India Visa Wait Times

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Backlogged in India: Nonimmigrant Visa Interview Times

If you are planning on having a nonimmigrant visa interview at a US consulate in India, make your arrangements early. All of the US consulates in the country are badly backed up, with waiting times of:

Chennai – 75 days

Hyderabad – 93 days

Kolkata – 96 days

Mumbai – 88 days

New Delhi – 100 days

These are the average wait times for nonimmigrant visas outside of the B, F, and J category, which have different procedures.

There are possibilities for expediting a nonimmigrant interview, provided there is a family or business emergency. Another option could be to process the nonimmigrant visa in a different country’s US consulate, as a third country national.

Asylum Interview Dates Update

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Asylum Interview Dates FINALLY Move Up

The Asylum office is badly behind on scheduling interviews for prospective asylees. It usually took 3 months to hold an interview after applying for asylum affirmatively with USCIS. The process has exceeded 2 years and has encroached beyond 2.5 years at times.

One little victory: the interview dates have moved from October 2013 to January 2014 in the Arlington office’s jurisdiction (Pittsburgh is in the Arlington jurisdiction). If you filed an application in January 2014, they are finally scheduling your asylum interview.

This could be Pyrrhic. Future releases of the interview schedule may stall at January 2014, much like the past few months of scheduling have remained on pause. Perhaps this could augur the beginning of the normalization of the scheduling process.

Undocumented Valedictorian

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Undocumented Valedictorian Part II:

Valedictorian Reveals Status in Tweet

Mayte Lara Ibarra did not reveal her undocumented immigrant status in her valedictorian speech to her Texas high school. However, she sent a Tweet that announced herself as undocumented. Her Tweet celebrated her academic success: GPA, APs, honorariums, and full scholarship to the University of Texas (and a mention of her physical beauty).

She has received a social media avalanche – an outpouring of support and congratulations and vitriol and hatred. The University of Texas does not discriminate by resident status, so her academic scholarship remains in tack.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide the DACA/DAPA case (U.S. v. Texas) by the end of the month. Its ruling will have ramifications for millions of undocumented individuals in the United States.

Undocumented Valedictorian

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Undocumented Valedictorian:

TX Valedictorian Reveals Undocumented Status During Speech

Larissa Martinez graduated from her Texas high school with a 4.95 GPA, 17 AP classes, and is receiving a full scholarship to Yale. During her valedictorian speech, she revealed that she is an undocumented immigrant. Her mother escaped with Larissa and her sister to the United States to escape her abusive alcoholic father. You can watch her speech here.

“I am one of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows of the United States,” said Larissa Martinez, the valedictorian at McKinney Boyd High School in McKinney, Texas during her June 3rd address to the 2016 graduating class. “I decided to stand before you today and reveal these unexpected realities, because this might be my only chance to convey the truth to all of you that undocumented immigrants are people too.”

The Supreme Court is expected to decide the DAPA/DACA case (U.S. v. Texas) by the end of the month. Its ruling will have serious ramifications for millions of undocumented individuals in the United States.

STEM List – 24 Month Extension

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SEVP Releases STEM 24 Months List

DHS recently published a rule allowing OPT students in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) to extend their Optional Practical Training for 24 months. This is especially beneficial to OPT students who intend to stay in the USA and find post-graduate employment because it allows them more opportunity for the H-1B lottery. The H-1B visa is often the appropriate option for a recent graduate in a “specialty” occupation. All of the fields listed qualify as STEM and for the 24 months.