Category: Waivers

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is seeking public comments on a proposed rule that would expand eligibility for provisional waivers of inadmissibility based on the accrual of unlawful presence. The proposed rule would expand eligibility to all foreign nationals who are statutorily eligible for an immigrant visa and for a waiver of inadmissibility based… Read More

The U.S. Mission in India has announced expansion of the Interview Waiver Program (IWP), launched in March 2012, which allows qualified individuals to apply for additional classes of visas without being interviewed in person by a U.S. consular officer. The U.S. embassy in New Delhi expects this expansion to affect thousands of visa applicants in… Read More

On November 13, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) held a teleconference to discuss the transition to centralized Lockbox filing of Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, filed by applicants outside the United States. As background, on June 4, 2012, USCIS phased in a new requirement that I-601s and associated Forms… Read More

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Executive Office for Immigration Review issued an interim final rule effective November 28, 2009, implementing the extension of U.S. immigration laws to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) under the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA). The rule amends the regulations governing, among other things,… Read More

The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) released an interim final rule regarding the Electronic System Travel Authorization (“ESTA”) as part of the Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”). Mandatory implementation is set for January 12, 2009, while volunteer applications will be accepted beginning August 1, 2008.