In That Case: Department of State v. Muñoz
Episode 315 - Boeing Pays $51 Million for ITAR Violations
Matt Silverman on Export Compliance
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
On July 25, the U.S. Department of State announced that, effective September 2, most nonimmigrant visa applicants will no longer qualify for a visa interview waiver. Additionally, India’s popular dropbox “appointments,” which...more
There are several recent changes about visas to the United States, including a new visa integrity fee that will be imposed on all foreign nationals needing nonimmigrant visas, limitations on validity periods, and limitations...more
On July 25, the U.S. Department of State announced a sweeping rollback of the nonimmigrant visa interview waiver program — often called the “drop box” system. Under the drop box system, many applicants for nonimmigrant visas...more
Effective September 2, 2025, the U.S. State Department is eliminating visa waiver of appointments (otherwise called dropbox appointments) for many visa applicants. Many visa applicants and their dependents previously...more
On July 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of State announced a new policy that will significantly limit the eligibility of visa applicants to obtain visas without consular interviews. The new policy will go into effect on...more
The U.S. Department of State announced that effective September 2, 2025, the categories of applicants that may be eligible for the Dropbox Program (a/k/a Interview Waiver) will be updated, adding further restrictions to those...more
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently revised its visa reciprocity schedules for numerous countries, significantly reducing the duration of nonimmigrant visa validity to three months and a single entry in many cases....more
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
As international travel regulations and immigration enforcement policies continue to evolve, it is critical that non-citizen employees entering the United States—including visa holders and lawful permanent residents—are...more
The Trump administration has not yet published an executive order banning visa issuance or inbound travel from specific countries, however, we anticipate travel bans as soon as late March....more
The Department of State (DOS) has announced that their new online passport renewal system is fully available to the public, having started September 18, 2024....more
OVERVIEW - 1. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is proposing to delay the enforcement of the REAL ID enforcement until at least 2027 - 2. The U.S. Department of State rolls out online passport renewal - 3....more
On October 17, 2023, the Department of State (DOS) took the first steps to implement stateside processing of nonimmigrant visas. The DOS notified the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs that it will introduce...more
The White House has announced the precise date that it will lift COVID-19-related travel bans that apply to international travelers from more than 30 countries. Starting Nov. 8, 2021, travel bans will be lifted for fully...more
Anyone thinking of travelling internationally next year needs to plan ahead. Due to backlogs, applications for new or renewed U.S. passports should be filed at least six months in advance. The Department of State (DOS)...more
On July 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) posted guidance that confirms National Interest Exceptions (NIE) issued in the last 12 months are being automatically extended for 12 months from the date of approval, as...more
Over the past year, several Presidential Proclamations have restricted travel to the United States by foreign nationals physically present in China, Iran, the Schengen Region, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, South...more
The US Department of State announced on July 6 that it has extended the validity of previously issued National Interest Exceptions (NIEs), and that going forward, NIEs will be granted for a validity period of one year for...more
On July 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced that it was extending the validity of National Interest Exceptions (NIE) for 12 months from the date of approval, and for multiple entries, as long as they are used for...more
The U.S. Department of State has extended the validity of National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) for travelers from China, Iran, India, Brazil, South Africa, the Schengen Area, Ireland and the United Kingdom whose admission to...more
In news welcome to both travelers and U.S. consular officers alike, the Department of State (DOS) announced yesterday that it would extend the validity of National Interest Exceptions (NIEs). By way of background, as detailed...more
On June 1, 2021, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued further guidance on eligibility for National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) to the travel bans from the Schengen Area of the EU, the U.K., Ireland, China, Iran, Brazil,...more
On May 25, 2021, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of State (DOS) announced that U.S. citizens will be able to return to the United States on an expired U.S. passport from May 21, 2021 through December...more
President Biden signed a new Presidential Proclamation, which adds the Republic of India to the list of countries subject to travel restrictions for noncitizens of the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This...more