ITAR – Requirements for Government Contractors
All receipts for payment of Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fees issued prior to October 1, 2022, are set to expire on September 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of State recently announced....more
Newly released data from the U.S. Department of State shows that U.S. consular posts abroad have made significant progress in reaching pre-pandemic levels of immigrant and nonimmigrant visa issuance during fiscal year (FY)...more
Remote electronic notarization is now permanent in the state of New York, and notaries who register with the Department of State beginning Feb. 1, 2023, and comply with the new rules, will be able to perform electronic...more
The U.S. Department of State’s U.S. Mission China Consular Services announced on December 15, 2022, that all routine visa services would be indefinitely suspended. As of December 19, 2022, routine visa appointments at all...more
Fraud Scheme Results in $56 Million Seized as Largest Recovery of Cryptocurrency by US - On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California’s request was...more
Beginning November 8, 2021, international travelers subject to CDC country-specific travel restrictions will be able to resume travel to the U.S. without applying for an exemption. The current travel restrictions apply to...more
On October 25, President Joseph R. Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation officially rescinding all current COVID-19 regional travel bans and instead imposed a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on all nonimmigrants traveling to...more
The State Department cannot rely on presidential proclamations to refuse to adjudicate visas, Judge James E. Boasberg in the U.S. District Court for the D.C. District has held. Judge Boasberg said nothing about what the...more
International travelers subject to the CDC travel restrictions will soon be able to resume travel to the U.S. without applying for an exemption. The current travel restrictions apply to certain travelers from China, Iran, the...more
Effective October 1, 2021, and in compliance with new instructions from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 vaccinations will be required for applicants for lawful permanent residence (i.e.,...more
In March 2020, the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) announced the suspension of routine visa services at all U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, consular services were limited...more
The Summer season often brings with it an increase in international travel, as people seek to take vacations, visit family, and attend to business around the world. That norm has been significantly disrupted for the last two...more
The State Department, in coordination with the CDC, raised its Travel Advisory for the United Kingdom to “Do Not Travel” because of COVID-19 (Level IV). Coincidentally, the Department’s move came on the same day Prime...more
On July 6, 2021 the U.S. State Department publicly announced that the travel ban waivers related to the world-wide pandemic will now be good for 1 year and multiple entry. The effective date of this new decision is June 29,...more
On July 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced that the validity period for National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) to COVID-19 Travel Restrictions will now be valid for 12 months from the date of approval and would...more
On July 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced an extension of the validity of National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) to the COVID-related travel ban from 30 days to 12 months. This change also expands NIE validity to...more
As several cities are allowing businesses to resume their operations to pre-pandemic levels, many employees are being called back to on-site work. Thankfully, schools have been welcoming children for in-person learning for...more
On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced new and more restrictive eligibility criteria for obtaining a National Interest Exception (NIE) to the COVID-19 travel bans for the European Schengen Area, the...more
On March 2nd, the State Department rescinded the previous policy for national interest exceptions (NIE) thereby making it more difficult for nonimmigrant workers and business travelers to obtain national interest exceptions...more
Business and human rights will continue to receive significant attention and development in 2021. Take a look at what is on the horizon . . . COVID-19: Vaccines are being administered in some countries but COVID-19...more
Judge Amit Mehta in Gomez v. Trump ordered the Department of State (DOS) to make good faith efforts to “expeditiously process and adjudicate DV-2020 diversity visa and derivative beneficiary applications” and issue visas to...more
On August 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of State issued guidance on scenarios that may qualify for a “national interest exception” under Presidential Proclamation 10052 of June 22, 2020 (“Proclamation Suspending Entry of...more
“The United States shares the values of rule of law and protection of our democracies with our partners in the European Union (EU). Therefore, we are deeply disappointed that the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ)...more
On July 16, the United States and Canada mutually agreed to restrict “non-essential” travel for an additional 30 days across our shared border. It is important to emphasize that the travel restriction only applies to...more
The U.S. government agencies that oversee the U.S. immigration system have been active in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic (for a brief overview of each agency, please refer to the last section of this update)...more