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IMMIGRATION JANUARY 14, 2022 | The Indian Eye 45
State Department’s Holiday Gifts:
Expanded Interview Waivers
and Lenient View on Student
Nonimmigrant Intent
CYRUS D. MEHTA for such an appointment is that the 48 month interview case basis and dependent students applying for F-1
more than a year, while at waiver policy be extended, upon local conditions.” or M-1 visas do not have the
he State Department US Consulates in India, visa and a day later on Decem- There is also uncertainty same strong ties with their
has given much need- appointments are available ber 23, 2021, the State De- whether people would be home country as B visa ap-
Ted holiday gifts to only on an emergency basis. partment did precisely this able to easily schedule Drop plicants, and they should
Box appointments as many not be subject to the same
The situation has become by indefinitely extending
ease delays in visa process- so dire that many in the US the in-person interview for report that obtaining such vigorous scrutiny of deter-
ing brought about by the who are in status but whose applicants renewing a visa appointments in India are mining whether they have a
evisceration of consular op- nonimmigrant visas have in the same visa class within hard to get. residence abroad which they
erations due to Covid-19. expired prefer to remain in 48 months of the prior visa’s The State Department’s have no intention of aban-
According to a De- the US rather than travel expiration. The State De- expanded interview waiver doning and whether they
cember 22, 2021 article in abroad to visit family. Those partment went even further policy is an example of how intend to depart the US af-
Roll Call, visa applicants in who leave the US must wait by waiving the in person in- the Biden administration ter they finish their studies.
London, Paris and Mexi- for months before they can terview for many nonimmi- can bring about much need- The following extract from 9
co City, for instance, must get a new visa to reenter the grant visa classifications. To ed relief to visa applicants FAM 402.5-5(E)(1) is worth
wait about two months for a US. summarize: Those who have through a simple adminis- noting as its refreshing:
nonimmigrant visa appoint- I was quoted in the previously received any type trative fix. More can be done The context of the res-
ment. In Toronto, the wait Roll Call article advocating of visa, or have used ESTA such as reinstating the abili- idence abroad requirement
to travel to the US, ty to obtain a visa stamp in for student visas inherent-
and have never been the US itself if the first visa ly differs from the context
refused a visa in a way in the same classification for B visitor visas or other
that wasn’t overcome, was issued at a US embassy short-term visas. The stat-
may be able to obtain or consulate. This used to ute clearly presupposes that
H-1B, H-3, H-4, L, O, be the case until the State the natural circumstances
P, and Q visas without Department discontinued and conditions of being a
an interview. The ex- stateside visa processing in student do not disqualify
panded interview waiv- 2004 as a result of the need that applicant from obtain-
er policy can be found to impose enhanced securi- ing a student visa. It is nat-
at https://www.state. ty measures after the Sep- ural that the student does
gov/expanded-inter- tember 11, 2001 attacks. The not possess ties of property,
view-waivers-for-cer- State Department should employment, and continuity
tain-nonimmigrant-vi- also consider conducting of life typical of B visa ap-
sa-applicants/. video interviews, among plicants. These ties are typi-
The expanded in- other measures suggested cally weakly held by student
terview waiver poli- by AILA to reopen Ameri- applicants, as the student is
cy will most certainly ca, as that would certainly often single, unemployed,
provide relief to visa help in reducing the backlog without property, and is at
applicants who were of immigrant visa applicants the stage in life of deciding
otherwise subject to waiting to be processed at and developing their plans
interminable delays US consulates around the for the future. Student visa
in visa processing as a world. adjudication is made more
result of limited visa complex by the fact that stu-
operations due to rElaxEd PoliCy dents typically are expected
m of Covid-19. It will also al- in dETErMininG to stay in the United States
longer than do many other
low consulates to focus
sTUdEnT
CYRUS D. MEHTA & PARTNERS PLLC their limited resources noniMMiGranT nonimmigrant visitors, to
on visas that require complete their program of
interviews such as im- inTEnT studies. In these circum-
In another smart move,
migrant vias, E visas stances, it is important to
brought back the relaxed
and those not subject the State Department keep in mind that the ap-
to the expanded inter- plicant’s intent is to be ad-
view waiver policy thus policy regarding F-1 and judicated based on present
shortening the delays. M-1 visa nonimmigrant intent – not on contingen-
Even if interviews can intent in the Foreign Af- cies of what might happen
be waived, “embassies fairs Manual at https://fam. in the future, after a lengthy
and consulates may still state.gov/FAM/09FAM/ period of study in the Unit-
2 6th Floor require an in-person 09FAM040205.html. The ed States. Therefore, the
interview on a case-by- new policy recognizes that residence abroad require-
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