On July 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of State announced that, with few exceptions, all nonimmigrant visa applicants, including applicants under the age of 14 and over the age of 79, will require an in-person interview with a...more
8/7/2025
/ B-1 ,
B-2 ,
Consulate ,
Fees ,
International Travel ,
Interviews ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Pilot Programs ,
US Department of State ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Interview Waiver Program (VIWP) ,
Visa Requirements ,
Visa Restrictions ,
Visas
Recent United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. State Department updates require businesses and individuals to adhere to new TN visa eligibility criteria—such as prohibiting self-employment,...more
6/26/2025
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Workers ,
Gender Identity ,
Immigration Procedures ,
J-1 Visas ,
NAFTA ,
National Security ,
New Regulations ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Passports ,
TN-Visas ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Vetting ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas
USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) announced on March 31, 2025, that the agency has completed selections regarding the regular and advanced degree selections in its annual H-1B Lottery. The H-1B cap of 85,000...more
On December 9, 2024, The Department of State issued two major revisions to its Exchange Visitor Skills list resulting in reducing the number of countries on the Exchange Visitor Skills List by almost half. Countries such as...more
12/18/2024
/ Foreign Nationals ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Procedures ,
J-1 Visas ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Physicians ,
Residency Requirements ,
Training ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had selected sufficient H-1B visa preregistrations to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular H-1B cap (bachelor’s degree cap)...more
6/13/2024
/ E-1 ,
E-2 ,
E-Verify ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-1 Visas ,
Lottery ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
O-1 Aliens of Extraordinary Ability ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visas
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
Happy New Year! As we begin 2023, we would like to share the following recent U.S. immigration-related updates:
Nonimmigrant Visa Interview Waivers Extended Until December 31, 2023 On December 23, 2022, the U.S....more
Background-
The H-1B nonimmigrant visa is one of the most highly utilized and sought-after temporary work visas and facilitates the employment of foreign nationals entering the United States to perform employment in...more
On December 23, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced that it will temporarily suspend in-person interviews for some nonimmigrant visa classifications in order to expedite visa issuance as the pandemic heads into its...more
On April 27, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated the USCIS Policy Manual in a Policy Alert to reinstate its policy of giving deference to prior determinations when adjudicating extension-of-stay...more
Immigration partner Roxanne Levine joined Litigation partner and host Rich Schoenstein to discuss the new filing process for H-1B visas, which provide a nonimmigrant temporary visa category for certain foreign nationals that...more
8/31/2020
/ Diversity Lottery ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
A seemingly benign application form known as the DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application form is completed online by all applicants seeking to work in temporary visa status in the United States. The form, available on the...more
For foreign nationals working in the United States on temporary work visas, it is best to plan well in advance for international travel.
Assure that your passport is valid.
Passports must be valid for at least six months...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its Spring 2019 Regulatory Agenda, announcing the agency's priorities and how it plans to continue furthering the current administration's immigration-related goals....more
6/27/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
F-1 Visa ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
I-485 Applications ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Registration Fees ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Visa Waiver Program ,
Visas
USCIS recently provided updated data showing there has been a decline in approvals and higher rates of requests for evidence (RFE) for several key employer-sponsored non-immigrant visa categories.
The newly released data,...more
U.S. Citizenship Services (USCIS) rescinded its long-honored policy guidelines that were instituted in April 2004, and were in effect until October 23, 2017 regarding giving deference to the adjudication of prior nonimmigrant...more
On March, 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it was suspending premium processing for all H-1B petitions commencing April 3, 2017. USCIS advised that premium processing may be suspended...more
During his campaign, President-elect Trump had promised to place the issue of immigration at the top of his agenda once sworn in as president in January 2017. Some programs may be immediately repealed and others will require...more
11/16/2016
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
DACA ,
DAPA ,
Deferred Action ,
Deportation ,
E-Verify ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Executive Orders ,
F-1 Visa ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Reform ,
L-1 ,
L-2 Visas ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Obama Administration ,
OPT ,
STEM ,
Subcontractors ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Visa Waiver Program ,
Work Permits