Visas

Subscribe to Visas

Seasoned business immigration attorneys recall “visa revalidation” with great fondness. It is hard to imagine now, with visa appointment backlogs of months and even years at U.S. consulates all over the world, but it was once possible to send a passport to the Department of State’s Revalidation Division in St. Louis, Missouri, along with a few simple supporting documents, and within 10 to 12 weeks, get the passport back with a renewed visa in it. Those were the days!
Continue Reading State Department To Resume Domestic Visa Issuance After Almost Two Decades

In 2019, the large policy and enforcement shifts signposted in 2017 and 2018 continued to play out with stricter immigration enforcement across the board. While we don’t expect to see seismic shifts in the coming year, there are a few issues to watch for in 2020.

(1) H-1B “Specialty Occupation” Definition Change Likely to Stall in Court

USCIS has indicated it will be announcing an official change to the definition of “specialty occupation.” While we have already seen a detrimental shift in the H-1B adjudication process, this would be an official regulatory change. We expect that any attempt to re-interpret the H-1B statute as narrowly as possible will face a lengthy court battle.…

Continue Reading The Year Ahead: 10 Things to Watch for in US Immigration

The fast pace of immigration developments under the new Trump administration continues. The following are some of the issues that are most important to individuals and businesses in the United States:…
Continue Reading DHS Clarifies Policies Affecting Travelers and Applicants, As Details of Possible New Executive Orders Emerge

The Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs continues to experience technical problems related to visa issuance at all of the US embassies and consulates. The problem was caused by a hardware failure on June 9, which prevents the embassies and consulates from processing and transmitting biometric data checks required for visa issuance. While most…

The U.S. Department of State has announced that, as of November 12, 2014, the National Visa Center ceased collecting original civil documents – birth and marriage certificates, police clearance certificates, etc. – from applicants for immigrant visas.  From now on, applicants will submit only photocopies of these documents to the NVC and take the originals…