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Upcoming changes to Lux visa request forms

On Monday, July 28th, APF will update our visa request tool. No downtime is expected for this update. You may notice the following changes:

  • Enhanced navigation menus
  • Clearer prompts for prior immigration statuses
  • A new question to capture upcoming international travel plans
  • Reduced blank space on conditional approval PDFs

Updated visa intake forms are now available for use in gathering information for the visa request forms:

Please use these updated intake forms for any visa requests you submit on or after July 28th. Contact acadvisa@uw.edu with any questions you have about this announcement.

Department of State resumes F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa scheduling, with expanded social media screening

As of June 18, the Department of State has announced that it will resume appointment scheduling for student visas, including J-1 exchange visitor visas, and that these visa applicants will now undergo expanded social media screening. Please see the announcement for more details. 

It has also been reported that these changes will result in initial “refusal” decisions at the visa interview for all F, M, and J visa applicants, to allow additional time for social media screening. These are not final denials of the visa application. Upon receiving these initial refusals, J-1 visa applicants should wait for further contact from the consulate. The consulate may request additional information or documentation as part of the application process.

ISO expects that these changes will result in longer processing times for J-1 visa applications. We encourage UW units, and incoming and returning J-1 exchange visitors, to consider this processing time when planning their arrival in or return to the United States.

Recently-announced U.S. entry ban

On June 4, 2025, an Executive Order was issued that bans entry by nationals of certain countries into the United States. This entry ban goes into effect on Monday, June 9, 2025. Anyone who is inside the U.S. or has a valid U.S. visa stamp as of the date of the proclamation should not be affected; nor should scholars who hold citizenship in a second nation not listed in the executive order. 

ISO has checked their records and reached out by email to individual affected scholars to confirm whether they’re currently in the U.S. and recommend against future international travel. Please note that this outreach does not include scholars on other visas not sponsored through ISO (e.g. F-1 OPT, DACA, other EADs, or TNs processed at the border); to the best of our knowledge, there is no UW system that tracks both visa status and country of citizenship for those statuses. Please see Resources for UW’s Global Community for offices serving students and others on non-ISO-sponsored visas.

This change may impact the UW community as we engage in study, research and other University activities on campus and abroad. However, we remain dedicated to our mission as a global university and to providing a safe, secure and welcoming environment to all members of our community, no matter where they call home.