Updates and News

Updates and News for International Students in the U.S.


New Countries Added to Visa Waiver Program

On Friday, Oct. 17, President Bush announced that at sometime in November, seven countries will be added to the United States Visa Waiver Program (VWP), allowing citizens of those countries to travel to the United States for business or tourism for up to 90 days without a visa.

These seven countries are the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and South Korea. They will join the list of 27 countries already approved under this program. Nationals participating in the VWP must travel only for business, pleasure, or transit, stay in the United States for 90 days or less, and, if arriving by sea or by air, hold a valid ticket for return or onward travel.

This information is especially important for international students because once implemented, it will allow their family members from these countries to come to visit them in the United States for up to a 90 day period, without having to apply for a visitor visa.

View the Fact Sheet prepared by the White House:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/10/20081017-15.html


Diversity Visa Lottery 2010 Starts Thursday, October 2

The U.S. State Department has published its announcement of the 2010 Diversity Visa Lottery. The Diversity Visa lottery (DV) is a program mandated under Section 203 (c) of the Immigration Act of 1990. The legislation makes available up to 55,000 permanent resident immigrant visas by random selection through an annual diversity visa lottery. The registration period will last for approximately sixty days, beginning at noon Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4) on Thursday, October 2, 2008 and ending at noon Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5) on Monday, December 1, 2008. As has been the case for the last five years, the Diversity Visa Lottery Program will be conducted entirely on-line via the internet, through the officially designated website: http://www.dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries are not accepted.

Individuals born in "High admission" countries, defined as those from which the United States has received more than 50,000 immigrants during the last five years in the immediate relative, family and employment preference categories, are not eligible to apply. The list of high admission countries that are NOT included in the diversity visa lottery are: Brazil, Canada, China (mainland born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, South Korea, the United Kingdom and dependent territories, and Vietnam.

Although China and the United Kingdom are listed as ineligible countries, persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Taiwan, and Northern Ireland are eligible to apply. Coming off the ineligible list of countries this year is Russia. Two new additions to the list of ineligible countries are Ecuador and Guatemala.

For the first time, in DV-2010, those who submit entries will be able to check the status of their entries on line and determine whether or not their entries are selected. Successful entrants will receive notification by paper mail.

To review the announcement, go to: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1318.html To view the official instructions (16-page pdf file) go to: http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/T1026V-DV-2010bulletin(2).pdf Please note that applicants cannot file an electronic application for the Diversity Visa Lottery any earlier than October 2.


F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) and the H1b Cap Gap Extension

On April 8, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security published an interim final rule that changed several key aspects of F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) and the H1b Cap Gap Extension and periods of unemployment. You can access updated news and information via U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Web site.