The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of 36 participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business (visitor [B] visa purposes only) for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. The program was established in 1986 with the objective of eliminating unnecessary barriers to travel, stimulating the tourism industry, and permitting the Department of State to focus consular resources in other areas. VWP eligible travelers may apply for a visa, if they prefer to do so.
[Federal Register: May 20, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 97)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 28188-28194]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20my10-3]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 22
[Public Notice: 7018]
RIN 1400-AC57
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, Department of State and Overseas Embassies and Consulates
AGENCY: Bureau of Consular Affairs, State.
ACTION: Interim final rule.
Release Date: May 20, 2010
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
See the attached CRS report on "Immigration Visa Issuances And Grounds for Exclusion".
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will be transitioning the intake function of several more forms from the Service Centers to its Lockbox network. By centralizing form and fee intake to a Lockbox environment, USCIS will improve consistency and integrity in the intake process.
The forms scheduled for the transition:
Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC
May 24, 2010
On May 20, 2010, the Department of State published an interim final rule in the Federal Register to increase nonimmigrant visa application processing fees, also called the Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fee, and Border Crossing Card (BCC) fees. The interim final rule also establishes a tiered structure with separate fees for different nonimmigrant visa categories. The new fees are scheduled to go into effect on June 4, 2010.
WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has revised the Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or Form I-766, to incorporate the addition of a machine-readable zone on the back of the card..
[Federal Register: March 31, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 61)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 15991-15992]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31mr10-1]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Work Done: H1B/H4 Can people contact me as a reference: Yes This is my 10th year H1B extension and Fran Fisher handled my H1B case. I consider my H1B extension as bit complicated. I had I140 approved notice from my previous employer and the extension was obtained based on this aproved I 140 from my previous employer. H1B extension was filed with premium processing. Because of Fran Fisher's and Mr. Khannas expertise and paper work... there was no RFEs and the petition was approved in 12 days.www.immigration.com is the best.
Hi Prerna/Rajiv, I and my wife wanted to thank you and the team at www.immigration.com for your work towards achieving my Green Card. I appreciate your thoroughness and the fact that you took time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions. Thank you! Regards, Francis
ICE Detention and Removal Operations Director issued a memo to field office directors clarifying the February 22, 2010 memo on removal goals.
Work permits and c9 I-765 application - The center recommends applicants and attorneys to follow the current Pre-Order Instructions which points out that applicants should file the renewed I-485 application with the TSC (Texas Service Center) when the form has been denied and renewed by the IJ. This also holds well when the applicant or attorney submits a new Form I-485 application to the IJ.
I am in USA on a L1A visa. If my H1B is approved, do I need to go to India to get my H1B visa stamped?
have a valid B1/B2 visa.I visited usa( 2 years ago, when I was a student) for tourism.Is it legal to use this visa to enter the usa to have a professional test (foreign pharmacy graduate equivalency examination)?. is there any problem to show this purpose to the officer at the port of entry (in airport)?
As far as I know, this should not be a problem if you are truthful about your intentions.
I am working towards filing under EB-1 green card, currently on H-1B. Is there a certain number of publications in peer reviewed journals, presentations at international meetings that would make the application more likely to go through than not?
Number of publications, impact factor of journals and number of citations - that is what they look at these days.
I am currently in the US on a h1b visa. My I-140 has been approved under eb3 category but looks like it will really take a while for the visa numbers to be current. My brother is a naturalized citizen. Can he file for my green card under family based siblings category? I was told by someone that i cannot file 2 immigrant petitions. Is that true?
You can simultaneously file through as many green card categories as you wish. Check out the backlogs on the visa bulletin.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it has published new versions of the Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, Form I-600 and the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, Form I-600A . The new date on the bottom of both forms is “12/30/09 N.” Due to the changes on the forms, previous versions will no longer be accepted after a 60 day transition period.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will begin implementing new enhanced security measures for all air carriers with international flights to the United States to strengthen the safety and security of all passengers—superseding the emergency measures put in place immediately following the attempted terrorist attack on Dec. 25, 2009.
This explains visa number usage, spillover of visa numbers into other preference categories, and the visa number backlog.
Preference Categories
The primary reasons for entering the immigration process in the U.S. are family and employment-based. To manage this process, family and employment-based immigration is broken into preference categories. Congress sets limits on how many individuals may immigrate to the U.S. each year (i.e. visa numbers) and also sets limits on how many individuals may immigrate within each preference category.
I was very impressed with Mr. Khanna's consultation with reference to a matter related to a denied entry to the USA. I found him to be very thorough,knowledgeable,precise and a down to earth professional. He understood the problem quickly and advised on the matter in a non-hurried manner-which I believe is very important to any person seeking his advice. I would highly recommend him for his services.