Articles Posted in State Department

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The U.S. government has announced major changes affecting certain foreign nationals who were previously admitted for “duration of status,” commonly listed as “D/S” on Form I-94. Instead of remaining in the United States for the duration of their authorized program or activity, affected individuals will be admitted for a fixed period of time, generally limited to four years.

The new rule will affect individuals currently in the United States, as well as those preparing to enter under the following visa classifications:

  • F visa holders: International students and their dependents;
  • J visa holders: Exchange visitors and their dependents; and
  • I visa holders: Representatives of foreign information media and their dependents.

These changes may also affect how long individuals can remain in the United States and, for international students, their ability to pursue employment authorization after graduation. The rule is scheduled to take effect on September 15, 2026.

Old Rule

Under the previous rule, F, J, and I visa holders were generally admitted to the United States without a specific departure date on Form I-94. Instead, their Form I-94 displayed “D/S,” which stands for “Duration of Status.”

This allowed them to remain in the United States for as long as they continued to follow the requirements of their visa category. For example, an F-1 student could remain while maintaining a full course of study, and a J-1 exchange visitor could remain while participating in an authorized exchange program.

For students, duration of status could also include authorized practical training and any applicable grace period after completing their program. However, D/S did not allow someone to remain in the United States indefinitely. A person who failed to maintain status could lose their authorization to stay.

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The U.S. Department of State has launched a temporary program that allows certain business visitors and tourist visa applicants to pay an additional $750 for a faster U.S. visa interview appointment at select Embassies and Consulates.

The program began on July 1, 2026, and is scheduled to remain in effect through December 31, 2026.

Who Can Use the Program?

The expedited option is limited to applicants seeking:

  • B-1 visas for temporary business travel;
  • B-2 visas for tourism or personal visits; or
  • Combined B-1/B-2 visas.

It is available only at selected U.S. embassies and consulates and only when expedited appointments are available.

What Does the $750 Fee Provide?

Applicants who use the service may schedule an interview within 10 business days after paying the expedited appointment fee.

However, the $750 is charged in addition to the standard $185 visitor visa application fee, bringing the total cost to $935.

To request the faster appointment, an applicant must first:

  • Submit Form DS-160 Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application
  • Pay the standard visa application fee
  • Schedule a regular interview appointment and
  • Select and pay for an available expedited appointment.

Unlike traditional emergency appointment requests, applicants do not need to provide a written explanation showing urgent travel.

Does Paying $750 Guarantee a Visa?

No. The fee only provides access to an earlier B-1/B-2 visa interview appointment.

Applicants must still complete the regular interview, security checks, and eligibility review. The service does not speed up administrative processing and does not guarantee that a visa will be approved.

Expedited appointments are limited, so paying applicants are not guaranteed that an appointment will be available. Applicants who cancel or fail to attend the expedited interview will lose the $750 fee.

The Bottom Line

The new program does not allow applicants to pay for visa approval. It allows eligible B-1 and B-2 applicants at participating Consulates to pay $750 for a chance to obtain an interview within 10 business days. Travelers should confirm that the service is available at their selected embassy or consulate before relying on it for urgent travel.

For more information please contact your Embassy or Consulate directly.

Contact Us. If you would like to schedule a consultation, please text 619-483-4549 or call 619-819-9204.

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Is your case stuck at the National Visa Center with no interview in sight? You are not alone. Thousands of applicants are waiting months—or even years—for their visa interviews to be scheduled. The good news is that you may have options. In this video, we discuss three proven strategies that could help push your NVC case forward.

Why are so many cases stuck at the National Visa Center for months—or even years?

The problem is a perfect storm of overwhelming case volume, limited availability of interview appointments, staffing shortages, and delays at U.S. consulates worldwide.

Even after a case is documentarily complete and ready to move forward, it can remain at the NVC for months—or longer—until the appropriate embassy has an available interview slot.

Sweeping visa restrictions have made the backlogs even worse. The Trump administration has fully or partially restricted entry and visa issuance for nationals of 39 countries, while immigrant visa issuance has been separately paused for nationals of 75 countries.

Although U.S. embassies may remain open and continue scheduling some interviews, affected visas generally cannot be issued while these restrictions remain in place.

The result is thousands of applicants left in limbo, with no clear timeline and little information about when their cases will finally move forward.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently announced that it will lift holds on the adjudication of green cards and other immigration-benefit requests for a select group of individuals.

As part of these exemptions, USCIS has lifted holds on some family petitions filed by U.S. citizens, intercountry adoptions, rescheduled naturalization oath ceremonies, asylum applications from lower-risk countries, work authorization requests, special immigrant visas, refugee registrations for South African nationals, applications associated with medical physicians, and cases that completed enhanced security vetting through Operation PARRIS.

This means that nationals who were previously subject to the “75-country pause” are no longer affected by the suspension and may resume normal processing of their immigration applications if they fall within one of the above categories.

