Visa & Travel Updates

After midnight on September 21, 2025, H1-B visa applications will require $100,000 payment; this also applies to 2026 lottery and applications after this date (Please see Source 1 & Source 2 for further details).

Effective immediately, all nonimmigrant visa applicants (like J-1 & F-1) should schedule visa interviews at the U.S. Consulate in their home country. If there is not a consulate in your country, click here to see the source for your location.

On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law. As part of this law, a new 'visa integrity fee' is required for any nonimmigrant visa issued. The amount will be the greater of $250 or what Homeland Security establishes (Source).

As of now, the 12 countries banned and 7 countries partially banned are what we have updates about. The additional 36 countries were given 60 days to meet the Trump administration's benchmarks and requirements or face either a partial or full entry ban (Source). As of September 11, 2025, there have not been further updates

The purpose of the travel ban is to ensure the safety and protection of our U.S. citizens and those legally here in the United States (Source).

There is a list of twelve countries that have been banned entry:
1) Afghanistan
2) Burma
3) Chad
4) Republic of Congo
5) Equatorial Guinea
6) Eritrea
7) Haiti
8) Iran
9) Libya
10) Somalia
11) Sudan
12) Yemen

The partial ban on seven countries means they are not completely banned from entering the United States because there are exceptions (Source). Here are the seven countries with a partial ban from entry into the United States:
1) Burundi
2) Cuba
3) Laos
4) Sierra Leone
5) Togo
6) Turkmenistan
7) Venezuela

There may be some exceptions but decisions are case-by-case made by the Secretary of State (Source).

The U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security said they would revoke visas for Chinese students connected to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields (Source).

We will honor and support the current laws in place for visas. As noted, “Every visa adjudication (decision) is a national security decision - every single one of them” (Source).

Please be thoughtful about what you share online because not having social media would seem suspicious (Source 1 & 2). As mentioned previously, please be aware that all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas must adjust privacy settings to all social media profiles and make it public (Source 3).