Comment by hvb2

No, people are following the rules and politely asking for a renewal in a different country.

The issue here is that they're not being denied, the government is basically refusing to make a decision for an indefinite amount of time.

I'm assuming most normal cases will get their visas eventually, the question is when. In the meantime the applicant can pay rent in the US, find some place to live abroad and maybe continue working from overseas? All so the state department can retrain a few people?