News

USCIS announced Monday the reinstatement of H-1B premium processing for cap exempt employers. Effectively immediately, the OIS may upgrade to premium processing any H-1B case currently pending at USCIS, or file any new H-1B case under premium processing. To request premium processing for a H-1B case, the hiring Department must provide the OIS with a […]

On Friday, March 3, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a suspension of premium processing for all H-1B temporary worker petitions not filed prior to April 3.  All such cases must actually be RECEIVED at USCIS by Friday, March 31. The impacts are as follows: OIS will file all eligible, currently pending departmental H-1B requests that have been […]

JHU’s Office of International Services (OIS) will be holding information sessions this week on the various Executive Orders promulgated last week by President Donald Trump.   They will be held as follows: Campus Date and Time Location East Baltimore Wednesday, Feb. 111:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wood Basic Science Building, West Lecture Hall  Homewood Wednesday, Feb. […]

*IMPORTANT* Updates on Office of International Services Schedules for Office Hours and Advising Please be aware that all JHU offices, including OIS, will be closed on Friday December 23; Monday, December 26; Friday, December 30; and Monday, January 2 in observance of the holidays.  All locations will also be closed the afternoon of Friday, January […]

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 […]