https://fam.state.gov/default.aspx - "The Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) and associated Handbooks (FAHs) are a single, comprehensive, and authoritative source for the Department's organization structures, policies, and procedures that govern the... Read More

Cyrus D. Mehta and Sophia Genovese-Halvorson, Sept. 18, 2017 - "The State Department has abruptly amended the Foreign Affairs Manual to provide broader grounds to find that foreign nationals misrepresented their intentions when they came to the United... Read More

By letters to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, DHS and DOS state they will amend the AFM and the FAM to reflect the following position: (1) Only a knowingly false claim can support a charge that an individual is inadmissible under section 212(a)... Read More

UNCLASSIFIED 15 STATE 98754 AUG 20 2015 SUBJECT: 9 FAM Update – New I-20 and DS-2019 Forms Read More

"9 FAM 41.54 N14 has been updated to provide clarification regarding how reciprocity fees are affected when consular officers collect anti-fraud fees and border security fees. While this policy was formally laid out in reftel, CA/VO/F/P noticed that... Read More

See Change Transmittal VISA-433, Aug. 9, 2017 - "This CT updates these subchapters with new policy guidance in light of Executive Order 13788, Buy American Hire American, intended to "create higher wages and employment rates for workers in the... Read More

"... Generally, all applicants must be interviewed in person. There are certain circumstances in which you, the chief of mission (COM), or the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Visa Services may waive the personal interview for a visa applicant... Read More

DOS, Jan. 3, 2017 - "INA 243(d) provides that upon being notified by the Secretary of Homeland Security that a government of a foreign country denies or unreasonably delays accepting an alien who is a citizen, subject, national, or resident of that... Read More

New 9 FAM 302.9-4(B)(3) (U) Interpretation of the Term Misrepresentation [as of Oct. 17, 2017] ... "g . (U) Activities that Indicate Violation of Status or Conduct Inconsistent with Status (1) (U) In General: (a) (U) In determining whether... Read More

7 FAM 1700 APPENDIX A, ADOPTION CASE PROCESSING GUIDANCE IN NON-HAGUE COUNTRIES - ( CT:CON-426; 11-26-2012 ) (Office of Origin: CA/OCS/L) [Thanks to Eugene J. Flynn, Esq ., for spotting this.] Read More

Convenient Facts Redux by Nancy Morawetz , NYU School of Law "Two years ago, I wrote about how the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) manipulates facts about government policies and practices to advance its arguments in the Supreme Court. In... Read More

DOS, Mar. 8, 2016 - "The 9 FAM 402.3-9(B)(4) notes have been updated to reflect a change in wage requirements for A-3, G-5, and NATO-7 domestic workers. Effective immediately, all contracts for domestic workers must state an hourly wage to be paid... Read More

In Change Transmittal CT:VISA-1977 dated March 12, 2013 the Department of State made substantial additions to the FAM Notes for 9 FAM 40.63. The PDF is 22 pages ; changes are in purple italics. Read More

On March 12, 2013 the State Department posted CT:VISA-1977 to the FAM, a 22-page update to 9 FAM 40.63 on INA Sec. 212(a)(6)(C)(i) (false claim to U.S. citizenship). On May 1, 2013 the State Department ' unassigned ' CT:VISA-1977. Will Sec. Kerry... Read More

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Private Sector Exchange, September 2, 2016 Guidance Directive 2016-03 - 9 FAM 403.11-3 – VISA REVOCATION "The Department would like to bring to your attention a policy... Read More