REAL ID Requirements Take Effect Today for U.S. Domestic Travel
Starting today, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will enforce the document security requirements of the REAL ID Act for U.S. domestic air travel. Individuals aged 18 or older will be required to present a REAL ID-compliant state driver’s license, non-driver…
State Department Releases FY 2026 Diversity Visa Lottery Winners Tomorrow
On May 3, 2025, the U.S. State Department will release the winners of the Fiscal Year 2026 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery. On that date, foreign nationals who entered the lottery can visit the official Entrant Status Check website to learn whether they…
What Domestic Travelers Need to Know About the May 7th REAL ID Act Deadline
Beginning May 7, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security will enforce the REAL ID Act, which sets document security requirements for domestic air travel and other federal purposes. Individuals age 18 or older will be required to present a REAL…
State Department Announces Reorganization; Impact on Consular Processing Not Yet Clear
In a brief statement earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced plans for a reorganization of the State Department and provided a revised organizational chart to demonstrate how some agency functions may be consolidated. The principal changes announced…
International Travel Planning for F-1 Students
If you are an F-1 student who has applied for or is working on post-completion optional practical training (OPT) or who may be the beneficiary of an H-1B cap petition and a request to change status, you must be aware…
Federal District Court Temporarily Blocks Termination of Parole Programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans
Yesterday, a federal district judge in Massachusetts issued an order temporarily blocking the upcoming April 24, 2025 mass termination of parole and related employment authorization for beneficiaries of the Biden-era “CHNV” parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. The…
May 2025 Visa Bulletin — EB-3 India Advances Slightly and EB-5 India Retrogresses, Remaining Final Action Dates Hold Steady; USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates for EB Categories
According to the State Department’s May 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: India will remain at February 15, 2022, and China will…
DHS Implements Extension of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Certain Hong Kong Residents
Following former President Biden’s January 15 approval of a two-year extension of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for certain Hong Kong residents, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register on April 4 defining the eligibility criteria for the extended program and the…
DHS Issues New Edition of Form I-9; Prior Editions Remain Acceptable for Now
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a new edition of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, dated 01/20/25. This new edition is currently available, though employers may continue to use prior editions of the form until their respective expiration date as follows: Form…
Federal District Court Orders Postponement of the Termination of 2023 Venezuela TPS Designation
Late Monday, a federal judge in the Northern District of California granted plaintiffs’ motion to postpone Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to vacate a January 2025 extension of the 2023 Venezuela Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation and her later…
USCIS Completes FY 2026 H-1B Cap Selection Process
USCIS has announced that the annual limit for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap employment has been met and the lottery selection process has been completed. Sponsoring employers and their attorneys have been notified of the selection results and are now able…
DHS Pauses Implementation of Romania in the Visa Waiver Program
The U.S. government is pausing implementation of Romania’s designation as a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) country; the designation had been slated to take effect on or around March 31, 2025. Announcement of the pause is posted on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website, stating that…
Department of Homeland Security to Terminate Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has announced that programs granting humanitarian parole to qualifying Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan nationals will be terminated. Secretary Noem made the announcement in a Federal Register notice that was published on March 25,…
FY 2026 H-1B Cap Registration Period Closes March 24
The FY 2026 H-1B cap registration period will close on Monday, March 24, at noon ET. Employers and their immigration counsel will have until this time to draft, review, e-sign, and submit their registrations to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services…
DHS Establishes New Online Registration Process for Certain Foreign Nationals
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that amends the foreign national registration regulations to provide for a new online process by which unregistered foreign nationals can comply with the existing registration requirements of the Immigration and Nationality…
April 2025 Visa Bulletin – Sharp EB-5 Retrogression for China and India, and Modest Advancement for Most Other EB Categories; USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates for EB Categories
According to the State Department’s April 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: India will advance by two weeks, to February 15, 2022,…
FY 2026 H-1B Cap Registration Begins
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin to accept H-1B cap registrations for employment in FY 2026 on Friday, March 7, at noon ET. The registration period is set to close on Monday, March 24, at noon ET. The agency will again implement…
USCIS Expands Role in Initiating Removal Proceedings, With Exceptions for Most Employment-Based Petitions
On February 28, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued guidance that expands the circumstances under which the agency will initiate removal proceedings against a foreign national by issuing a Notice to Appear (NTA). The new policy is similar to a June 2018…
Preparing for a Possible March 15th Federal Government Shutdown
With the current stopgap spending measure set to expire on March 14, a partial government shutdown is possible beginning on March 15, if agreement on an appropriations bill or another stopgap measure cannot be reached by March 14. Should a shutdown…
FY 2026 H-1B Cap Registration Begins March 7th
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin to accept H-1B cap registrations for employment in FY 2026 on Friday, March 7, at noon ET. The registration period is set to close on Monday, March 24, at noon ET. The agency will again implement…
DHS Curtails Haiti TPS Extension from 18 Months to 12 Months
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has partially vacated the Biden administration’s June 2024 decision to extend and redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, reducing the extension and redesignation period from 18 months to 12 months. According to an advance copy of…
State Department Issues Guidance on New Sex Marker Policy for U.S. Passports
Pursuant to President Trump’s January 20 Executive Order declaring that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female, the U.S. State Department has issued guidance announcing its new policy on the handling of sex markers on U.S. passports. Under the revised…
Nonimmigrant Visa Interview Waiver Program Is Restricted at U.S. Consular Posts Abroad
According to various consular websites, U.S. consulates have implemented a roll-back of the expanded nonimmigrant visa (NIV) interview waiver (IW) program criteria that has been in place since the COVID pandemic. Without having issued any public announcement, it appears that the State Department…
March 2025 Visa Bulletin – Modest Advancement for Most Countries in EB-2 and EB-3; USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Categories
According to the State Department’s March 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: India will remain at February 1, 2022, and China…
USCIS Announces H-1B Cap Registration Schedule for FY 2026
Timeline: Sponsoring employers may submit registrations for the FY 2026 H-1B cap between noon ET on March 7, 2025, and noon ET on March 24, 2025, USCIS has announced. For the second consecutive year, USCIS will use a beneficiary-centric registration selection…