A Department of State (DOS) final rule published at 88 FR 18243 (March 28, 2023) raises key visa processing fees, effective June 17, 2023. For example, the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee for F-1, J-1, and other non-petition-based visas rises 15.6%, and the MRV fee for petition-based categories such

On February 22, 2023, USCIS added basic content on F-1 Special Student Relief (SSR) off-campus employment authorization to the USCIS Policy Manual. The new content confirms that Form I-765 code (c)(3)(iii) should be used when requesting SSR off-campus employment authorization, and that USCIS should

In February, 2023, the Department of State (DOS) revised its policies to now allow consular officers to issue an F or M student visa up to 365 days in advance of a new student's I-20 program start date. See: A February 21, 2023 DOS tweet, and content on the DOS Student Visa Page (updated on February

From January 29 to April 1, 2024, the Department of State will run a pilot program to resume domestic visa renewal for H-1B applicants who are renewing an H-1B visa that was issued by: Mission Canada with an issuance date from January 1, 2020, through April 1, 2023; or Mission India with an issuance

For a two-year period starting around January 25, 2023, USCIS will once again "bundle the adjudication of the Form I-539 and Form I-765, where applicable, for H-4 and L-2 derivatives with the underlying Form I-129 when these forms are properly filed together regardless of whether they are filed

On January 11, 2023, NAFSA submitted a comment letter in response to Docket No. ICEB-2021-0016, Removal of Obsolete Procedures and Requirements Related to F, J, and M Nonimmigrants, an interim final rule published at 87 FR 75891 (December 12, 2022). Read NAFSA's comment letter View NAFSA's page on

On December 19, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a page titled Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment. "This page contains information for nonimmigrant workers whose employment has terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily. These

On December 12, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an interim final rule (IFR) in the Federal Register, titled Removal of Obsolete Procedures and Requirements Related to F, J, and M Nonimmigrants. The IFR became effective on the date of publication, December 12, 2022. Public

Important note on UTC Time and Online Filing: Online USCIS filings are governed by Coordinated Universal Time, abreviated as UTC. USCIS confirmed this in the Follow Up Q&A From the May 5, 2021 CIS Ombudsman's Webinar with USCIS on Online Filing of Form I-765 for OPT: "Q9. How are date and time