The Department of State has issued a press release with details of a proposed fee increase.  The fees would apply to all nonimmigrant visa applications and border crossing cards. 

Under the proposed rule, applicants for all visas that are not petition-based, including B1/B2 tourist and business visitor visas and all student and exchange-visitor visas, would pay a fee of $140. Applicants for petition-based visas would pay an application fee of $150. These categories include:

•  H visa for temporary workers and trainees
•  L visa for intracompany transferees
•  O visa for aliens with extraordinary ability
•  P visa for athletes, artists and entertainers
•  Q visa for international cultural exchange visitors
•  R visa for religious occupations

The application fee for K visas for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens would be $350.  The fee for E visas for treaty-traders and treaty-investors would be $390. 

The Department will not begin collecting the new proposed fees until it considers public comments and publishes a final rule.  In order to view the proposed rule and to submit comments, please go to www.regulations.gov.

Visa Bulletin for January 2010 released

The US Department of State has released the new Visa Bulletin for January 2010. In family-based categories, there is very slight movement forward, but just by a few weeks or months in most categories.

Employment-based categories remain "Current" for all 1st preference applicants, and for 2nd preference from Mexico, Philippines, and countries other than India and China. EB-2 for China moves forward by 1 month, and EB-2 for India is unchanged from last month. This means that India EB-2 has stayed the same sinced October 2009.  

3rd preference categories change slightly from last month. EB-3 for China, Philippines and all other countries move forward 2 months.  Mexico advances 1 month and India by almost 2 months.

Diversity lottery opens for 2011

The US Department of State has announced details of the next round of the Diversity Visa lottery here. The online entry registration period for the DV-2011 lottery is between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Friday, October 2, 2009, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, November 30, 2009. Entrants apply on Form DS-5501, Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form available only during the DV open registration period.

As a "winner" of the lottery myself, 15 years ago, I encourage everyone who is eligible to apply as soon as possible. The odds may be long, but somebody has to win. Good luck!

Full details of DV-2011 are here and here

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisa_monkeylover/3578402283/

Visa Bulletin for August 2009 issued.

The US Department of State has released the new Visa Bulletin for August 2009. In family-based categories, there is very slight movement forward, but just by a few weeks in most categories.

Employment-based categories have not changed for 1st preference applicants, and the entire 3rd preference and Other Workers category remains "Unavailable", like it has been since May 2009. The biggest change is that the priority date for India and China EB-2 categories have moved forward again. In June and July 2009, these categories retrogressed by 4 years (India) and 5 years (China). Both categories advance by almost 4 years, each to October 1, 2003.

New State Department Pamphlet on Nonimmigrant Rights

The Department of State has published a pamphlet educating nonimmigrant visa holders on their rights. The pamphlet covers the visa process, important documents, workplace and employee rights, human trafficking, and how to file a complaint. This is a very useful document, not just for immigrants. As quoted in the publication,

The U.S. Government has issued this pamphlet to honor the rule of law and uphold the dignity of all who come to this country. The U.S. Government is committed to combating human trafficking and labor rights violations.

State Department to open new passport offices

The Department of State (DOS) issued a press release announcing that it plans to expand the existing network of 21 passport agencies and centers nationwide by opening new passport agencies in the following locations:

• Vermont
• Buffalo, New York
• El Paso, Texas
• Atlanta, Georgia
• San Diego, California.

DOS will also establish public counters at two existing locations, the National Passport Center in Portsmouth, NH, and the Arkansas Passport Center in Hot Springs, AR.

The Press Release notes that

"These new agencies will be open to the public and will provide the citizens of these communities with easy access to the full range of passport services. These agencies will have the capability to issue passports onsite and provide same-day service to qualified applicants."

DOS opened a new apssport agency in Detroit in March, and plans to open facilities in Dallas and Tucson later this summer.

US consulates in Mexico suspend non-essential services

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and all U.S. Consulates throughout the country have suspended all non-essential services to the public until May 6, due to the swine flu outbreak. Consular services for U.S. citizens will be limited to emergency assistance and to citizenship applications (passports and consular reports of birth abroad). See here for the embassy notice. The consulates will reschedule appointments that have been cancelled.

For more information, see the State Department Travel Alert and the CDC notices.

Visa Bulletin for May 2009 released

The US Department of State has released the new Visa Bulletin for May 2009. In family-based categories, there is very slight movement forward, but just by a few weeks in most categories. Some categories do not advance at all, but none have retrogressed.

Employment-based categories have not changed for 1st and 2nd preference applicants. However, the entire 3rd preference and Other Workers category is "Unavailable", meaning that nobody in that category can file in May, even with a very old priority date.

Visa Bulletin
Priority Dates and Preference Categories explained

Travel Warning for Mexico issued by State Department

The US Department of Stated issued an updated Travel Alert for Mexico on February 23, 2009. The Alert warns of dangers, especially along the US-Mexico border. The Alert says:

The situation in Ciudad Juarez is of special concern. Mexican authorities report that more than 1,800 people have been killed in the city since January 2008. Additionally, this city of 1.6 million people experienced more than 17,000 car thefts and 1,650 carjackings in 2008. U.S. citizens should pay close attention to their surroundings while traveling in Ciudad Juarez, avoid isolated locations during late night and early morning hours, and remain alert to news reports. A recent series of muggings near the U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez targeted applicants for U.S. visas. Visa and other service seekers visiting the Consulate are encouraged to make arrangements to pay for those services using a non-cash method.

U.S. citizens are urged to be alert to safety and security concerns when visiting the border region. Criminals are armed with a wide array of sophisticated weapons. In some cases, assailants have worn full or partial police or military uniforms and have used vehicles that resemble police vehicles. While most crime victims are Mexican citizens, the uncertain security situation poses serious risks for U.S. citizens as well. U.S. citizen victims of crime in Mexico are urged to contact the consular section of the nearest U.S. consulate or Embassy for advice and assistance.

For more information, including links to other DOS resources and contact information for US consulates and consular agencies in Mexico, see the Press Release here: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3028.html.

Department of State announces new intercountry adoption website

On 11/17/08, DOS announced the launch of a website devoted exclusively to intercountry adoption, with information such as who is eligible to adopt, from which countries Americans adopt children, what protections the Hague Adoption Convention provides to families and more.