Mumbai: For one year, the US State Department (DOS) ignored direct interview requirements in the local consulate for several categories of non-immigrant work visas and visa holders (partners and dependent children).
This neglect will continue until December 31, 2022.
A official statement read: DOS recognizes the positive impact of temporary work visa holders in the US economy and is committed to facilitating non-immigrant trips and reducing visa waiting time.
“We are happy to announce that consular officers are now authorized temporarily, until 31 December 2022, to ignore direct interviews for certain non-immigrant work visas of certain individuals and their qualifications in the following categories: People in special work (H-1B visa) , participants of training or special education visitors (visa H-3), Transfer Transfer (visa), individuals with extraordinary abilities or achievements (visa), athletes, artists, and entertainers (participants), and participants of the International Cultural Exchange Program ( Q visa), add a statement.
Also read the Trump-era rules that seek to connect wages to close h-1b lid, bite DustMumbai: The Security Department of Homeland AS (DHS) officially attracts ‘H-1B final rule selection’, which is issued on January 8., 2021.
This rule seeks to give priority in the process of selecting visa h-1b for applications that offer the highest wage level in each computer officer It has also been empowered to override the interview process, until December next year for international students (F and M Visas) and also those on student exchange visas (J visa).
Until this announcement was carried out on Thursday, immigrant lawyers advised their clients (especially those who mean to travel to India) that if they were in the US on work visas such as H-1B, L-1 etc.
and need to get their visa labeled before they returned – The best is not for traveling.
Not only consulate offices in India that you backlog on processing but priorities are given in certain categories such as students and medical professionals.
Furthermore, the sample cancellation of visa designation is added to their misery who wants to return to the US.
While the prohibition of travel was appointed in November, some Indian families were fixed into the US, because they were afraid that they would be trapped in India for months and would not be able to return to their work on time.
“Santa has arrived early,” said a H-4 visa holder based in Chicago, who is now pondering traveling to Chandigarh to meet his family.
He hasn’t visited India since the pandemic hit and missed attending his uncle’s funeral and also close relatives.
The statement issued by Dos warns that “embassies and consulates may still require direct interviews based on cases per case and depend on local conditions.” Finally, authorization to release direct interviews for applicants who renewed the visa in the same visa class within 48 months after the previous visa expiration was extended indefinitely.