The American Center, which houses the library at the U.S.Consulate Chennai, will remain closed till further notice due to the United States Government shutdown. However, the Consulate will remain functional and scheduled visa interviews will be held.
“U.S. Consulate services will continue to function during the lapse in Congressional appropriations. If you have a scheduled visa interview or American Citizen Services appointment, please arrive at the Consulate at your designated time,” the Consulate said in a tweet on Sunday.
The library would, however, remain closed till further notice, it said.
The Consulate, in its official Facebook and Twitter pages, said that the American Center would be shut down, due to lapse in Congressional appropriations.
The Consulate had posted about the closure of the center on Saturday which created panic among people who sent out messages asking if the scheduled visa interviews and appointments would also be cancelled. Their questions were later clarified. The move comes after the U.S. Congress failed to reach a funding deal to keep the U.S. government functioning. A standoff between Republican and Democrat lawmakers to clinch a deal led to the shutdown, officials here said.
