DOS implemented Form DS-5535, Supplemental Questions for Visa Applicants, to standardize the collection of additional information from immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants "who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related

Legacy INS memo states, "Where an adjudicator is aware that the beneficiary’s status has expired, or will have expired by the H-1B effective date, change of status will be denied even if the petition is approved on its merits." The memo also states that "Likewise, changes of status will be approved

DOS cable instructs consular officers on policies and practices to implement the portions of Executive Order 13780 that had been blocked by court order but were partially reinstated after the Supreme Court's June 26, 2017 opinion.

July 12, 2017 Department of State sent to consular offices worldwide, to implement the processes called for by sections 2(a), (b), (d), and (e) of Executive Order 13780. Section 2(e) of Executive Order 13780 establishes a possible "indefinite" entry bar that could apply to any country that is

Questions pre-submitted by NAFSA and answered by USCIS, the Department of State, and SEVP, in connection with a session entitled "Government Agencies in the F and M International Student Process," presented at the NAFSA Annual Conference and Expo in Los Angeles, CA on June 1, 2017.

Pre-submitted questions from NAFSA and answered by SEVP in connection with a session entitled "SEVIS Current Issues," presented at the NAFSA Annual Conference and Expo in Los Angeles, CA, on May 30, 2017.

The U.S. diplomatic mission to Russia announced on August 21, 2017, that "Due to the Russian government-imposed cap on U.S. diplomatic personnel in Russia, all nonimmigrant visa operations across Russia will be suspended on August 23. Nonimmigrant visa operations resumed in Moscow on a reduced scale

Under a new USCIS policy announced on August 28, 2017, most employment-based adjustment of status applicants will have an in-person interview as part of the adjustment process after October 1, 2017.

On August 8, 2017, DOS revised its FAM guidance on assessing residence abroad for F-1 students, by removing helpful prior language that had encouraged consular officers to consider the "inherent difference" between a young F-1 visa applicant and a short-term B visa applicant. The new FAM entry now