In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, NAFSA reminds advisers to visit NAFSA's Resources for Emergencies and Natural Disasters in the U.S. page for links to some useful "evergreen" resources.

On October 2, 2024, USCIS revised the Employment Based First Preference 1 (EB-11) "Extraordinary Ability" guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify certain details, such as accepting a person's receipt of team awards under the recognized prizes or awards criterion and past memberships under the membership criterion, and removing prior language that had suggested that published material had to demonstrate the value of the person's work and contributions to satisfy the published material criterion.

On October 9, 2024, at 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) will offer a training session on how to write effective public comments on agencies’ proposed regulations. Pre-registration is required.

In response to NAFSA's and other feedback, on September 25, 2024 USCIS updated the USCIS Policy Manual to correct an entry that erroneously indicated that a STEM OPT application had to be filed within 30 days of the DSO's STEM OPT recommendation in SEVIS. The regulation provides that the student does in fact have 60 days following the DSO's recommendation. USCIS has revised the Policy Manual to now correctly state that, "F-1 students may submit a properly filed Form I-765 up to 90 days before the expiration of the F-1 student’s current post-completion OPT EAD and no more than 60 days after their DSO enters the STEM OPT recommendation into SEVIS."

Qatar was added to the list of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries effective September 26, 2024. The VWP enables citizens of participating countries to travel to the United States for business or tourism for 90 days or less without obtaining a U.S. B-1 or B-2 visa, as long as they have a proper ESTA authorization.

On September 23, 2024, the SEVP Response Center (SRC) launched a new telephone system for both domestic and international callers.

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) GovDelivery distribution list is moving at the end of September 2024. Sign up for SEVP’s new GovDelivery Distribution List.

The Department of State announced that of September 9, 2024, all available visa slots in the Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) category for fiscal year 2024 have been issued. This category includes holders of advanced degrees and individuals of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. The numbers include EB-2 immigrant visas issued by DOS and EB-2 adjustment of status cases approved by USCIS. The new supply of EB-2 visa numbers becomes available on October 1, 2024, the first day of fiscal year 2025.

On September 13, 2024, NAFSA submitted comments to USCIS regarding the August 27, 2024 revisions to the F student content in the USCIS Policy Manual, including the revisions related to the 5-month rule and study abroad programs. Link to NAFSA's comments and USCIS source documents on NAFSA's page.

The Department of State announced that of August 27, 2024, all available visa slots in the Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) category for fiscal year 2024 have been issued. This category, which is exempt from the individual labor certification requirement, includes EB-1A (Aliens of Extraordinary Ability), EB-1B (Outstanding Professors and Researchers), and EB-1C (Multinational Executives and Managers). The numbers include EB-1 immigrant visas issued by DOS and EB-1 adjustment of status cases approved by USCIS. The new supply of EB-1 visa numbers becomes available on October 1, 2024, the first day of fiscal year 2025.