Unfortunately, if you do not fall within one of the exempted categories, the adjudication of your green card and immigrant visa application will remain on hold.

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USCIS may not be denying your green card case — but it may be quietly putting it on hold.

As of December 2, 2025, USCIS and the State Department began a new “hold and review” process for certain immigration applications filed by individuals from 39 countries – suspending the issuance of visas and green cards for all applicants for an uncertain period of time. Under this policy, officers are expected to pause final decisions while enhanced security vetting processes are established by the government.

For applicants, that means one thing: more delays and uncertainty.

If your case was moving forward, your fingerprints were already taken, or you were expecting an interview soon, this sudden pause could explain why everything has gone silent.

In this update, we break down what USCIS’s “hold and review” policy means, who may be affected, whether you need to take action, and what applicants should watch for next.

Why is there a “hold and review” policy?

In June and December 2025, the President issued various executive orders, imposing immigration restrictions affecting individuals from 39 countries. The ban affects their ability to enter the United States, receive U.S. visas, and obtain immigration benefits through agencies like USCIS and the Department of State via Consular processing.

The affected countries include Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and individuals holding Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents.

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On January 14, 2026, the State Department announced it is pausing the issuance of immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries, effective January 21, 2026, while it develops a new process to assess whether applicants may become a “public charge” (financially dependent on the U.S. government).

Applicants can still apply and attend interviews, but no immigrant visas will not be issued during the pause. The policy affects family-sponsored and employment-based green cards, though dual nationals applying with a passport from a country not on the list are exempt from the suspension.

The policy change focuses on the statutory “public charge” ground of inadmissibility, which allows visa refusal in the event an applicant is found likely to depend on the U.S. government for financial assistance. Consular officers are permitted to consider factors such as an applicant’s health, age, education, employment prospects, and financial stability when evaluating if they are a public charge risk.

It is unclear how long the suspension will last or how the public charge review process will ultimately change.

Immigrant visa applicants from the affected countries should monitor communications from the State Department and prepare for potential delays in visa issuance.

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Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the November 2025 Visa Bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of November.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of November, USCIS will be using the Dates for Filing Chart for the employment-based and family-sponsored categories.

Highlights of the November 2025 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of November?

Employment-Based Categories

There are no changes to the Dates for Filing and Final Action charts for the employment-based categories when compared to the October Visa Bulletin.

Family-Sponsored Categories

Final Action Advancements

  • F2B Worldwide, China, and India will advance by 9 days to December 1, 2016
  • F3 Mexico will advance by 16 days to May 1, 2001

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On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued a presidential proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” announcing new changes to the H-1B visa program. The proclamation imposes a $100,000 fee on all new H-1B petitions filed after 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2025, but leaves open the possibility of applying for national interest exceptions for those impacted.

According to the proclamation, the goal is to prioritize highly skilled and highly paid foreign workers while curbing abuse of the H-1B visa program for specialty occupations. The measure is set to remain in effect for 12 months unless extended.

The timing and language of the proclamation has caused widespread confusion and concern among employers, as well as both current and prospective H-1B workers. In response, the White House and federal agencies issued follow-up explanations, which have left many questions unanswered and even contradicted the text of the proclamation.

Policy Memorandums

In a memo published the day after the proclamation, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) explained that the $100,000 fee applies only to new H-1B petitions filed after the September 21 effective date.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) similarly posted on X: “President Trump’s updated H-1B visa requirement applies only to new, prospective petitions that have not yet been filed. Petitions submitted prior to September 21, 2025, are not affected.”

In a separate statement, the State Department said, “The Proclamation’s restrictions on visa issuance and entry apply only to aliens seeking visa issuance or entry into the United States based on H-1B petitions filed with USCIS after the Proclamation’s effective date of September 21, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).”

To further clarify the proclamation’s impact, USCIS issued the following FAQs:

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Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the September 2025 Visa Bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of September.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will continue to use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of September.

For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will also continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of September.

Please click here for more information.

Highlights of the September 2025 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of September?

Employment-Based Categories

There will be no changes to the employment-based Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing for the month of September.

The Visa Bulletin contains an important note that says the Visa Office expects to reach the FY 2025 annual limit for most employment-based categories during August and September. When this occurs, affected categories will become “unavailable” and no visas will be issued.

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Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the August 2025 Visa Bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of August.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will continue to use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of August.

For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will also continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of August.

Please click here for more information.

Highlights of the August 2025 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of August?

Employment-Based Categories

Final Action Advancements

EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability

  • EB-2 Worldwide, Mexico, Philippines retrogressed by 1.4 months to September 1, 2023

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers and Other Workers

  • EB-3 India will advance by 1 month to May 22, 2013

EB-5 Unreserved Categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5)

  • India will advance by 6.5 months to November 15, 2019
  • China will advance by 22.5 months to December 08, 2015

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