Visa News 2007
- USCIS Field Office Adopts Teletech Call Appointment System
- Application Fees for Non-Immigrant Visas to Increase on January 1, 2008
- Electronic Submission of Diversity Visa Lottery Applications
- U.S. security officials will begin scanning all 10 fingerprints of most non-Americans traveling to the United States
- U.S. Student Visas Reach Record Numbers in 2007
- Record Numbers of U.S. Students Are Studying Abroad
- USCIS Centralizes Filing for H-2A Petitions
USCIS Field Office Adopts Teletech Call Appointment System
For Filing Waiver of Inadmissibility Applications WASHINGTON – As of December 17, 2007, immigrant visa applicants seeking to file an application for waiver of inadmissibility (Form I-601) with the USCIS field office in Ciudad Juarez can now use the Teletech Call Center to make an appointment. The changeover from the pilot InfoPass program is a result of USCIS and the Department of State teaming together to improve customer service through more timely appointment scheduling.
Application Fees for Non-Immigrant Visas to Increase on January 1, 2008
Effective January 1, 2008, the application fee for a U.S. nonimmigrant visa will increase from $100 to $131. This increase allows the Department to recover the costs of security and other enhancements to the non-immigrant visa application process. This increase applies both to non-immigrant visas issued on machine-readable foils in passports and to border crossing cards issued to certain applicants in Mexico.
Electronic Submission of Diversity Visa Lottery Applications
Taken Question
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
November 30, 2007
Taken Question at November 30, 2007 Daily Press Briefing
Question: Comment on the requirement that DV applicants submit applications electronically, in light of the fact that Internet access is limited in many parts of the world. Is there is a wide enough representation of citizens from eligible countries applying considering the electronic submission requirement?
Answer: The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system for the Diversity Visa Lottery to improve efficiency and make the process less prone to fraud and less vulnerable to use by persons who may pose a threat to the security interests of the United States.
The electronic submission requirement has not affected the representation of citizens from eligible countries. Since implementation of the electronic registration system in 2005, applications for the DV Lottery have increased every year. Applications for the 2009 DV Lottery are 45 percent higher than for 2008 DV Lottery.
U.S. security officials will begin scanning all 10 fingerprints of most non-Americans traveling to the United States
Man demonstrates the new 10-fingerprint scanner and its output on the computer at the American Embassy in Brussels
The new 10-finger scanners will replace the current two-finger machines currently in use. The Department of Homeland Security says the program will begin Thursday at Washington Dulles International airport. It plans to have the new scanners at all U.S. ports of entry by the end of next year.
The U.S. State Department currently uses 10-fingerprint scanners when it issues visas for travel to America.
16 November 2007
U.S. Student Visas Reach Record Numbers in 2007
The best way to know America is to study here, State's Harty says
Washington -- In 2007, the Department of State issued a record number of student and exchange visitor visas -- more than 600,000 -- greater than 10 percent more than last year. The numbers are proof of the success of the U.S. government's effort to reverse the drop in student and other visa applications after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Maura Harty told USINFO.
3 November 2007
Record Numbers of U.S. Students Are Studying Abroad
Middle East, Asia and Africa growing in popularity as student destinations
Washington -- The number of Americans studying abroad -- which has risen 150 percent in the past decade -- continues to set records, rising 8.5 percent in 2005-2006, according to the Institute of International Education's (IIE) 2007 report on international education exchange.
"The opportunity for more young Americans to study abroad is a goal shared by the president, the secretary of state, and leaders in Congress, industry and academia," IIE President Allan E. Goodman said in issuing the report, Open Doors 2007
USCIS Centralizes Filing for H-2A Petitions
Streamlines Process and Improves Services for Agricultural Employers WASHINGTON--In a Federal Register notice published today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, effective December 10, 2007, it will only accept H-2A (temporary/seasonal agricultural worker) petitions mailed or delivered to its California Service Center.
