In February 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Kerry v. Din, an immigration-related case that deals with the doctrine of consular nonreviewability. This doctrine generally insulates embassies and consulates from having visa denials overturned by federal courts. This particular court promises to...
Since June 2013, same-sex couples have been eligible for the same type of U.S. immigration benefits as opposite-sex couples. This policy shift, however, has given rise to safety concerns for beneficiaries in certain types of cases involving same-sex couples; more specifically, the U.S. Department of...
Effective December 22, 2014, the exchange rate between the Indian rupee and the U.S. dollar, for purposes of paying visa applications fees in India, has changed. The new exchange rate is 64 rupees per U.S. dollar, up from the previous designated rate of 62 rupees...
The U.S. Department of State, National Visa Center (NVC) plays a key role in applications for immigrant visas that are utilizing the consular processing (CP) option. In a November 2014 meeting with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the NVC provided some insights into how...
The U.S. Consulate in Toronto, Canada, has implemented a new, streamlined E-2 visa application process for renewal cases. The revised process should make renewal applications faster and less burdensome for qualifying applicants. Overview of E-2 Visas The E-2 (treaty investor) visa is only available to a foreign...
The United States has entered into a reciprocal agreement with China regarding the duration of commonly utilized nonimmigrant visa categories. This agreement, effective November 12, 2014, applies to B-1/B-2 business and tourist visitors, F-1 and M-1 students, as well as J-1 exchange visitors. Chinese nationals...
The National Visa Center (NVC) has changed the requirements regarding supporting documentation submitted in immigrant visa applications. As of November 12, 2014, the NVC has begun accepting photocopies of civil documents, rather than requiring originals. Background on the NVC In cases where a foreign national wishes to...
Department of State eMail Restored The external eMail system for the U.S. Department of State (DOS) is operational, as of November 18th. The DOS suggests that those who have not received responses to eMail sent to DOS after the evening of November 14th, may wish to...
A foreign national in the United States who needs to apply for a new U.S. visa "stamp" may wish to do so without the inconvenience of a trip to the person's home county. Rather, the U.S. embassy in Kingston, Jamaica may seem like an appealing...
As previously reported on MurthyDotCom, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) experienced large-scale computer problems this summer that resulted in visa issuance delays globally. While these issues have been resolved, the resulting notations in some visa applicants' files have raised additional questions. The DOS addressed...
