Travel Advisory for Chinese Needing Visa Stamps
June 1, 2018
The Associated Press is reporting that starting June 11, the United States will limit the duration of student visas and impose more scrutiny on certain visa applicants from China.
According to the AP report, Chinese graduate students will be limited to one year visas if they are studying in fields such as robotics, aviation and high tech manufacturing. In addition, Chinese citizens involved in research or working as managers for companies on a U.S. Department of Commerce list will need special security clearance from multiple U.S. government agencies, likely leading to delays of several months for visa issuance.
It is not clear to which “list” the report refers, nor has the U.S. government released a public statement to provide more guidance. With an abundance of caution, and wanting to avoid significant delays in their ability to return to the U.S., Weaver Schlenger recommends that Chinese citizens currently in the U.S. who would need to apply for a non-immigrant visa stamp in order to return to the U.S., avoid international travel at this time and until we have more guidance and insight into the U.S. government’s new policy.
