last week we even rejected some forms for the wrong color ink. It’s time for a refresher on the procedures here, obviously. This is unacceptable.”
Clerical functions of the consular services personnel have suffered as a result of the fiasco. Staff reported that the consequent “refresher” meetings and closer oversight by supervisors has slowed down the critical work of maintaining out-of-date guidance and instructions on the embassy’s web site, as well as the essential functions of misplacing elements, or even entire files, of documentation applications.
Ripples from the incident have not remained isolated on the Citizen Services section. Visa applications have backlogged beyond the mandated four-month delay, and security personnel have been drafted to perform certain office functions outside their normal purview and training, leaving fewer personnel available to berate and yell at people lined up outside for their appointments – resulting in a less unpleasant experience for such visitors, who might in the future not be dissuaded from returning.
spokesman for the State Department disclosed that as a preliminary measure, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is close to a decision on how much to cut the training budget to ensure the proper level of incompetence expected of a Citizen Services employee.
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