State Department Suspending Immigrant Visa Processing for 75 Countries Due to Public Charge Reassessment
Starting January 21, the State Department will indefinitely suspend the issuance of immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries, as the agency reassesses its review procedures for determining whether a visa applicant is inadmissible based on public charge grounds, which requires assessing…
DHS Announces Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Somalia
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it will not extend the Somalia Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation beyond its scheduled expiration date of March 17, 2026. According to a Federal Register notice published today, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has…
February 2026 Visa Bulletin – EB Categories Remain the Same Except Modest Advancement in Worldwide EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers
According to the State Department’s February 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 and India will remain at February 1, 2023. All…
Premium Processing Fees Will Increase Effective March 1st
According to an advance copy of a final regulation that will be published in the Federal Register January 12, USCIS will increase the fees for premium processing of certain employment-based applications and petitions on March 1, 2026 to reflect the amount of inflation from June…
USCIS Ends the Option to Request a Social Security Number When Applying for an EAD
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has stopped allowing applicants for an employment authorization document (EAD) to request a Social Security Number (SSN) on their Form I-765 EAD application, ending a processing efficiency that had been in place for a number…
District Court Judge Issues Opinion Upholding $100,000 H-1B Fee
A D.C. federal district court judge on December 23 issued an opinion upholding the legality of the $100,000 fee imposed by President Trump’s September 19 Proclamation on certain H-1B petitions. In rejecting a challenge from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its co-plaintiff, the…
DHS Issues Final Rule to Replace Random H-1B Cap Lottery with Wage-Level-Based Weighted System for H-1B Cap Allocation in Time for Implementation in Early 2026
On December 29, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will publish a final rule replacing the current random H-1B cap lottery process with a new weighted selection process that increases the odds of selection for beneficiaries with the highest wages…
DHS Final Rule on Weighted H-1B Cap Selection Now Under OMB Review
The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is now reviewing the final rule that would modify the selection process in the H-1B cap lottery so that registrants for the lottery would be entered into the selection pool using a weighted system…
January 2026 Visa Bulletin Update – USCIS to Honor Dates for Filing for Employment-Based Categories
To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment of status application in January, foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country. USCIS has chosen the Dates for Filing…
January 2026 Visa Bulletin – Final Action Dates Advance for All Employment-Based Categories and Countries
According to the State Department’s January 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 advance one week to February 1, 2023, and…
Travel Ban Expanded and Revised, Effective January 1, 2026
President Trump has issued a presidential proclamation that expands and revises his June travel ban proclamation, imposing visa restrictions on nationals of a new set of countries as well as continuing or modifying restrictions for existing travel ban countries. The new travel ban…
Third Court Challenge to $100,000 H-1B Fee is Filed
Twenty U.S. states have filed suit challenging the September 19 Presidential Proclamation and related federal agency policies that impose a $100,000 fee on U.S. employers for certain H-1B nonimmigrant petitions. The case, State of California, et al. v Kristi Noem, et al., 1:25-cv-13829 (D. Mass.,…
CBP Plans Changes to the ESTA Application Process, Including Social Media Review
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is planning to make several changes to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) application process used by business visitors and tourists to visit the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), including the addition…
Government Office Closures and Immigration Processing Delays During the Holidays
During the holiday season, many government offices worldwide will close or have reduced staff and operating hours, likely resulting in processing delays for work permits, residence permits and visas over the coming weeks and into the new year. Albania Government…
U.S. Consulates Cancelling Some H-1B and H-4 Visa Appointments Due to New Online Prescence Review
Many H-1B and H-4 visa appointments originally scheduled for mid- to late-December 2025 in India are being cancelled and re-scheduled for March 2026, according to several reports from foreign nationals abroad. In cancelling and rescheduling the visa appointments, U.S. consular…
Supreme Court to Review Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the White House’s request to review and rule on the legality of President Trump’s January 20 Birthright Citizenship Executive Order (EO). The EO would deny U.S. citizenship to children born in the United States to a mother in…
USCIS Reduces Maximum Validity Period from Five Years to 18 Months for Several Categories of EADs, Including Adjustment of Status EADs
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its Policy Manual to reduce the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) maximum validity period to 18 months for several categories of EAD applications, down from a five-year maximum validity period under the agency’s prior policy that took effect…
Starting December 15, State Department Will Expand Online Presence Review to H-1B and H-4 Visa Applicants
All H-1B specialty occupation and H-4 dependent visa applicants will undergo a review of their online presence as part of their visa applications at U.S. consulates abroad starting December 15, according to a State Department announcement. A visa applicant’s online presence…
Federal Government Announces Immigration Restrictions After National Guard Shootings
After the shootings of two National Guard members last week in Washington, DC, President Trump and federal officials announced new and forthcoming immigration restrictions that are to be imposed broadly on several groups of foreign nationals. Though in most cases…
DHS Announces Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not extending the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Haiti, which will expire on February 3, 2026, according to a Federal Register notice scheduled to be published on November 28. Haiti TPS beneficiaries will remain work-authorized…
DHS Announces Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Burma (Myanmar)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not extending the Burma (Myanmar) Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation, but will provide a 60-day transition period, according to a Federal Register notice scheduled to be published November 25. The Burma TPS designation expires on November…
DHS Proposes Rescission of Public Charge Regulation, With Expanded Policy to Come
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a proposed regulation that seeks to rescind the public charge regulation that has applied to adjustment of status applications since December 2022. The proposal also announces the agency’s plans to implement a new broader…
December 2025 Visa Bulletin – Employment-Based Final Action Dates Move Ahead While Most Dates for Filing Remain the Same, With No Retrogressions; USCIS to Honor Dates for Filing
According to the State Department’s December 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 advance one month to January 22, 2023, and…
President Trump Signs Government Funding Bill Through January 30
A continuing resolution passed by Congress and signed by President Trump last night will fund the federal government through January 30, while negotiations on the FY 2026 budget continue. The stopgap bill ends the federal shutdown that had been in…
State Department Reportedly Applying Expanded Health Review in Visa Applications
The State Department has issued an internal cable advising consular officers to apply a significantly broader health review when determining whether a visa applicant is likely to become a public charge of the United States, according to news outlets that have reviewed…