News

On July 25, 2025, the Department of State announced that, effective September 2, 2025, all applicants for a nonimmigrant visa, regardless of their age, will generally need to attend an in-person interview with a consular officer. Visa interview waivers will remain available in limited circumstances, as described in the Department of State announcement. 

On June 4, 2025, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation titled: Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.

In an effort to increase its screening and vetting of individual beneficiaries, USCIS may request that a beneficiary of a pending H-1B petition appear for a "biometrics" appointment at a designated USCIS Application Support Center for the collection of a digital picture, signature and fingerprints.

On January 29, 2025, Executive Action 13899, entitled “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism”, was signed by the President of the United States. The executive action specifically mentions “alien students or staff”. “Alien”, a term that has been recently re-introduced, refers to anyone who is not a citizen or a national of the United States.

At this point, there are no specific travel restrictions for green card holders at U-M to be aware of, though they may be implemented in the future.**  As you can imagine, we're following the developments in this area quite closely and we appreciate the anxiety felt by Legal Permanent Residents who are considering traveling abroad.

On 4/5/2025, the U.S. Department of State announced it revoked all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and would not issue visas to South Sudanese passport holders. 

Read the full press statement "Defending America’s Security through Visa and Travel Restrictions on South Sudan" on the U.S. Department of State website. 

On 2/18/2025, the US Department of State announced changes to the eligibility criteria for nonimmigrant interview waivers, also known as "drop box appointments." If you qualify for a visa interview waiver, you can apply for a visa without an in-person interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate.

FSIS is closely tracking any developments in immigration policy and will continue to share updates through our usual communication channels. While the new Administration has announced several executive orders, none of them directly affect employment-based immigration (e.g. H-1B). However, some of these orders may impact processing times at USCIS or U.S. consulates abroad, and they could lay the groundwork for potential future restrictions, such as travel bans. 

On 12/18/2024, USCIS issued its Final Rule titled "Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F–1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers," which is scheduled to take effect on 1/17/25.