Business Immigration Insights

Immigration enforcement on colleges and universities is undergoing significant changes.  Higher education institutions must prepare for new challenges that could impact their students and faculty.

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. 

The Department of State has revised its guidelines instructing consular officers with a new standard to apply in determining whether the United States has a public interest in granting waiver relief to certain nonimmigrant visa applicants.