Business Immigration Insights

In March 2021, during the COVID pandemic, the Department of State implemented an expansion of the categories of visa applicants eligible for visa issuance without in-person interviews. 

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. 

For the second time in the past ten years, the Supreme Court has upheld the doctrine of consular non-reviewability of visa decisions and denied relief to the U.S. citizen spouse seeking to challenge the denial of a visa to a spouse. 

Seasoned business immigration attorneys recall “visa revalidation” with great fondness.  It is hard to imagine now, with visa appointment backlogs of months and even years at U.S. consulates all over the world, but it was once possible to send a passport to the Department of State’s Revalidation Division in St. Louis, Missouri, along with a few simple supporting documents, and within 10 to 12 weeks, get the passport back with a renewed visa in it.  Those were the days!