U.S. State Department Stiffens the Bar on Immigrant Visas for Communist Party Members

September 12, 2025

This article is posted here in English and translated into Vietnamese and posted courtesy of the author, Gary Chodorow of Chodorow Law Offices. You can find the original article on Gary’s website at: https://lawandborder.com/u-s-state-department-stiffens-the-bar-on-immigrant-visas-for-communist-party-members/ Introduction The U.S. State Department has updated its Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) to toughen the statutory

Increased Investment Amounts Of The RIA

September 11, 2025

The Increased Investment Amounts section of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (“RIA”) raises the minimum investment thresholds to adjust for inflation and ensure the continued effectiveness of the program in promoting economic growth and job creation in the United States. Under the updated rules, the standard investment

Everything You Need to Know About the U.S. Immigration Medical Exam

September 9, 2025

All immigrant visa applicants (i.e. those applying for a Green Card) are required to complete a medical exam at a designated clinic by a panel physician as part of the process. The purpose of the exam is to ensure that applicants are not carriers of any serious infectious diseases or

DOS Will Now Require Immigrant Visa Applicants to Interview in Place of Residence or Country of Nationality

September 5, 2025

The United States Department of State (“DOS”) is now requiring immigrant visa applicants to apply for immigrant visas in the consular district designated for their place of residence or in their country of nationality. Effective immediately, if an immigrant visa applicant would like to transfer his or her pending immigrant

USCIS Makes COVID Policy on Copies of Signatures Permanent

August 25, 2022

On March 20, 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) implemented temporary changes, announcing that it would accept all benefit forms and documents with reproduced original signatures for submissions starting March 21, 2020. Up to that time, USCIS accepted many petitions,

USCIS Alert Regarding Fee Payments for Concurrent EB-5 Forms I-526 Petition and I-485 Applications

August 8, 2022

The USCIS has posted an Alert regarding fee payments for concurrent EB-5 Form I-526 Petition and Form I-485 Adjustment of Status Applications on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program webpage. “ALERT: Beginning Sept. 1, 2022, we will no longer accept a single, combined fee payment

USCIS Extends Flexibility for Responding to Agency Requests Into October 2022

July 27, 2022

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) is extending certain COVID-19-related flexibilities to respond to agency requests through October 23, 2022. The flexibility, which has been previously extended applies if the issuance date listed on the request, notice or decision was issued between March 1, 2020, and October 23, 2022,

USCIS Releases New Forms for Immigrant Investor Program

July 15, 2022

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) announced new Forms I-526 and I-526E to be used by EB-5 immigrant investors seeking permanent residence via the EB-5. Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur is to be used by standalone immigrant investors who are not seeking to pool their investment

U.S. Citizens Overseas No Longer Allowed to Enter the United States on Expired Passports

July 11, 2022

Effective immediately, U.S. citizens abroad will no longer be able to travel to the United States on expired passports. Previously, the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency (“CBP”) allowed U.S. citizens to enter the United States on expired passports and CBP extended policy through March 2022. U.S. citizens abroad

Can I apply for a visitor visa or student visa or enter the United States while my immigrant Petition or immigrant visa application is pending?

June 30, 2022

A nonimmigrant visa is for persons wanting to enter the U.S. for a temporary visit for a specific purpose, and who will return to their home country or country of residence when the purpose of their visit is finished. In most nonimmigrant visa categories, the person establishes and maintains what

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