The past year saw big victories for worldwide visa operations. The Department of State recently provided statistics summarizing its visa processing capacity in the year 2023. The recent data shows tremendous advancement in visa processing capacity at Consular posts globally and provides a strong outlook for visa processing in the…
In the nick of time, on December 21, 2023, the Department of State announced that it will continue its interview waiver policy for certain nonimmigrant visa applicants. The agency’s interview waiver policy was previously set to expire on December 31, 2023. However, its implementation will continue starting on January 1,…
The rumors are true. For the first time in nearly two decades, the Department of State (DOS) will process domestic visa renewals for certain H-1B visa applicants without requiring them to leave the United States. This is all part of a new pilot program starting January 29, 2024, through April…
We are happy to report that the Biden administration has accelerated Israel’s designation into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Previously, the government announced that Israeli nationals could begin to travel to the United States visa-free starting on November 30th. However, as of yesterday, Thursday, October 19, 2023, the Department of…
The long-awaited news is finally here. The Department of State has announced the designation of Israel into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) effective November 30, 2023. Beginning on that date, citizens and nationals of Israel will be able to apply to travel to the United States for tourism or business…
In this blog post, we share with you an important announcement from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Carrier Liaison Program. The agency has announced that certain nationals participating in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), who have been physically present in Cuba, or who are dual nationals of Cuba and…
Certain types of nonimmigrants will be expected to shell out more money for the nonimmigrant visa process. The State Department has announced that starting June 17, 2023, nonimmigrant visa (NIV) application processing fees for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition based nonimmigrant visas such…
The Department of State raised eyebrows earlier this month when it released information that it will be reducing the waiting period for 221(G) “administrative processing,” in an effort to process visas more efficiently. While this is welcome news, in practice it may not mean much. Consulates and Embassies have been…
CBP No Longer Requires Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination for Air Passengers from Any Country starting today May 12, 2023 The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now joins the State Department and Department of Homeland Security in announcing the end of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for international travelers starting…
Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! In this blog post we share with you some breaking news regarding the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for non-immigrant international travelers. On May 4, 2023, the State Department announced that the Biden administration will end the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for international air travelers at the end of…