STATE DEPARTMENT TEMPORARILY PROHIBITS THIRD COUNTRY PROCESSING IN MEXICO AND CANADA
The American Immigration Lawyers Association is reporting that it has been told by the State Department that the government is temporarily suspending the online nonimmigrant visa appointment system and the 900 toll number appointments for ALL nationals of third countries seeking to process visas at border posts. The policy went into effect over this past weekend. Readers are warned that if they are not a national of the border country where they seek to process a visa, they may end up stranded outside the US. The State Department indicated that it was notifying people with appointments to postpone their trips. The State Department is taking this step in the wake of its recent decision to hold visa petitions for applicants from a number of Arab and Muslim countries for up to 20 days. However, this policy covers ALL applicants and not just Arab and Muslim applicants. The State Department needs to consult with the INS to determine how 22 CFR 41.112(d) will be implemented in the wake of the new security policy. 22 CFR 41.112(d) allows certain people with valid I-94s to reenter the US on the original I-94 if they re-enter the US within 30 days. The State Department does not want applicants whose visas are on hold to be able to reenter the US during the hold period until it works out a coordinated policy with the INS. In the mean time, the State Department is increasing resources to handle applications for visa renewals made from within the United States. ---------------------------------------- FARIDI NETWORK - "Sharing the Knowledge" http://faridi.net
