On December 28, 2017, the U.S. diplomatic mission in Turkey announced that political conditions in that country had improved so as to "allow for the full resumption of visa services in Turkey." Because of the prior full and partial suspension of visa services earlier in Fall 2017 (see Background

The Exchange Visitor Subcommittee of NAFSA's International Student and Scholar Regulatory Practice Committee (ISSRP) prepared a summary of the questions and responses from the 2017 Annual Conference session, "U.S. Department of State and Exchange Visitors: Current Issues," presented at the

NAFSA's Employment-Based Subcommittee has come up with a short list of key takeaways for practitioners in higher ed. from the DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) Stakeholder meeting on PERM, H-1B and Prevailing Wage issues, held on 9/12/2017 in Washington, DC.

Reviewing and being able to articulate and document how you manage your exchange visitor program relative to regulatory requirements is always a good idea, and doing so on a regular basis can also help you prepare for a site visit if your program is randomly selected, and improve the integrity of

NAFSA Practice Resource on H-1B Requests for Evidence (RFEs) related to the use of Wage Level I prevailing wage determinations (PWDs) and eligibility for H-1B classification. The resource provides some basic information on what is currently known, and a “back-to-basics” reminder of the legal

On October 26, 2017, airlines worldwide were required to satisfy new levels of security for flights destined to the United States, which will likely add time to the flight check-in and pre-flight security processes. U.S. and foreign travelers bound to the United States should contact their airline

NAFSA asks SEVP and USCIS to consider 60-day OPT grace period in H-1B cap-gap denial and revocation decisions made after October 1, 2017.

URL changes to several common resources on the Department of State (DOS) website.

CRS Backgrounder on Optional Practical Training For some background, read the Congressional Research Service's ( CRS) In Focus Report: Optional Practical Training (OPT) for Foreign Students in the United States, IF 12631 (May 30, 2025), transcribed by NAFSA . Recent Challenges to OPT under the

USCIS memo: "Activities that constitute a broad range of other professions related to economics, such as activity performed by financial analysts, market research analysts, and marketing specialists do not qualify for TN status."