On December 8, 2025, applicants with H-1B and H-4 visa interview appointments scheduled at U.S. consular posts in a number of countries began receiving notifications that their appointments were being rescheduled. While the initial notifications came from U.S. consular posts in India, similar notifications by posts in other countries seem to indicate that the practice is expanding worldwide. The affected appointments were originally scheduled to take place on or after December 15, 2025, and they were pushed back several months. Notifications sent by the U.S. consular posts attribute these changes to “operational […]
On December 4, 2025, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced significant changes to its screening and vetting procedures for noncitizens seeking work authorization in the U.S. The updates include significantly reduced validity periods for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and increased review of applicants. Key Changes: EAD Validity Reduced for Several Categories […]
Effective December 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of State will expand its online presence review requirement to include all H-1B visa applicants and their dependents (H-4). This review is already applicable to students and exchange visitors in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications. To facilitate this review, applicants in these categories will be required to ensure that the […]
Following President Trump’s initial public statements regarding the “pause” of immigration-related processes for nationals of countries already subject to his administration’s travel ban, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced significant changes to immigration processing for such nationals. According to a newly released memorandum (PM-602-0192-PendingApplicationsHighRiskCountries-20251202.pdf) dated December 2, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will immediately place a processing hold on all pending immigration […]
