Demystifying Immigration Law
The Latest on E-2 Visa with Citizenship-by-Investment
Law Brief: H-1B Visas – New Process and New (Upcoming) Deadlines
Employment Visa Restrictions: Past, Present, and Future by Sang Shin
Update from Washington: Employer's Preview of Immigration Restrictions from the Administration
Last week, an internal U.S. Department of State (DOS) correspondence pertaining to visa processing for international student and exchange visitors in the F, M, and J visa classifications was leaked and published by various...more
On April 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of State launched two new tools to monitor immigrant and nonimmigrant visa interview availability: (1) the Immigrant Visa (IV) Scheduling Status Tool, and (2) the Global Visa Wait Times...more
On February 18, 2025, the US Department of State announced a new policy requiring more foreign nationals to attend in-person interviews to apply for nonimmigrant visas....more
Effective February 18, 2025, the Department of State has changed the categories of applicants that are eligible to waive the in-person non-immigrant visa interview appointment when applying for a non-immigrant visa stamp for...more
International travelers seeking to renew their U.S. visas must meet stricter requirements and may see longer wait times. Effective February 18, 2025, DOS has officially reverted the special pandemic-era eligibility criteria...more
On February 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of State updated visa interview waiver (“drop box”) eligibility criteria for individuals renewing their visa stamps, resulting in sudden drop box appointment cancellations and...more
After quietly updating consular websites, signaling a significant change to Visa Interview Waiver (“dropbox”) eligibility requirements, on Feb. 18, 2025, the Department of State (DOS) officially announced the reversion to...more
On Feb. 10, 2025, the U.S. Department of State (DoS) began limiting those who can use the Dropbox Program to renew their visas to individuals with either valid visas or with visas that expired in the last 12 months (reduced...more
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in India recently announced updates to nonimmigrant visa processing that took effect last week, including changes to interview waiver (drop box) eligibility and the centralization of visa...more
H-1B Registrations for the FY2026 cap season will open at noon ET on March 7, 2025, and run through noon ET on March 24, 2025. The USCIS filing fee is $215 per registration this year (a significant increase from $10)....more
Due to increased travel to France for the eightieth anniversary of D-Day and the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, the U.S. Department of State expects significant delays in visa processing in France in 2024. Individuals seeking to...more
Executive Summary: Recent reports from the U.S. Department of State (DOS) make clear that American companies need foreign talent more than ever before, and...more
On December 21, the U.S. Department of State announced that for 2024 it would continue to waive the requirement of consular interviews for certain nonimmigrant visa applications. However, the 2024 waiver requirements are...more
The H-1B visa, highly sought after and a valuable route for foreign nationals to ultimately pursue U.S. residence status, will become available for pre-registrations in the lottery submission process in March 2024. We await...more
On December 21, the U.S. Department of State issued regulations with details of its pilot program for issuance of renewed H-1B visa stamps in the United States. The pilot program eliminates the need for applicants to obtain...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The below summarizes the Department of State’s Formal Notice to Resume Renewal of H-1B Nonimmigrant Visas in the United States for Certain Qualified Noncitizens....more
On December 20, 2023, the Department of State (“DOS”) released details of the domestic visa renewal pilot program, as noted in their announcement earlier this month. Per the draft regulation, the pilot program is limited to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Department of State expects to start the stateside visa renewal pilot in early 2024....more
The U.S. Department of State is expected to launch a pilot program to resume stateside H-1B visa renewal early in 2024. On October 17, 2023, the State Department sent the proposed Pilot Program to Resume Renewal of H-1B...more
On May 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of State announced the delay of the implementation of the final rule raising nonimmigrant visa (NIV) application processing fees and the fee for a Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexican...more
Bloomberg Law has reported that the U.S. Department of State intends to implement a pilot program this year that will allow certain nonimmigrants to renew their visas in the U.S., obviating the need to travel internationally...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started to offer premium processing service for certain long-pending, employment-based permanent resident petitions. Consistent with its previous announcement, USCIS is...more
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on May 3 announced a temporary increase—up to 540 days—to the automatic extension period for employment authorization and employment authorization documents (EADs) for certain...more
On May 4, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a vast increase in the length of automatic extensions for certain renewal applicants. A Temporary Final...more
Today, March 30, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule expanding premium processing for multinational managers, advanced degree holders seeking a national interest waiver, nonimmigrant...more