The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the public charge questionnaire (form DS-5540), and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will implement its new public charge rule, effective February 24, 2020. The DOS has also updated the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) with instructions...
In most circumstances, anyone applying for a nonimmigrant visa must apply in person at a U.S. consulate or embassy and be interviewed by a consular officer. In the context of applying to renew a visa, however, the interview requirement may be waived under the visa...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) published a notice this morning in the Federal Registrar, requesting emergency processing by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the proposed public charge questionnaire (form DS-5540) by February 24, 2020. The DOS needs the OMB to approve...
President Trump has issued a proclamation that bars entry to the United States of most foreign nationals who were physically present in China, not including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, within the 14 days immediately prior to arrival in the United...
On February 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), will begin implementing the public charge rule that was published in the Federal Register in August 2019....
Today, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) published a final rule in the Federal Register that aims to prevent women from being issued B-1/B-2 visas for purposes of "birth tourism" - that is, traveling to the United States for the primary purpose of obtaining U.S....
On October 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) updated the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) to define the clearly approvable standard in the context of L-1 visa applications filed under a petitioning company's blanket L-1 petition. The FAM now provides that "clearly approvable" means...
Representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recently met with representatives from the U.S. Department of State's Visa Office (VO) to discuss current immigration policies and procedures. Prior to the meeting, AILA submitted written questions to the VO, to which the DOS responded in...
On October 11, 2019, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register, entitled Visas: Ineligibility Based on Public Charge Grounds. Once this interim final rule goes into effect, it will greatly expand the categories of public benefits considered...
On October 11, 2019, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will publish an interim final rule to amend the regulations regarding how consular officers determine whether a foreign national is likely to become a public charge, and therefore ineligible for a visa. This rule will...
