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May 12, 2023

As of 12:01 am EDT May 12, 2023, noncitizen nonimmigrant air passengers no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine to board a flight to the United States. See the CDC travel page for more information

March 28, 2023

A Department of State (DOS) final rule published at 88 FR 18243 (March 28, 2023) raises visa processing fees, effective May 30, 2023. (These are the visa processing fees for an entry visa application at an embassy or consulate abroad.) Changes impacting students and scholars or employees:

The U.S. Department of State announced the publication of an Interim Final Rule that permits designated sponsors for the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) to digitally sign and electronically transmit the J-1 DS-2019 form, effective April 27, 2023. With this change, sponsors like UC Berkeley can either

March 10, 2023

On March 10, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rescinded the Order titled “Requirements for Negative Pre-Departure COVID-19 Test Result or Documentation of Recovery from COVID-19 for Aircraft Passengers Traveling to the United States from the People’s Republic of China.”

January 3, 2023

On December 28, 2022, stricter testing requirements for international travelers to the US  were announced by the CDC as part of a comprehensive strategy to fight COVID-19.

December 20, 2022

November 9, 2022

On Sept. 8, 2022, DHS announced a final rule that will implement the public charge ground of inadmissibility. The final rule will become effective on  December 23, 2022  A noncitizen who is deemed likely to become a ‘public charge,’ meaning that they are likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, can be denied admission or lawful permanent residence (known colloquially as a green card).

June 13, 2022

As of 12:01AM ET on June 12, 2022, CDC will no longer require air passengers traveling from a foreign country to the United States to show a negative COVID-19 viral test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board their flight. Information on this change can be found on the CDC’s COVID-19 Testing Recision webpage

December 29, 2021

On December 28, 2021 President Biden issued A Proclamation on Revoking Proclamation 10315 which revokes the southern Africa entry ban effective 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on December 31, 2021.

December 3, 2021

On December 2, 2021, stricter testing requirements for international travelers to the US  were announced by President Biden as part of a comprehensive strategy to fight COVID-19. Beginning on December 6, all air passengers, regardless of vaccination status, must show a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 1 day before travel to the United States.

November 29, 2021

On November 26, 2021, President Biden signed a new proclamation suspending indefinitely the entry into the U.S. as nonimmigrants of noncitizens who pose a risk of transmitting the coronavirus disease. Except for immediate family members of U.S.

October 26, 2021

On Monday October 25, 2021 President Biden signed a Proclamation - Advancing Safe Resumption of Global Travel announcing new requirements for air travel that will take effect on November 8, 2021.

October 19, 2021

The White House recently announced plans that travelers (including international students and scholars) will soon be able to enter the United States on the condition that they are fully vaccinated.

September 15, 2021

As of Sept. 14, 2021 the U.S Department of State has announced a continuing expansion of waivers for in-person visa interviews for F and J visa applicants through the end of 2021.

July 30, 2021

Effective July 20, 2021, USCIS eliminated a prior policy that required applicants applying to change their status to F-1 student to file "bridge" applications while their change of status to F-1 applications were pending.

USCIS announced on  7/29/2021 and 2/26/2021 flexibilities for OPT/STEM OPT Extension applicants affected by delayed receipt notices for the Form I-765. These flexibilities apply only to applications received on or after October 1, 2020, through October 31, 2021.

April 30, 2021

On April 30, 2021, President Biden signed a new proclamation suspending indefinitely the entry into the U.S. as nonimmigrants of noncitizens who pose a risk of transmitting the coronavirus disease. Except for immediate family members of U.S.

April 27, 2021

On April 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of State extended the National Interest Exceptions to include additional countries. The NIE list now includes China, Iran, Brazil, the U.K., Ireland, and the European Schengen area.  

March 11, 2021

As a result of ongoing litigation around the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s August 14, 2019 final rule on public charge grounds of inadmissibility, DHS announced on March 9, 2021 through a press release that "the government will no longer defend the 2019 public charge rule as doing so is neither in the public interest nor an efficient use of limited government resources." It goes on to state that, “As a result, the

March 2, 2021

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently been experiencing serious delays in processing and receipting OPT. USCIS announced on 2/26/2021 flexibilities for OPT applicants who may be affected by delayed receipt notices for the Form I-765, which is used for filing OPT/STEM OPT.