A J-1 exchange visa holder who received graduate medical education or training in the U.S.
A J-1 exchange visa holder who received graduate medical education or training in the U.S.
Media Note
Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC
May 25, 2011
Also available in Russian
On June 1 the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) will launch a new J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program website.
New Regulations for J-1 Visa - Summer Work Travel
Taken Question Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
Q: Please provide details on the specific aspects of the new regulations for J-1 visas. What is the intention of these new regulations? Are we confident that these new regulations will protect recipients from abuse?
A: The Summer Work Travel (SWT) program has provided thousands of international college and university students an opportunity to visit the United States and experience the American people and culture firsthand.
Filing location for concurrently-filed I-140/I-485 petitions
Unless there is an accompanying I-907 all I-140/485 concurrent filings must be filed at the lockbox addresses. Depending on the jurisdiction the filing must be sent directly to TSC or NSC.
Employers who are cap-exempt under INA § 214(g)(5)(A) or (g)(5)(B) filing H-1B petitions
USCIS notes from the stakeholder meeting on religious workers, providing an outline of changes resulting from the Religious Worker Final Rule that was published on 11/26/08.
Please check the attachment.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) advises the public that Public Law 112-176, signed by the President on Sept. 28, 2012, extends the following USCIS programs until Sept. 30, 2015:
Program Details
FAQs:
1. Can I volunteer with a Non-Profit while on any temporary visa (for example, F-1 OPT)?
2. Options after layoff on approved EB-1 - Compelling circumstances EAD and GC EAD conversion
3. NIW I-485 rejected: Refiling options and priority date usage?
Published by: The Economic Times - Date: April 04, 2025
Synopsis
The State Department's new social media screening measures affect F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa applicants, requiring mandatory reviews under certain conditions. These include broad interpretations of terrorist support and criteria for hostile attitudes toward U.S. institutions, potentially leading to visa revocations.
For more information on this article, please see the attachment below.
We filed an application seeking a waiver of the foreign residence requirement for our client based on exceptional hardship upon the client’s U.S. citizen child. We argued that the minor child would suffer extreme hardship if he were forced to leave the U.S. with his mother to fulfill the two-year home residency requirement because of a serious medical condition, for which treatment was not readily available in the applicant’s home country. We provided ample supporting documentation in this regard.
USCIS granted the waiver.
USCIS recently updated the following form:
Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
01/20/2025 12:37 PM EST
Edition Date: 01/20/25. Starting July 30, 2025, USCIS will accept only the 01/20/25 edition. Until then, you can also use the 01/17/25 edition. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.
For more information, please visit the Forms Updates page.
I believe there was a proposal to include social media handles as part of certain visa/immigration applications. Do you know what the consequences of that are?
If one has deleted social media accounts they don't have access to or accounts they don't remember the details for would that negatively impact the application? Also, is it just public posts that get reviewed or do private messages/dms get reviewed also?
As of June 24, 2025, the US Consulates have updated their policies for F (academic student), M (vocational student), and J (exchange visitor) visa applicants. The key requirements are:
Public Privacy Settings: All your social media accounts must have their privacy settings adjusted to "public" so that the consulate can review them.
Disclosure of Usernames: You are required to list all social media usernames or handles from every platform you have used for the last 5 years. This includes accounts, even if they have since been deleted.
Failing to comply with these requirements, including omitting social media information or keeping accounts private, could lead to visa denial. The new policy aims to facilitate vetting to establish identity and admissibility to the United States.
Published by: Business Today- July 02, 2025
https://www.businesstoday.in/nri/visa/story/major-us-student-visa-overh…
Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:
Published by: Business Today- July 02, 2025
https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/us-time-limit-rule-stay-foreign-st…
Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:
Published by: NewsBytes - July 02, 2025
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/world/us-proposes-fixed-duration-visa…
Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:
Physicians seeking a permanent employment opportunity in the United States and employers seeking to sponsor a physician for lawful permanent residency based on permanent employment in the United States must go through a multi-step process.
Foreign nationals and employers must determine whether the foreign national is eligible for lawful permanent residency under one of several, acceptable paths to lawful permanent residency.
For more information please click the link below
USCIS does not believe that a J-2 dependent of a J-1 foreign medical graduate can change to H-1B status, or any other employment-authorized nonimmigrant classification (with the exception of T or U status) until the principal Conrad State 30 waiver recipient has fulfilled his or her three-year employment obligations in a medically underserved area.However, USCIS is open to reviewing current regulations and considereing whether steps should be taken to enable such J-2 dependents to engage in employment while in H-4 status.
We have obtained several R-1 visas. One case that presented an interesting challenge was where the applicant performed secular, administrative duties. CIS believed that an R visa was not appropriate. We were able to show facts and law that convinced the USCIS to issue the visa.