Guidance following the Courts Decisions on Same Se Marriage continue to be released. The latest is regarding Student Visas. The Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs has advised consulates that their officials may issue derivative visas based on same – sex marriage if the marriage is “recognized in the…
Great commnets by Mr. Brent Renison, Member of the AILA Media-Advocacy Committee, he calls on the Obama Administration to grant OPT extensions to recent graduates with job offers who did not win the H-1B lottery. The feeling is that International students come to the US spend good money on education,…
My office received a few concerned calls from family members of Aristotle University Students. The University is in a center of a heated media investigation into the legitimacy of this Institution to provide education and issue student visas. Questions have been raised by students for some time about this school.…
Quick update from AILA, President Obama signed the Iran Nuclear Threat Reduction Bill on August 10, 2012. Section 501 directs DOS to deny visas and DHS to exclude from the United States, any Iranian citizens seeking higher education in the United States to prepare for a career in Iran’s energy,…
This is very important notice to all of you international Students out there. Recent NAFSA alert announces that CBP will no longer stamp I-20s at ports of entry (POEs). USCIS is reported to be reaching out to other agencies, such as the DMV, to inform them of the change, since…
I have been saying for many years that the visa system is unfair for foreign artists. Take the story of Seny Daffe. Daffe was granted a visa that allows culturally unique artists entry to the U.S. In Burlington, he joined the African dance company Jeh Kulu, where he taught drumming.…
Some good news to help speed up the process of getting a Student Visa. On January 19, 2012, President Obama announced an initiative to improve and speed up the visa process for certain categories of travelers. One of the cornerstones of this initiative is the Department of State’s Nonimmigrant Visa…
With the recent announcement that Illegal immigrants can now apply for state-financed scholarships and aid at state universities after Gov. Jerry Brown announced that he had signed the second half of a legislative package focused on such students, we wanted to share some facts on such students. This is a…
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published on its website an expanded list of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degree programs that will qualify eligible foreign national students for extended optional practical training (OPT). All foreign students in F-1 nonimmigrant status who have been enrolled on a full-time basis…