A 214(b) refusal in U.S. immigration law refers to a specific section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) that is often cited when a U.S. consular officer denies a nonimmigrant visa application. This section applies primarily to individuals applying for visitor visas (B-1 for business visitors and B-2 for
Most countries require foreign nationals to have a passport valid for at least six (6) months prior to the date of entry. The U.S. also has similar rules for entry and also for the issuance of a visa. While many countries have agreements with the United States whereby their national’s
With the ongoing political deadlock in Washington D.C., Congress has been unable to pass any of the spending bills needed to keep the U.S. Government open beyond September 30, 2023. Unless any of the spending bills are passed and signed into law, funding for government agencies will run out of
The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) has announced that all receipts for payment of Machine-Readable Visa (“MRV”) fees issued before October 1, 2022 will expire September 30, 2023. There will be no extensions of fee validity. Applicants must schedule an appointment or submit an interview waiver application before September 30,
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently launched a new online form allowing individuals, attorneys, and accredited representatives to request an in-person meeting at their local field offices without having to call the USCIS Contact Center. The new online appointment request form enables both individuals and their legal
The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (“NPRM”) to adjust fees for various immigration benefits provided by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). Included in the NPRM are proposed fees for many forms used under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (“EB-5 Program.”). Fees
On January 4, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) published Form I-956K, Registration for Direct and Third-Party Promoters which is now required to be completed and filed by any person or company that is acting as a direct or third-party promoter or migration agent (a “Promoter”) of: A
The U.S. Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) has announced that it will implement a requirement for a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of recovery for air passengers boarding flights to the United States originating from the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and
The United States Department of State (“DOS”) has extended DOS consular officers’ authority to waive in-person interviews for certain nonimmigrant visa categories through December 31, 2023. The announcement made on December 23, 2022 replaces the previous policy extending nonimmigrant visa waivers through December 31, 2022 and allows DOS consular officers
Many persons who are lawfully present in the U.S. in valid nonimmigrant visa status are eligible to file a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (“I-485 Application”) and “adjust” their status from nonimmigrant status to lawful permanent resident status if they qualify for an immigrant visa
Effective December 12, 2022, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) updated the USCIS Policy Manual to allow it to automatically extend the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (commonly called “Green Cards”) for lawful permanent residents who have applied for naturalization to become U.S. citizens. This update is expected to
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