News

On October 24 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a final rule that will increase the fees for most immigration applications and petitions.  The new fees go into effect on December 23.   Some of the fees to be increased include:  For the full announcement, see the USCIS website.  

Between June and August 2016, the U.S. consulate in Toronto will suspend nonimmigrant visa appointments for third-country nationals (TCN) other than those residing in Canada, a consular official has confirmed.  Although a limited number of summer TCN appointments in Toronto remain, these are expected to be exhausted quickly. Emergency appointments may be granted on a […]

Foreign nationals who need to apply for an H or L visa in India currently face visa appointment wait times of 75 to more than 115 days at the U.S. consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.  The appointment backlog is likely to delay U.S. employment start dates and reentry to the United […]

The OIS is aware of the delays being experienced at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad in issuing visas and granting visa interview appointments.  We are monitoring messages from the Department of State regarding the lastest on the situation.  For the most up-to-date information, the Department of State recommends visiting the Facebook page of the Bureau of Consular […]

The Department of Homeland Security released the new regulations on STEM OPT, the extension of OPT allowed for students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.  As this 80+ page rule has just been released to the public, we will be unable to answer individual student questions about the new regulations until we […]

On January 23, 2016, the federal district judge that ruled on STEM OPT in August of 2015, granted the Department of Homeland Security an additional 3 months to prepare a final regulation for STEM OPT.  The decision to vacate the existing STEM OPT rule has thus been delayed until May 10, 2016.  This ruling means […]

Please review the following changes to the usual OIS schedule for the upcoming holidays and the winter break. The OIS will be closed December 24, 25, 31, January 1 and 18.   The OIS@Harbor East and the OIS@Peabody will not have on-site advising hours between December 21 and January 19.  To see an advisor, please […]

A court decision on Wednesday, August 12, found that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made procedural errors in its processing of a rule that established the 17 month STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension, making that rule invalid.  The court decided, however, that enforcing this decision immediately would cause substantial hardship for F-1 STEM […]

The Johns Hopkins International Society and the JHPDA (Postdoctoral Association) are organizing a trip to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC on Saturday, April 11.  For details, please see the event flyer.