The Public Charge Rule is effective nationwide in the U.S. from February 24, 2020 onwards. The Final Rule, as initially published on Aug 14, 2019, was to become effective on Oct. 15, 2019. Multiple lawsuits ensued and there was a nationwide injunction preventing the Trump administration from enforcing the Rule. With the U.S. Supreme Court…

Indian nationals living abroad who have not been able to register the birth under the “Birth, Deaths and Marriage Registration Act, 1886” can now apply for a birth certificate based on the passport. One must submit the duly completed form for “Birth Certificate as per Passport”. Applicants must also include a passport size photograph of the…

MISPL had previously reported that effective September 1, 2019 eligible applicant(s) who can use the drop box facility, need to first schedule an appointment with one of the CGI drop-off locations to submit their documents.  Documents can be only submitted on the date of the appointment scheduled at one of the drop box locations from Monday to Friday, between…

A recent report published on the official website of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi indicates that there has been a steady increase in the number of Indian students pursuing higher education in the U.S. For the sixth consecutive year, the number of Indian Students pursuing higher education in the U.S. has increased and for…

Regular readers of MurthyIndiaDotCom may be aware of the procedure to apply for status as a returning resident (SB-1) visa at the consular posts in India. By way of background, the SB-1 is an application filed by a U.S. permanent resident who had to remain abroad in excess of 365 days due to circumstances beyond…

All U.S. immigrant visa applicants, applying for a visa on or after November 3, 2019 must establish that she / he will be covered by approved health insurance within 30 days of entering the United States. In the absence of this, the applicant should be able to establish that she / he has adequate financial…

All U.S. nonimmigrant visa applicants need to complete form DS-160. Recently, additional security questions have been included in this form. The following is a summary of these additional questions: Are you the spouse, son, or daughter of an individual who has engaged in terrorist activity, including providing financial assistance or other support to terrorists or…

Recently we reported that, as of September 1, 2019, all eligible nonimmigrant visa applicants in India should schedule their appointments prior to submitting their respective visa applications and passports at one of the eleven visa application centres (VAC) in India. Effective October 1, 2019, the VACs will no longer accept walk-ins. Additionally, nonimmigrant visa applicants can submit…

This article is common to INA 221(g) refusals pertaining to both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants. In general, a refusal pursuant to INA 221(g) means that the consular post either requires additional information / documents, or background verification before a final decision can be made. If the consular post requires additional information / documentation at…

U.S. non-immigrant visa applicants in India may pay the visa application fee through NEFT, phone or cash. If the amount is paid at a bank by way of cash, in general the bank official will take the exact amount and the applicant should not face any issues. While paying the fee online through NEFT or…