Operations will be closed at U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world on Friday, October 9th, for a systems upgrade.

“Although the closure was not publicly announced by the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, a DOS official confirmed to Law360 that consular operations across the globe will be off-limits to the public next Friday, thanks to a “consular systems upgrade.

“This is a vital step toward fully retiring our old Consular Consolidated Database infrastructure and moving to a larger, faster and more modern infrastructure,” the official said. “This upgrade will bring greater stability to our operations and will allow us to replace outdated hardware and software.”

Individuals with appointments scheduled for Friday are advised to reschedule.

Color us skeptical, after this summer’s debacle, but here’s hoping that this upgrade will go smoothly.

Danielle Lifrieri is the author of this article.