Category: Exchange Visitor

How to Check a Non-Immigrant Visa Appointment Wait Times at U.S. Embassies and Consulates?

1/10/2019

How to Check a Non-Immigrant Visa Appointment Wait Times at Different U.S. Embassies and Consulates Around the World?

If you plan to apply for a nonimmigrant visa to come to the United States as a temporary visitor, please review the current wait time for an interview using the tool at the link below. Examples of nonimmigrant visas: student F-1, visitor B-1/B-2, exchange visitor J-1, H-1B, L visa, etc.

Please note that K-1 fiancee visa is a nonimmigrant visa which has its own scheduling system because it is processed at the Immigrant Visa Unit of the U.S. embassy or consulate.

Click here for visa appointment times.

To schedule a consultation with an attorney, please email.

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Revised USCIS Guidance on Unlawful Presence for F-1 Students and J-1 Exchange Visitors

8/10/2018

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a revised final policy memorandum related to unlawful presence. Under the revised final policy memorandum, effective August 9, 2018, F and M nonimmigrants who fall out of status and timely file for reinstatement of that status will have their accrual of unlawful presence suspended while their application is pending.

On May 10, 2018, USCIS posted a policy memorandum changing the way the agency calculates unlawful presence for those who were in student (F nonimmigrant), exchange visitor (J nonimmigrant), or vocational student (M nonimmigrant) status.

The revised final memorandum published on August 9, 2018 supersedes May 10th memorandum and describes the rules for counting unlawful presence for F and M nonimmigrants with timely-filed or approved reinstatement applications, as well as for J nonimmigrants who were reinstated by the Department of State.

For purposes of counting unlawful presence, a timely reinstatement application for F or M status is one where the student has not been out of status for more than five months at the time of filing. Under the revised final policy memorandum, the accrual of unlawful presence is suspended when the F or M nonimmigrant files a reinstatement application within the five month window and while the application is pending with USCIS.

If the reinstatement application is denied, the accrual of unlawful presence resumes on the day after the denial.

Accrual of unlawful presence could result in later inadmissibility under section INA 212(a)(9).

Whether or not the application for reinstatement is timely-filed, an F, J, or M nonimmigrant whose application for reinstatement is ultimately approved will generally not accrue unlawful presence while out of status.

The Department of State administers the J-1 exchange visitor program, to include reinstatement requests. If the Department of State approves the reinstatement application of a J nonimmigrant, the individual will generally not accrue unlawful presence from the time the J nonimmigrant fell out of status from the time he or she was reinstated.

Memorandum is here.

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Unlawful Presence for Students and Exchange Visitors: F, J, M visas.

5/16/2018

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(On August 9, 2018, USCIS published a final revised guidance which supersedes May 10th 2018 memorandum. Please refer to a new USCIS memorandum/guidance we published here).

On May 10, 2018, USCIS posted a policy memorandum changing how USCIS will calculate unlawful presence for students and exchange visitors in F, J, and M nonimmigrant status, including F-2, J-2, or M-2 dependents, who fail to maintain their status in the United States.

This policy aligns with Trump’s Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States to enforce the immigration laws of the country and will go into effect on Aug. 9, 2018.

Individuals in F, J, and M status who failed to maintain their status before Aug. 9, 2018, will start accruing unlawful presence on that date based on that failure, unless they had already started accruing unlawful presence, on the earliest of any of the following:

The day after DHS denied the request for an immigration benefit, if DHS made a formal finding that the individual violated his or her nonimmigrant status while adjudicating a request for another immigration benefit;
The day after their I-94 expired; or
The day after an immigration judge or in certain cases, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), ordered them excluded, deported, or removed (whether or not the decision is appealed).

Individuals in F, J, or M status who fail to maintain their status on or after Aug. 9, 2018, will start accruing unlawful presence on the earliest of any of the following:

The day after they no longer pursue the course of study or the authorized activity, or the day after they engage in an unauthorized activity;
The day after completing the course of study or program, including any authorized practical training plus any authorized grace period;
The day after the I-94 expires; or
The day after an immigration judge, or in certain cases, the BIA, orders them excluded, deported, or removed (whether or not the decision is appealed).

Individuals who have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence during a single stay, and then depart, may be subject to 3-year or 10-year bars to admission, depending on how much unlawful presence they accrued before they departed the United States. Individuals who have accrued a total period of more than one year of unlawful presence, whether in a single stay or during multiple stays in the United States, and who then reenter or attempt to reenter the United States without being admitted or paroled are permanently inadmissible.

Those subject to the 3-year, 10-year, or permanent unlawful presence bars to admission are generally not eligible to apply for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status to permanent residence unless they are eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or another form of relief.

This policy memorandum is updating Chapter 40.9.2 of the USCIS Adjudicator’s Field Manual.

USCIS is accepting comments on the policy memorandum. The 30-day public comment period begins today and closes on June 11, 2018. For complete information on the comment process, visit the Policy Memoranda for Comment page.

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How to Check a Non-Immigrant Visa Appointment Wait Times at U.S. Embassies and Consulates?

Revised USCIS Guidance on Unlawful Presence for F-1 Students and J-1 Exchange Visitors

Unlawful Presence for Students and Exchange Visitors: F, J, M visas.

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