If you're trying to pay for your E-3 or other US visa appointment through the USTravelDocs website and hitting errors, you're not alone. Multiple Australians are reporting payment failures when booking consulate appointments in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth.
What's happening
The Commonwealth Bank payment gateway used by VFS Services Australia (which handles US visa appointment scheduling) appears to be experiencing a major outage. Users are seeing error messages including:
- “Transaction Blocked due to platform decommissioning”
- “Runtime Exception E5065-03021854”
- “The confirmation for your previous transaction (Credit Card/Debit Card) is still pending”
The issue has been affecting applicants since late February 2026, and reports are coming from people both inside and outside the US trying to book appointments.
What we know
Based on community reports and responses from the US Government Scheduling Services (USGSS) team in Sydney:
- The issue is affecting “lots of applicants”
- They are “trying to get this resolved soon”
- The problem appears to be with the Commonwealth Bank payment integration, not the scheduling website itself
- Some users have been able to pay the premium delivery fee but not the main application fee
What to try
Different browsers: Some users have had success switching browsers (try Firefox, Chrome, or Safari in private/incognito mode). This hasn't worked for everyone, but it's worth a shot.
Clear your cache: Sometimes old session data causes conflicts with payment gateways.
Try at different times: Payment gateways sometimes have maintenance windows or capacity issues at peak times.
Submit a support request: Log into the USTravelDocs portal and submit a support ticket describing the issue. Users who have done this report receiving responses directing them to email the Sydney team directly.
Contact Sydney directly: Email the USGSS Team Sydney through the contact details provided in your support ticket response.
Consider the cash payment option: Some users are exploring paying the appointment fee via cash deposit at an Australian bank. If you go this route, be aware it may take additional time to process before you can schedule your appointment.
What NOT to do
Don't keep retrying payments repeatedly. If your card is being charged but the transaction is showing as “pending,” multiple attempts could result in duplicate charges that take time to reverse.
Don't create multiple new applications. This won't fix the payment gateway issue and may complicate your situation.
We'll keep you updated
This appears to be a systemic issue that VFS and the US consulates are aware of. We'll update this article as we learn more about when payments are back online.
If you've found a workaround that worked for you, drop a comment below to help others in the same situation.
