New York, Jun 16 (EFE).- A computer error in the system used to award U.S. visas has delayed thousands of temporary farmhands from entering the country and consequently has caused the nation’s agriculture millions of dollars in losses, The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday.

In its leading front page story, the daily said that since June 9, thousands of visas intended for farmhands during the crop season have been held up and many of the workers continue to wait for them in Mexico on the U.S. border.

In the state of California alone, in the extreme southwest, daily losses due to the digital glitch range between $500,000 and $1 million, while the problem itself affects a vast agricultural region across the West, Midwest and South of the United States.

A State Department spokesperson told the newspaper that the problem affects the computer system through which it receives data from U.S. Consulates abroad, such as fingerprints and other details about those applying for visas.

Last year the United States awarded 9.9 million visas, both for tourists and for temporary workers.

The computer malfunction also affects tourist visas, and in the case of Brazil for example, the U.S. Embassy has said that visa applications made after June 8 will take longer to process than usual. EFE