Immigration Insights Podcast: International Entrepreneur Parole Program & Biometrics Requirement
The U.S. Department of State has announced resumption of student and exchange visitor visa processing, along with expanded digital vetting procedures. The June 18, 2025, press release, “Announcement of Expanded Screening and...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 May 27, 2025, the Department of State issued a cable instructing U.S. Embassies and Consulates to pause scheduling new visa appointments for foreign nationals seeking to obtain student and exchange visitor visas (F, M, and...more
The Department of State (DOS) recently updated its immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms, specifically the DS-160 and DS-260, to request additional information, including social media identifiers. A social media...more
The Trump Administration has been stepping up the collection of data in general and more specifically from visa applicants and travelers. Here are a few new policies: A pilot program has been instituted at the border...more
The U.S. Department of State has added a new social media question to its immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms. Effective June 1, applicants filling out Forms DS-160 and DS-260 must provide the government with...more
On May 30, 2019, the United States began requiring that visa applicants provide the social media identifiers for all accounts used within the last five years. ...more
Two years ago, then-Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, proposed collecting 15 years of travel, address and employment history and 5 years of social medical platforms, identifiers, phone numbers and emails from visa applicants...more
On June 1, 2019 the Department of State (DOS) announced that it would immediately begin requiring visa applicants to the United States to provide additional personal information on U.S. visa applications, including social...more
Applicants for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas must use the Department of State’s Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) to complete on-line forms for nonimmigrant (DS-160) or immigrant (DS-260) visas. This week,...more
What is the new proposed new rule? - The State Department posted two Federal Register notices that propose to revise questions it asks temporary and permanent visa applicants when applying to come to the U.S. The new...more
On March 30, 2018, the U.S. Department of State issued a notice of request for public comment in the Federal Register regarding a new rule it intends to apply to all visa applications by foreign nationals for visitor visas,...more
Handing over access to your social media account might be the next big move in U.S. immigration law. In a formal notice issued on March 30, 2018, the Department of State advised that it plans to require nearly all visa...more
With the recent change by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to mandate in-person interviews for employment based adjustment cases along with changes to require the review of social media and to what...more
What do Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have in common? The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv is using all three to reach visa applicants. The goal is to educate the public in Israel about the visa process. With Israel being the app...more