Business Immigration Insights

Immediately prior to the lapse in funding on October 1, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released information on their contingency plans during the impending government shutdown, providing guidance to federal contractors.

Prior to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 U.S. consular officers were able to process and approve many visa applications without interviews using the Dropbox procedure.  After 9/11, when it became known that several of the terrorists who carried out the attacks had received visas in Saudi Arabia without personal interviews, the Department of State seriously curtailed access to the Dropbox for visa issuance and renewals, limiting these to diplomatic and official visa applicants.

President Trump’s decision to suspend visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia on Sunday, January 26^th as part of an effective effort to pressure the government of Colombia to agree to accept flights of Colombian citizens being deported from the United States, makes it more likely that the same tactic will be used with other countries who fail to comply with U.S. immigration directives and policies. 

On January 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency published finalized Security Requirements for Restricted Transactions as designated by the Department of Justice in the DOJ’s final rulemaking, each pursuant to Executive Order 14117 (Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern). The Requirements and DOJ rule will go into effect on April 8, 2025.