In a bold geopolitical move widely interpreted as a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial tariffs on African exports, Namibia has announced it will require all U.S. tourists to obtain a visa before entering the country, beginning April 1, 2025.

Any U.S. citizen caught without a fully approved visa will be declared an ‘illegal alien’ and treated the same way Donald Trump treats African immigrants in the U.S.,” a Namibian government spokesperson said during the official announcement.

https://shinemycrown.com/namibias-iron-woman -hits-back-at-trumps-tariffs-with-new-visa-requirement-for-u-s-citizens/

Hi. If I am transiting through Singapore for less than 96 hours and have a New Zealand visa, Singapore has the visa free transit facility. My query is that do we need to apply for this VFTF? Or simply arrive at the airport and show the visa and return ticket? If there is an application process, how to do the same?

Thanks for any help!

The Australian says he was detained and deported when returning from the memorial in March, despite holding a working visa still valid for more than 15 months. He has been living on the US east coast for seven years – where his American partner, apartment, work studio and clients remain.

Jonathan, who spoke on the condition his real name was not disclosed, says he is now couch surfing in Sydney, separated from his “whole life”.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/11/australian-with-us-working-visa-detained-insulted-deported

Okay so I have my F1 visa appointment VERY soon, and my dad recently retired from his job. He also owns a shop (that is NOT under his name; legally, he is just a manager). Since the shop is not under his name, can I bring a legal official gov document that shows that he is the manager (and also has the owner's details) and then get a letter from the owner (stamped) saying that my dad is the owner and he gets all the profit?

Please help. I never thought about this, and now I’m super anxious.

I contacted my university's ISO, and they told me I should contact the embassy about this, BUT THEY DON'T REPLY.

a friend had applied for family reunification visa for netherland and it got rejected as they were freshly 18 n indian . what could be the chances of clearing the objection

hey folks

my partner and I are applying for the tourism visa.

both are covering our own financials and are applying for the visa together, we will submit separate documents along with separate cover letters.

the only catch is our hotel bookings are together.

are the japanese conservative to reject the visa based on the fact that we are an unmarried couple?

if yes, should I book hotels separately to show on the docs we submit?

please help!

Hey everyone. Even though there are numerous threads about this (dated 6 months or more)but my ESTA application is pending authorisation for a week now. I called the CBP helpline and they advised I have to wait it out until 7 days of arrival in the US for them to escalate. They also mentioned that they have a large backlog. Anyone else experiencing delays or am I just a bit unfortunate in this instance?

My flight is from Tokyo Narita(zipair 53) to MAA india(indigo 1002), the flight itinerary is from NRT to changi then from changi to MAA, two different airlines, do I need a transit visa for self transfer? The layover time is only 5 hours and VFTF is it eligible for me as I hold a indian passport? My flight is in 3 days and IDK what to do? I'm tweaking ! Someone help me

Hello everyone,

I hope you’re doing well.

I currently live in the USA and am trying to move to Canada to be closer to my girlfriend. I have a remote job and was not looking to go back to school. Can you guys please give me the best advice on how to get over there? Thank you!

I went to start the application for the CR1 visa and I see I need a case number but a few months ago I could start the application without a case number. Why is this?

Hi, I’m (27) not American, my fiancé (25) is an American. With everything that is going on with the person in the government revoking people’s with legit visas, deporting people here and there, is it safe for my fiancé and I to file and submit our K-1 petition? I’ve read a lot of news regarding migration policy and try to keep an update on the whole things, but I still feel 50/50 about submitting our petitions. 50/50 because me and my fiancé had drafted our petition since last year (2024), but at the same time I am worried about the situation with MAGA and things 🥲

Hi all,

I’ve been accepted to two internship programs in Japan, scheduled back-to-back but with a combined duration of over 90 days.

The Japanese embassy in Egypt told me:

• I can’t apply for a visa covering both internships.
• I can’t extend a short-term (90-day) visa from within Japan.
• I’d have to leave Japan and reapply for a new visa abroad.

Before I go with this plan, I wanted to ask:

• Has anyone successfully extended a short-term stay visa while in Japan?
• Is there any exception or workaround (e.g. support from companies or JICA)?

Appreciate any insights—thanks in advance!

My girlfriend's visa for Romania, specifically a study visa was unexpectedly rejected despite having what we considered an incredibly strong and thorough application. We are devastated and completely confused about why this happened.

She literally had everything covered:

• Paid university tuition fees (Medical residency)
• Paid apartment rent upfront
• Booked and paid flights
• Medical insurance
• Proof of financial stability: Her father as a sponsor, plus her own significant savings
• Letter of acceptance from the university
• C1 Romanian language certification (She proactively learned Romanian)
• All required documents meticulously organized and submitted correctly

We waited over 40 days just to receive a rejection from the Romanian Embassy in Tunis without clear reasons. She's a qualified doctor aiming to start her residency in Romania, and this rejection feels unjust and heartbreaking.

Given the significant financial and emotional investment, we're left wondering if it's even worth appealing this decision. Has anyone else experienced a similar situation?

We're specifically looking for:

• Advice on whether appealing is effective or worthwhile.
• Experiences from anyone who successfully appealed or reapplied after an initial rejection.
• Tips on strengthening our case further or addressing possible unspoken reasons for denial.

