The State Department will impose a visa bond requirement on certain B-1/B-2 visa applicants under a pilot program, according to a temporary final rule published in today’s Federal Register. The new Visa Bond Pilot Program will be in effect from…
On July 31, a federal judge in the Northern District of California postponed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua to November 18, 2025. The TPS designation for Nepal had been…
Starting September 2, U.S. consulates will implement a significantly narrower version of the nonimmigrant visa (NIV) interview waiver (IW) program that will require nearly all applicants to appear for an in-person interview except for most diplomatic visa applicants and certain…
On July 23, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the nationwide scope of a Washington district court injunction barring implementation of President Trump’s January 20 birthright citizenship Executive Order (EO). The Ninth Circuit decision follows a June 27 Supreme Court decision that limited…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking federal review of a proposed rule that would apply a weighted selection process to the annual H-1B cap. Though details are confidential until publication in the Federal Register, the proposed rule could…
Starting July 22, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin collecting several of the new USCIS fees enacted by the budget reconciliation bill (H.R.1) passed by Congress in early July, according to an advance copy of the Federal Register (FR) notice. The notice…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to meet the annual H-1B quota of 85,000 for Fiscal Year 2026, according to an agency announcement issued today. The announcement means that USCIS will not conduct a second cap lottery selection…
According to the State Department’s August Visa Bulletin, Final Action cutoff dates for issuance of an immigrant visa or approval of an adjustment of status application will be as follows: EB-1: China will remain at November 15, 2022, and India will…
A nationwide class has been provisionally certified by a New Hampshire federal district court in litigation challenging President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on birthright citizenship. The court has also issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the EO for the class, but has stayed…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Honduras and Nicaragua, but will provide a 60-day transition period, according to advance copies of Federal Register notices scheduled for publication tomorrow. TPS designations for both countries expired…