United States | Foreign student visa processing resumes

The State Department announced expanded screening and vetting procedures for F, M and J nonimmigrant visa applicants.

Key Points:

• Per the State Department’s announcement, it “will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications.”
• All student and exchange visitor (F,M, and J) applicants “will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to ‘public’.”
• Overseas posts will soon resume scheduling appointments, and applicants are advised to check embassy or consulate websites for availability.

Additional Information: BAL is monitoring this guidance and any related litigation.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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