We genuinely don't understand why a strong, sincere application from highly qualified individuals would face such harsh scrutiny. Any guidance or shared experiences would be deeply appreciated.

Trial starting later this year.
1. Longer periods of stay with a Visitor Visa; 2. People with an Australian visitor / work / student / family visa can visit NZ visa-free (i.e. with NZeTA) from Australia.

If this is not the place to post this question let me know where and I will take this one down.

Considering the nature of things happening in the US, here is my question:

My partner (born in the US and US citizen) and her mom (born in Germany, emigrated from Germany to the US in her early 20s) will be going to Germany for a few weeks next month. Should they worry about having issues coming back to the US from Germany?

Hey everyone! I’m a bit stressed and could really use some advice.

I’m Brazilian and I was an au pair in the US from 2022 to early 2024, and my former host family recently invited me to come back for another year in 2026. I wasn’t planning on this at all, but now I really want to go — the timing works out since I’ll still be under 27.

Here’s where things get complicated: • I’ve been an au pair in the Netherlands since Sept 2024, and I’ll be here until Sept 2025. • After that, I’ll be doing another au pair year in Germany from Sept 2025 to mid-2026. I plan to visit Brazil in December. • I want to apply for the new J-1 visa while I’m living in Germany, between Feb and May 2026. • I got denied a tourist visa in March 2025 (applied from the Netherlands), and I’m nervous that it could affect my chances — even though it’s a different visa category. • Should I mention that I’ve been doing au pair in the Netherlands and Germany? Or could that just confuse the officer and make things harder? • Is it okay to apply from Germany since I’ll be living there legally? Or should I go back to Brazil just to apply from my home country?

If anyone has been in a similar situation or knows how I can improve my chances, please share! I’m so scared of getting denied again and really want to do everything right this time.

Thanks a ton in advance to anyone who takes the time to reply!

So, I am an Indian citizen applying for a japanese student visa with a new passport. Do I need to submit my old passport to the visa office? The old passport doesn't have any visa stickers and has expired 5 years ago.

Hi all,

As the title says, I need to apply for a tourist visa for Ghana. Currently I'm holding a Taiwan passport.

As Ghana and Taiwan don't have diplomatic ties, there isn't an embassy or consulate.

Some internet searching doesn't provide much information, other than potentially sending my passport into the Ghanian embassy in China (Beijing or Guangzhou).

If someone could provide more clarity and an actual process, that'd be great. Thanks.

I’m 25F and green card holder, I hold a strong citizenship. The situation is a bit complicated: for about 10 years, I lived in Europe and only traveled to the U.S. twice a year for 1–2 weeks at a time to avoid any issues with my green card status. (I know that’s a bad idea) I always dreamed of living in USA. Two years ago, I moved to the U.S. and renewed my green card. I have three years left before I can apply for citizenship. The problem is, all my family and my partner are in Europe and my partner has no chances of immigrating here. I’ve also been struggling to find a job for two years in the U.S. despite having a marketing degree from a UK university. Now I feel torn — I don’t know if I should stay and push through for the citizenship, or move back to Europe where I have a support system. I’m also scared to travel to Europe to visit my family because of my history with long absences from the U.S. I’m worried I might have problems re-entering, even though I have no criminal record and my green card is renewed. With everything going on politically and economically, I’m feeling more unsure than ever. What should i do?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Tomorrow morning I will be going to Brazil from Germany with a US passport? I missed all this news about a visa being required as I have been going in and out of Brazil freely for 3 years. I don't have a visa. I applied online just today.

Will I be denied boarding? Is this actually being enforced?

Hello everyone,

We have a stopover in Saudi Arabia for a flight. I have done a lot of research online about if we need a transit visa or not and it's not very clear, so I've applied for some transit visas anyway just to make sure, and the process is horrible.

It's extremely unclear, I've had to contact the visa agency, the Saudi Arabia embassy, and now they are making me contact a visa approval centre in London.

I am very stressed because of this. Has anyone got a transit visa before and what was the process? Does anyone know the easiest way to get a transit visa online?

Any help would be appreciated

I am an Indian Passport holder and I will be flying from Kolkata (CCU) to Bangkok (DMK) and then from Bangkok (BKK) to Tokyo (HND).

These are two different airlines and the booking was done separately. My flight from Kolkata lands at DMK airport at 4:30AM and my flight from BKK airport to Tokyo is at around 2PM. I have booked a hotel close to the BKK airport.

Do I need a transit visa?

So mad right now, I wanted my nephews (sisters kids) to meet their cousins, my kids since they never had. We filled everything perfect and to the letter, the kids are 17 and 14 from Argentina, we were planning on having them over their winter break from school so only 3 weeks. I am a established US citizen with own home that obviously would mean they have housing for the time being. My Brother and their entire family had no problem getting visas and came over a few times, my mom come and goes many times but when I applied for my sisters kids they get denied.

What can I possibly do in this case? I don’t want to keep paying the fee if they are just getting denied. Did they get unlucky with the consulate interviewer?

Just so frustrated when everyone gets it and a couple of kids don’t.

Thank you for reading, this i guess was more of a venting than anything.

New from legal tech: AI-assisted visa applications. The startup Parley uses AI to streamline visa applications by synthesizing uploaded information into draft applications. The tech has gained traction amid heightened scrutiny and directives affecting the immigration process.

April 2025