When the first round of COVID-19 related travel restrictions were issued in February 2020, many foreign nationals, employers and immigration professionals were cautiously optimistic that these restrictions would be short-lived.

More than eighteen exhaustive months later, this could not be further from the truth. U.S. Embassies and Consulates throughout the world continue to operate with skeletal staff, offering nonimmigrant visa appointments on an emergency-basis only and inconsistently approving requests for national interest exceptions (NIEs) to the COVID-19 related travel restrictions.

Our podcast this week aims to provide an update regarding the NIE process and guidance for foreign nationals who travel abroad.