Immigration Insights Podcast: International Entrepreneur Parole Program & Biometrics Requirement
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
Beginning on September 2, 2025, U.S. consulates will implement a more restrictive version of the nonimmigrant visa (NIV) interview waiver (IW) program. The IW program is also commonly referred to as “drop box” visa...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
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
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
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
On April 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of State launched two new tools to monitor immigrant and nonimmigrant visa interview availability: (1) the Immigrant Visa (IV) Scheduling Status Tool, and (2) the Global Visa Wait Times...more
On February 18, 2025, the US Department of State announced a new policy requiring more foreign nationals to attend in-person interviews to apply for nonimmigrant visas....more
International travelers seeking to renew their U.S. visas must meet stricter requirements and may see longer wait times. Effective February 18, 2025, DOS has officially reverted the special pandemic-era eligibility criteria...more
On February 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of State updated visa interview waiver (“drop box”) eligibility criteria for individuals renewing their visa stamps, resulting in sudden drop box appointment cancellations and...more
After quietly updating consular websites, signaling a significant change to Visa Interview Waiver (“dropbox”) eligibility requirements, on Feb. 18, 2025, the Department of State (DOS) officially announced the reversion to...more
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in India recently announced updates to nonimmigrant visa processing that took effect last week, including changes to interview waiver (drop box) eligibility and the centralization of visa...more
Due to increased travel to France for the eightieth anniversary of D-Day and the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, the U.S. Department of State expects significant delays in visa processing in France in 2024. Individuals seeking to...more
Executive Summary: Recent reports from the U.S. Department of State (DOS) make clear that American companies need foreign talent more than ever before, and...more
On December 21, the U.S. Department of State announced that for 2024 it would continue to waive the requirement of consular interviews for certain nonimmigrant visa applications. However, the 2024 waiver requirements are...more
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
On December 21, the U.S. Department of State issued regulations with details of its pilot program for issuance of renewed H-1B visa stamps in the United States. The pilot program eliminates the need for applicants to obtain...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The below summarizes the Department of State’s Formal Notice to Resume Renewal of H-1B Nonimmigrant Visas in the United States for Certain Qualified Noncitizens....more
On December 20, 2023, the Department of State (“DOS”) released details of the domestic visa renewal pilot program, as noted in their announcement earlier this month. Per the draft regulation, the pilot program is limited to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Department of State expects to start the stateside visa renewal pilot in early 2024....more
The U.S. Department of State is expected to launch a pilot program to resume stateside H-1B visa renewal early in 2024. On October 17, 2023, the State Department sent the proposed Pilot Program to Resume Renewal of H-1B...more
On May 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of State announced the delay of the implementation of the final rule raising nonimmigrant visa (NIV) application processing fees and the fee for a Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexican...more