In this blog post, we discuss how Trump’s return to the White House on January 20th could impact employment-based visa applicants and their employers in the years ahead. While the Trump campaign has been very vocal about their zero-tolerance policy toward illegal immigration, much less has been said about employment-based…
Articles Posted in Interview Waivers
New Year, Big Victories in Worldwide Visa Operations
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…
DOS Announces Extension of Interview Waiver for Certain Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants
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 Department of State Will Officially Launch the Domestic Visa Renewal Pilot Program for H-1B Nonimmigrants in the United States starting January 29th
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…
Immigration Roundup: What’s New in Immigration?
In this blog post, we provide an immigration roundup regarding the latest immigration news. USCIS Recommends AOS applicants submit all evidence with Form I-485, including Medical Examination Those who are applying for adjustment of status should be aware that USCIS has recommended green card applicants submit all required initial evidence…
State Department Announces Pilot Program for Domestic Visa Renewal for H-1B and L Visa Holders
In this blog post we share very exciting news for H-1B and L visa holders working in the United States. The State Department is planning to resume the process of domestic visa revalidation in certain categories, like H-1B and L-1 visas, through the launch of a new pilot program that…
State Department Announces Continuation of its Interview Waiver Policy for Certain Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants until December 2023
Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas break with your families. In this blog post, we share a new update from the State Department regarding the continuation of its interview waiver policy for certain nonimmigrant visa types. In a new announcement, the Secretary of State has…
AILA Roundtable with State Department Representatives: Applying for Visas as Third Country Nationals, Interview Waivers, PPP E-2 Recipients, Expedites for Afghan Nationals, and More!
We kick off the Thanksgiving week with some exciting news. Recently, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) met with representatives from the Department of State to address some issues of concern relating to several different immigration topics. We provide a summary of the questions asked and responses from the Department…
Status of Worldwide Consular Visa Operations, October 2022
Our readers will be happy to know that the Department of State has released a new update in the month of October on the status of worldwide consular visa operations. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a period of uncertainty and created tremendous backlogs at the Consular level. As most of you…
All About the October 2022 Visa Bulletin, What to Expect, and More!
In this blog post, we cover the release of the October Visa Bulletin 2022 and what you can expect for employment based and family preference categories during the upcoming month of October. The Department of State releases the visa bulletin on a monthly basis, which summarizes the availability of immigrant visa numbers for…