The Department of State announced on December 13, 2021, that immigrant visa applicants who were issued a visa on or after August 4, 2019, but were unable to travel to the U.S. on that visa, may be exempted from appearing for another interview when obtaining a new visa. This new rule, expected to benefit nearly 50,000 immigrant visa applicants, will hopefully help reduce the massive backlog of immigrant visa applicants waiting to be scheduled for a consular interview.
Under the new temporary rule, slated to be in effect for 2 years until mid-December 2023, a consular officer may waive the personal appearance and interview requirement for an immigrant visa applicant so long as:
In their most recent report, issued in November 2021, the Department of State indicated that over 450,000 immigrant visa applicants are still waiting to be scheduled for a consular interview. While this number is down from the 460,000 pending the prior month, and 468,000 pending the month before that, this massive backlog is far higher than the average of 60,000 applicants pending interviews each month in calendar year 2019.
Applicants who may be eligible to have their interview waived and encouraged to contact the consular section that issued their prior immigrant visa to discuss their eligibility.
On December 24, 2021, the White House announced that, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on December 31, 2021, persons from eight African nations will no longer be restricted from entry…
27Dec
For the first time ever, the Department of Homeland Security has released additional H-2B visas for the first half of the Federal Fiscal Year. On December 20, 2021, DHS announced…
03Jan
Joseph & Hall P.C. is a full-service immigration law firm. We pride ourselves on being nationwide experts in all areas of immigration law, including the practice areas listed below. Our attorneys frequently are asked to speak both locally and nationally on a wide variety of immigration topics. For an overview of each practice area, please click the links below. If you have any questions about how these practice areas may apply to your case, please do not hesitate to contact our firm.
Countless people dream of becoming a U.S. citizen. If your application was rejected by the USCIS, we are here to fight for your best interests.
Get in touch with us. Write us a message.