Kathryn presented a free program at the Galleria Microsoft store on December 9th. The topic was “How Getting Laid Off Impacts Your Immigration Status”. To access the slide show click here

Kathryn N. Karam in HoustonNewcomerGuides.com on the importance of checking your arrival/departure record.

Kathryn N. Karam is quoted in today's Houston Business Journal article on the Department of State's recent announcement that it will now extend the validity period for visitor visas issued to Chinese Nationals to ten years.

The U.S. Department of State has announced that beginning November 12th, the United States and China will both increase the validity period of business and tourist visitor visas and student and exchange visitor visas. This will serve as a major benefit to Chinese nationals seeking to visit the United States temporarily may obtain 10-year multiple entry visas, whereas in previous years, visitor visas were issued to Chinese nationals for only one year.

According to an article published on the Houston Business Journal's website, a report from the Department of Commerce indicates that the number of overseas visitors coming to Houston increased 22% from 2012 to 2013, the largest increase of any city in the United States. The report did not include visitors from Canada and Mexico.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that its Automated I-94 System (available here) now allows nonimmigrant visitors to the U.S. to retrieve their arrival records for the past five years. In the past, the system only allowed nonimmigrants to retrieve their entry records for the last two years.

The U.S. Embassy in Caracas posted a notice on its website that due to the expulsion of some consular officers and delays in visa issuance for other consular officials, it does not have sufficient staff to process first-time visitor visa applications except in "emergency situations." The alert noted that applicants may apply at other posts but must still prove sufficient ties to their home country.