What’s New!

Are You Coming to the United States Temporarily to Work or Study?

If so, we want to make sure that you have legal rights. If you encounter any problems or if you experience a violation of your rights, you can get help. Please click here to download our new brochure about your legal rights and resources available to you while you are in the United States.

Although Romanian citizens do not currently qualify to travel under the Visa Waiver Program, it is important to know that the United States Government does not charge a fee to obtain information about, apply for, or obtain a travel authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) Web site. Visa Waiver Program travelers should be aware that unauthorized third-parties have established Web sites that charge a fee to provide information about ESTA and to submit ESTA applications on behalf of the VWP traveler. These businesses and Web sites are not endorsed by, associated with, or affiliated in any way with DHS or the United States Government. Use of a private service to apply for travel authorization via ESTA will not expedite the granting of approval. More information regarding these services is available here: Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) Advisory Statement (pdf, 70KB).

Travelers wishing to register for ESTA directly, at no cost, should visit the ESTA website at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov to apply.

Change in non-imigrant religious visa application procedures effective November 26, 2008

Effective immediately, no R1 non-immigrant visa may be issued to an alien who is not the beneficiary of an approved I-129 petition for R1 filed by the alien's employer. The new regulations published by the Department of Homeland Security require that sponsoring employers must file I-129 petitions for all aliens for whomj R1 status is sought. Self-petitions will no longer be accepted.

For more information regarding this change, please visit the USCIS website.

Change in SEVIS fees effective October 27, 2008

In order to fund additional improvements to the SEVIS system and school verification process, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) published a final rule increasing fees for F, M, and J travelers and sponsoring schools, which goes into effect October 27, 2008.

Fees for non-immigrant (F and M) students will increase from USD $100 to USD $200, and fees for most exchange visitor (J) travelers will increase from USD $100 to USD $180.

Au Pairs, Camp Counselors, and Summer Work/Travel J visa travelers continue to pay a reduced fee of USD $35. Government-sponsored exchange visitors continue to be exempt from the fee. F, M, and J dependents do not need to pay the fee.

F, M, and J applicants who paid their SEVIS fee before October 27 do not need to pay the higher amount, even if they have not traveled or applied for a visa by that date.

The official fee change announcement may be found at http://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/sevp_factsheet.pdf.

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