On February 24, President Joe Biden signed a Proclamation revoking the immigrant visa suspension Order, a.k.a. Proclamation 10014. Proclamation 10014, issued in response to the pandemic, restricted certain immigration applicants outside the U.S. who did not have a valid immigration visa already or an official travel document. This means that immigrant visa services will be gradually resumed. At the same time, the Department of State announced the phased resumption of routine visa service. Notably,
U.S. embassies and consulates continue to provide emergency visa services and will prioritize Immediate Relative family members of U.S. citizens including intercountry adoptions, fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens, and certain Special Immigrant Visa applications.
The Department of State is unable to provide a specific date for when each specific visa service will be resumed, so visa applicants can check the U.S. embassy or consulate’s website for information regarding operating status and which services it is currently offering.
Note the 2/24 Proclamation does not revoke the other parts of Proclamation 10052 which suspended the entry to the United States of certain nonimmigrant applicants for H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 visa. The suspension remains in place. Nonimmigrant applicants in these categories can only apply for visas if they fall under the exceptions – if they are returning to the US to continue working in the same position, or the employment is necessary to facilitate the US economic recovery. We will continue to monitor all changes to visa and immigration policy and send you the most up-to-date information.
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