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A federal district court in California has blocked USCIS, CBP, and the State Department from enforcing or implementing policies related to the proclamation-based $100,000 H-1B payment requirement. The California ruling represents another adverse federal district court decision involving the $100,000 payment, which is already blocked pursuant to a separate… Read More

USCIS is issuing a final rule codifying last year’s interim regulation that eliminated the maximum 540-day automatic extension of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), which had previously been available to many EAD categories, including renewals of H-4 and adjustment of status EADs. Like the interim regulation, the final rule applies… Read More

A new proposed regulation seeks to eliminate the longstanding USCIS principle of deference to its prior approval of immigration filings on Form I-129, the petition for nonimmigrant workers.  The proposal is the Trump Administration’s third attempt to eliminate deference. If implemented, the regulation is likely to spur longer processing… Read More

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a proposed rule that would establish new fees for Optional Practical Training (OPT) and STEM OPT. Under the proposal, institutions would be responsible for paying a $70,000 fee for an initial OPT recommendation and a $30,000 fee for subsequent recommendations, including… Read More

On September 30, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security officially appealed the September 14 nationwide preliminary injunction halting implementation of the final rule eliminating Duration of Status (D/S) for F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors. A court hearing to discuss next steps is scheduled for today, October 2. Read More

President Trump has extended a September 2025 proclamation that imposes a $100,000 fee on certain H-1B petitions, through September 21, 2027, but that fee policy is currently blocked by court order. Because the September 2025 H-1B proclamation fee policy is currently vacated, the extended fee policy should also be blocked,… Read More

On September 18, 2026, President Trump issued an executive order directing the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Homeland Security (DHS), and State to coordinate more closely on H-1B program administration and take into consideration employers’ recent or planned layoffs. The executive order calls for layoff-related information to… Read More

The U.S. Department of State has temporarily paused immigrant visa interview appointments worldwide so its consular officers can undergo training on new public charge screening guidance—an assessment used to determine whether someone seeking to immigrate is likely to become dependent on government assistance. Nonimmigrant visa appointments and their application processing… Read More

Starting October 1, 2026, TN and TD (US-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) professionals and their dependents), and I (foreign media representatives) applicants will undergo a review of their online presence as part of their visa applications at U.S. consulates abroad, according to a State Department announcement. A visa applicant’s online… Read More

The Department of Labor (DOL) has initiated the process to propose a new regulation that would revise the PERM labor market test and other aspects of the labor certification program; the proposal is under review at the Office of Management and Budget. Read More