Immigration News

Release Date 09/04/2025 WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is now authorized to expand its law enforcement authorities and newly-minted USCIS 1811 classified officers (commonly known as special agents) will be empowered to investigate, arrest, and present for prosecution those who violate America’s immigration laws under a final rule published today. In the final rule, the DHS authorities provided […]

Release Date 08/29/2025 New form allows payment of filing fees, services via secure direct debit payments WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has implemented a new way to pay fees using electronic debit from a U.S. bank account. Effective immediately, individuals can make transactions directly to USCIS by completing and signing Form G-1650, Authorization for ACH Transactions, […]

Last Updated: August 28, 2025 The Department of State is now requiring immigrant visa applicants to interview in the consular district designated for their place of residence, or in their country of nationality if requested, with limited exceptions.  Effective November 1, 2025, the National Visa Center will schedule immigrant visa applicants in their country of residence […]

Release Date: August 27, 2025 New rule will limit the amount of time that foreign students, professors, physicians, and other visa holders are allowed to remain in the United States without additional screening and vetting WASHINGTON, DC – Wednesday, the Trump Administration announced a proposed rule that, if finalized, would limit the length of time certain […]

Release Date 08/08/2025 We are updating the Policy Manual to clarify that a visa becomes available for the purposes of Child Status Protection Act age calculation based on the Final Action Dates chart of the Department of State Visa Bulletin. The new guidance applies to requests filed on or after August 15, 2025. We will apply the Feb. 14, […]

Release Date 08/01/2025 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual that will enhance our capability to screen and vet family-based immigrant visa petitions. This update explains requirements and adjudication of these petitions, including eligibility criteria, filing, interviews, and decisions. Fraudulent, frivolous, or otherwise non-meritorious family-based immigrant visa petitions erode confidence in […]

Release Date 07/18/2025 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year 2026.  We will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions […]

Release Date 07/18/2025 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is publishing a federal register notice (FRN) based on the H.R 1 Reconciliation Bill (H.R. 1). Applicants must submit the new fees with benefit requests postmarked on or after July 22, 2025. USCIS will reject any form postmarked on or after Aug. 21, 2025, without the proper fees.   H.R. 1 established […]

Release Date 06/11/2025 We are updating Volume 8 of the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify that a Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, signed by a civil surgeon on or after Nov. 1, 2023, is only valid while the application the Form I-693 was submitted with is pending. If the application a Form I-693 was […]

Release Date 06/06/2025 On May 30, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order lifting the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts’s April 14, 2025 Preliminary Injunction that stayed parts of the March 25, 2025 Federal Register notice titled, “Termination of Parole Process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV).” See Noem […]