Immigration - Visas

White House Proclamation Imposes $100,000 H-1B Fee: Immediate Action Items On September 19, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation titled, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers , which introduces a significant change to the H-1B visa program. The proclamation imposes a $10

On August 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the regulations regarding foreign students (F), exchange visitors (J), and foreign media representatives (I). DHS will accept public comment until September 29, 2025.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed revising the admission period for the F (academic student) visa classification from duration of status or “D/S” to an admission for a fixed time period. This proposed change would also apply to the J (exchange visitor) and I (representatives of

Employers with workers on employment-based visas, such as H-1B and L-1, could face workforce disruptions after the Department of State (DOS) announced that Non-Immigrant Visa (NIV) applicants should schedule visa interview appointments in their own country of nationality or residence, with limited e

The U.S. Department of State has announced that it will not issue any new EB-1 employment-based immigrant visas in fiscal year (FY) 2025, which ends on September 30, 2025.

Key Takeaways The U.S. government has begun “continuous vetting” of more than 55 million valid visa holders — a process that could result in revocations and deportations if violations are found. The initiative applies broadly to all visa categories, including employment-based, student and visitor vi

The U.S. Department of State recently announced that it will not issue any new EB-2 employment-based visas in fiscal year (FY) 2025, which ends on September 30, 2025.

The U.S. Department of State’s September 2025 Visa Bulletin maintains the same final action dates and dates for filing that were published in the August 2025 Visa Bulletin . However, the State Department cautioned that it anticipates reaching the fiscal year limits for most employment-based (EB) pre

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) February 2025 policy memorandum and July 2025 policy manual update highlight the agency’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts. Generally, USCIS will no longer exempt classes or categories of foreign nationals from potential enforcement ex

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap for H-1B visas for fiscal year (FY) 2026. This includes the 65,000 regular cap-subject petitions and the 20,000 petitions under the U.S. advanced degree exem

Effective June 10, 2025, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates General in China have implemented important updates to the nonimmigrant visa application process for applicants under the age of fourteen. These changes are designed to enhance the efficiency and clarity of the application procedure for young

The U.S. Department of State has announced resumption of student and exchange visitor visa processing, along with expanded digital vetting procedures. The

After U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website users reported a high number of technical issues on June 30, 2025, when attempting to file H-1B cap-subject petitions through USCIS’s online platform, USCIS extended the fiscal year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap filing deadline for online filings

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its Policy Manual, clarifying—and in some cases, narrowing—the eligibility criteria for the TN nonimmigrant classification under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). These changes may affect employers’ practices. The new gui

News sources reporting on a U.S. Department of State internal cable have announced that the temporary pause on scheduling new student visa interviews for F, M, and J visas has been lifted. This pause was initially implemented while the State Department implemented steps to expand social media screen

Student/Exchange Visitor Visa Processing Resumes with Expanded Screening for Social Media Last month the State Department temporarily paused processing of all new student and exchange visitor visa appointments (including F, M, and J visas) at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide while it develope

On May 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of State completed the selection process for the Diversity Visa Lottery for fiscal year 2026. Created by the Immigration Act of 1990, the U.S. Diversity Visa (DV) program, often referred to as the “Diversity Lottery,” aims to enhance the diversity of the immigrant

USCIS has released an update to its Policy Manual, bringing significant changes to regulations on the TN nonimmigrant visa classification and perhaps some employers’ practices. For instance, because of changes to the Scientific Technician/Technologist category, employers in the healthcare industry m