U.S. Announces Visa-Free Travel for Israel Passport Holders

As of October 19, 2023, individuals with Israeli passports can travel to the United States for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without first obtaining a U.S. visa. While the rollout of visa-free travel for Israeli nationals was slated to occur on November 30, 2023, it appears the State Department has expedited this due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the fact that nonimmigrant and immigrant visa services at the U.S. consular posts in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are currently suspended. 

On September 26, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced Israel’s designation into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows eligible travelers to apply online for authorization to travel to the United States through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), without requiring them to obtain a U.S. visa. The DHS updated ESTA on October 19, 2023, to permit Israeli passport holders to apply online for travel authorization. 

Those traveling under the Visa Waiver Program by air or by sea must have a round-trip or onward ticket departing the United States within 90 days of their intended arrival, as well as a biometrically enabled passport book. ESTA applications may take up to 72 hours for processing. Those with valid B-1/B-2 visas may continue to use them for travel to the United States until expiration. 

Please note that the above is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For specific questions about how the Visa Waiver Program may apply to your circumstances, please contact your team at D&S.

House Passes Vote to Restrict U.S. Travel by Foreign Nationals Who Have Visited Syria, Iran, IraQ or Sudan in the Last 5 Years

Today, in a 407-19 vote, the House passed legislation restricting certain travel privileges to nationals of visa waiver participant countries. The legislation, which has the support of the White House, is expected to be wrapped into the much-discussed government spending bill and become law in the next few weeks.

Rather than a comprehensive approach, this new legislation appears to be the first of what will be a piecemeal approach to implementing enhanced security measures in response to the November 13th Paris terrorist attacks and the recent shooting in San Bernardino, CA.  The legislation comes in the wake of the White House's release of a  Fact Sheet outlining new security enhancements that would be implemented immediately to add additional security measures to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which is a program that allows nationals of 38 member countries to enter the U.S. as a visitor for up to 90 days without procuring a visa.

The legislation would ban nationals of visa waiver countries who have traveled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria since March 1, 2011 from traveling to the U.S. under the VWP. Such individuals must now obtain a visa to travel to the U.S., which requires an in-person interview at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas.

D&S will continue to monitor the changes that are anticipated to be made to the Visa Waiver Program in the coming weeks and provide timely updates outlining new developments.

USCIS Announces Adjustment of Status Filing Dates for December

USCIS has announced that for December, Family-Based Adjustment of Status applicants can use the "Filing Dates" listed on the Department of State's December 2015 Visa Bulletin. Employment-Based Applicants, however, can only use the "Final Action Dates" to determine when they are eligible to submit Adjustment of Status applications. 

This announcement comes after USCIS issued updated instructions regarding the use of the Revised Visa Bulletin, implemented in September 2015, which contains two sets of dates for both family-based and employment-based immigrant visas. 

Department of State December 2015 Visa Bulletin Summary

The Department of State released the December 2015 Visa Bulletin today.  D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the family and employment based priority dates.  This month, the Final Action date for EB-2 India advanced by ten (10) months to June, 1, 2007.  The Final Action date for EB-2 China, however, remained unchanged at February 1, 2012.  The Final Action date for EB-3 India saw a modest progression of less than a month to April 22, 2004 and EB-3 China advanced 3.5 months to April 15, 2012. The Final Action date for EB-5 China advanced three (3) weeks to December 15, 2013.  

This month there was no movement in the Application Filing dates for any of the employment-based preference categories.  Finally, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has yet to confirm whether they will continue to accept adjustment of status applications for individuals whose Application Filing dates remain current in December.  D&S will continue to monitor USCIS’s Visa Bulletin page and provide an update when the agency announces later this month whether it will continue to accept these applications.

USCIS Modifies Preparer's Declaration on Form I-129

Today, August 17, 2015, USCIS published a new version of Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, which includes a revised version of the "Preparer's Declaration" section.

The revisions come following changes made to in the Preparer's Declaration in the version of the Form I-129 with an an edition date of October 23, 2014. In that version, the I-129 Preparer's Declaration included the following language:

By my signature, I certify, swear or affirm, under penalty of perjury, that I prepared this form on behalf of, at the request of, and with the express consent of, the petitioner. I completed the form based only on responses the petitioner provided to me. After completing the form, I reviewed it and all of the petitioner's responses with the petitioner, who agreed with every answer provided for every question on the form and, when required, supplied additional information to respond to a question on the form.

Many practitioners felt this wording, which appeared to dictate the procedures used by preparers and their clients to gather the information required to complete petitions for immigration benefits, imposed an undue burden on preparers and petitioners alike. The revised Preparer's Declaration now reads:

By my signature, I certify, swear, or affirm, under penalty of perjury, that I prepared this petition on behalf of, at the request of, and with the express consent of the petitioner or authorized signatory.

The petitioner has reviewed this completed petition as prepared by me and informed me that all of the information in the form and in the supporting documents, is complete, true, and correct.

The new language appears to be more in line with the applicable regulations which require that preparers and petitioners certify that the documentation and information submitted to USCIS is true and correct but does not mandate any specific procedures for preparation and review.