UCAR International Visitor &
Scholar Services
UCAR International Visitor & Scholar Services
updated
January 4, 2007
Address Updates to the USCIS
INFOPASS for Making Appointments at the Denver Office
Visa Applications:
SEVIS FEE
Tips for Interviewing at the Embassy or Consulate
U.S. Department of State's Notice on Visa Processing and Delays
Mandatory Interviews for Visa Applicants
Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and Machine-Readable Passports
H-1B Visa application status check on-line
J Visa 2 Year Home Rule Waiver (212(e)) application status check on-line
Travel to the U.S.:
US-Visit Launched by Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Specific Parts of Special Registration (NSEERS) Suspended
- SEVIS Fee
Effective September 1, 2004, all foreign nationals issued "begin new program" DS-2019s will be subject to the SEVIS fee, expected to be about US$100. Details on how this fee will be collected are forthcoming.
- INFOPASS for Making Appointments at the Denver Office
INFOPASS, a new internet-based system for making appointments,
is now available at the Denver Citizenship and Immigration office, and is expected to be available at all CIS offices by the end of September 2004. This system is expected to put an end to the long wait times at these offices. Please visit http://infopass.uscis.gov/ for more information. Be sure to click on More Information at INFOPASS to read about documents, etc., that you will need to bring to your appointment.
- Address Updates to the USCIS
All non-U.S. citizens residing in the United States are required to submit a Form AR-11 within ten days of a change to their residential address. If you do not submit a Form AR-11 within 10 days of changing your address, you may risk criminal conviction and/or deportation. UCAR's immigration attorneys, Stern and Elkind, recommend that if you are not a U.S. citizen and you have never previously submitted a Form AR-11, you do so now reflecting your current address. In the future, please be sure to submit a new AR-11 within ten days of a change to your residential address.
The AR-11 can be downloaded directly from the USCIS website here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis. From this page, click on "Immigration Forms." The AR-11 is the first form listed. The form is "fillable," meaning that you can fill it out directly on your computer. You will need to print it and sign it and mail it to the UCCIS (the address is included on the USCIS web page).
A list of FAQs is posted on the Stern and Elkind web site at www.secimmigration.com, including a question regarding the A# field on the form. Please note that neither Stern and Elkind nor UCAR can file this form for you. On the Stern and Elkind site, click on Updates, then scroll down to "AR-11 Address Change Notification" and "FAQs regarding Form AR-11."
VISA APPLICATIONS.
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Mandatory Interviews for Visa Applicants
The Department of State (DOS) has mandated that nearly all applicants for non-immigrant visas (such as our J, H, and B visitors) undergo an interview at the U.S. Embassy or
Consulate as part of the visa application procedure. Please read the U.S. Department of State's Notice on Visa Processing and Delays.
At this point, the only applicants who may be eligible for a waiver of the interview are those who are renewing a previously issued visa within one year of that visa's expiry, and are not from a country on the DOS' list of "watch" countries.
To read the cable regarding implementing mandatory interviews, please click here: BORDER SECURITY - WAIVER OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE FOR NONIMMIGRANT VISA APPLICANTS - REVISION TO THE REGULATIONS.
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Machine-Readable Passports for Visa Waiver Program
Beginning October 24, 2004, visa waiver program travelers from 21 VWP countries must present a machine-readable passport (MRP) at the U.S. port of entry to enter the U.S. without a visa, otherwise a U.S. visa is required. Starting October 1, 2003 visa waiver travelers from five countries must present either a machine-readable passport of a U.S. visa.
If a foreign national holds a passport that is not machine-readable, he or she will be required to obtain a U.S. nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. consulate overseas before any business or tourist travel to the U.S. Foreign nationals who prefer to continue using their old-style passports are urged to plan well in advance and apply for their visas early (please see mandatory interviews, above). Foreign nationals with machine-readable passports are advised that families and groups should obtain an individual passport for each traveler, including infants.
Please see the Department of State's website on the VWP: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html.
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H-1B Visa application status check on-line
The status of pending cases at the USCIS Service Centers may now be checked via the Internet:
https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp. Click on the link under Finding the Status of Your Case. Enter your receipt number into the appropriate box. You can also check Service Center processing status on the same web page. Click on the link under Obtaining a List of Processing Dates. Go to Service Center (the second of the drop down menus), choose your Service Center, click Processing Dates, and scroll down to I-129. Look in the 3rd column for your category, and in the 4th column the Service notes their timing. Please contact UCAR's Immigration Specialist if you need to know which Service Center is processing your case.
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J Visa 2 Year Home Rule Waiver (212(e)) application status check on-line
The Department of State J Waiver division now has a Web-based status update system, which allows waiver applicants to determine the status of a pending application by entering their waiver case number. Direct your browser to http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/info/info_1296.html to access the 212(e) waiver status update Web page.
TRAVEL TO THE UNITED STATES
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