Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
The U.S. Department of State has unexpectedly updated Consular websites with revised eligibility requirements for Visa Interview Waiver (“dropbox”) appointments.
Effective immediately, dropbox eligibility is limited to applicants renewing a visa in the same nonimmigrant classification that expired within the past 12 months. While no official government announcement has been made, Visa Application Centers (VACs)…
Chinese students make up the majority of international students in the United States. However, the number of Chinese students in U.S. universities has dropped from a high of 370,000 in 2019 to about 290,000 today.
Part of the drop has been attributed to the Trump Administration’s 2020 executive order suspending entry of certain students and…
The Brazilian government allows U.S. citizens to enter Brazil as visitors for business or pleasure for up to 90 days without a visa. This has been good for tourism, but the lack of reciprocity rankles, as Brazilians must still apply for a visa in order to visit the United States.
Over the past several years…
On October 17, 2023, the Department of State (DOS) took the first steps to implement stateside processing of nonimmigrant visas. The DOS notified the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs that it will introduce a pilot stateside processing program on a limited basis in the first quarter of 2024. Those able to utilize stateside…
This is the second of the two-part series Navigating Changes to a Job Post-PERM Certification, which evaluates the impact a job change may have on an approved, certified PERM and during a foreign national’s green card process.
As explained in Part 1, there are circumstances where it may not be necessary to start…
By September 30, 2023, Congress will again have to fund the government. Despite ongoing efforts by the administration and Congress, indications are that a shutdown may occur at the beginning of the fiscal year, on October 1. Should a shutdown occur, it will affect a number of immigration- and visa-related agencies and processes.
USCIS
Because…
After conducting and completing a second round of selections to reach the FY 2024 H-1B cap, USCIS has notified all prospective petitioners of their selection.
In the second round, USCIS selected an additional 77,600 registrations. The new petition filing period for those selected is from August 2, 2023, to October 31, 2023.
The last time…
On July 21, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule, which will be officially published on July 25, 2023, that will provide eligible employers filling out the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 an optional alternative to the in-person physical document examination method that employers have followed as part of the…
With the end of the COVID-19 National Emergency in the United States, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has reinstated its preexisting policy regarding online classes.
Accordingly, for the 2023-24 academic year (starting fall 2023), students will have to comply with the SEVP’s pre-COVID-19 restrictions. Students will be able to complete the 2022-23 academic…
The last-standing COVID-19-related travel restrictions will soon expire. Bringing the United States in line with most countries around the world, after May 11, 2023, non-citizen, nonimmigrant air passengers need not show proof of being fully vaccinated to board a flight to the United States.
Until May 12, nonimmigrants must still document having a bivalent or…
