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. For detailed information please visit the...
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. citizens and lawful permanent...
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. This proclamation will end the travel restrictions under Presidential Proclamations (P.P.) 9984, 9992, 10143, and 10199 as they relate to the suspension of entry into the United States of persons physically present in...
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. This would mark a transition away from the travel restrictions that apply to those who had been physically present in China, Iran, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the 26 Schengen Zone countries, Brazil,...
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. The announcement indicates: "Consular officers may, if they so choose, and pursuant to local conditions, now waive the visa interview requirement for F, M, and academic J visa applicants who were previously issued any type of visa, and who have never...
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) has established regulations that prohibit U.S. persons (including the University of California) from providing services - including remote educational services - to individuals in certain sanctioned countries without a general or specific license. The list of OFAC sanctioned countries currently includes: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and the Ukraine-Crimea Region
In order to avoid violating that law, UC Berkeley is taking...
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. See more information on our...
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 issued a July 20, 2021 news release and updated their...
Under the proclamation, "the term “military-civil fusion strategy” means actions by or at the behest of the PRC to acquire and divert foreign technologies, specifically critical and emerging technologies, to incorporate into and advance the PRC’s military capabilities."
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. citizens and lawful permanent residents and...