As an additional measure aimed at reducing visa application backlogs and freeing up available resources at U.S. Embassies and Consulates, the United States Department of State (“DOS”) will allow consular officers to waive in-person interviews for F, M, and J academic visas. The new DOS policy, which will run until
Starting Sept. 4, 2021, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) is extending the time that receipt notices can be used to show evidence of status from 18 months to 24 months for petitioners who properly filed Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence and Form I-829, Petition
To protect the health of U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and other people in the United States from communicable diseases, intending immigrants to the United States are required to be vaccinated against certain diseases to receive an immigrant visa. The diseases currently required to be vaccinated against are: Diphtheria Tetanus Pertussis
The United States Department of State (“DOS”) has announced updates to the tiered approach to remove backlogs and resume normal consular operations at embassies and consulates that have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to DOS, Tier 1, which includes immediate relative intercountry adoption visas and age-out cases
The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has announced a full lockdown of the city until at least September 15th. As a result, the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City is unable to process routine visa appointments and can only grant visa appointment requests in extraordinary circumstances such
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will increase Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing filing fees. After leaving these fees unchanged for three (3) years, the charges for certain premium processing cases will increase from $1500 to $1685, $1750 to $1965, and $2500 to $2805, depending on the
The United States Department of State (“DOS”) has consular officers’ authority to waive in-person interviews for certain nonimmigrant visas from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024. The announcement, which was made on December 21, 2023 replaces the previous policy extending nonimmigrant visa waivers through December 31, 2023 and allows
The White House has given the approval for a pilot program allowing a limited number of foreign nationals who are in the United States on H-1B nonimmigrant visas to renew their visas without having to leave the country. The United States Department of State indicated that the pilot program, RIN
On December 11, 2023, U.S. President Joseph Biden issued Proclamation 10685, Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Enabling Corruption (“Proclamation”). The Proclamation, which also includes immediate family members is intended to prevent individuals who engage in significant corruption from accessing the United States. The Proclamation, which is
On October 12, 2023, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) posted Questions and Answers to announce new policy following the passing of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (“RIA”) on March 15, 2022. With the Q&A, USCIS announces its interpretation of the sustainment period following the
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (“AWA”) is a U.S. federal statute that aims to protect children from sexual exploitation and violent crimes. The AWA was named after Adam Walsh, a child who was abducted and murdered in the State of Florida in 1981. Following young
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