Sara Vance

Student Visa Reporter

Sara Vance covers the F-1 and J-1 student visa pipeline for Immigration Legal Daily. Her reporting tracks SEVP guidance, OPT and CPT enforcement, DSO best practice, and the lived experience of international students navigating U.S. higher education.

She previously worked as a campus reporter and as an international student services researcher, where she became familiar with the day-to-day compliance puzzles students face.

newspaper Articles by Sara Vance

A hand turning the page of an open policy binder on a quiet desk.
J-1 Visa

J-1 Scholars and the May 2026 Memo: A Narrower Path to a Green Card

A J-1 research scholar engaged to a U.S. citizen calls in to ask whether to marry and adjust now, or renew the J-1 and wait. The new USCIS adjustment-of-status memo has reshaped the answer — and not in the direction J-1 holders were hoping.

Jun 7, 2026 8 min read