March 2025 Visa Bulletin Issued: Final Action EB Cut-Off Dates Will Once Again Apply; Modest Forward Movement Has Occurred
The U.S. Department of State has released its March 2025 Visa Bulletin imposing per-country cut-off dates that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications and consular Immigrant Visa application interviews and...
Canada: British Columbia PNP Allocation Reduced for 2025
Recently, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) announced that the Canadian federal government has confirmed BC’s allocation of Provincial Nominees for 2025 is 4,000 nominations. This is a 50% reduction from 2024, which was at 8,000 nominees....
Federal Courts Issue Nationwide Preliminary Injunctions Blocking Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
On February 5, 2025, in a lawsuit brought by five pregnant mothers, CASA, Inc., and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), the federal court for the District of Maryland issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the federal government from enforcing or...
Initial FY 2026 H-1B Cap Registration Period Will Open on March 7, 2025, and Run Until March 24, 2025
USCIS announced on February 5, 2025, that the registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap registration selection process will open at noon Eastern time on Friday, March 7, 2025. The registration period will close at noon Eastern time on Monday, March 24,...
Federal Court Issues Temporary Restraining Order Blocking Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
On January 23, 2025, in a lawsuit brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, the federal court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) preventing the federal government from enforcing or...
Trump Administration Issues Executive Order Limiting Birthright Citizenship
The new Trump administration issued an Executive Order (“EO”) on January 20, 2025 entitled Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship [Executive Order]. This EO attempts to deny United States citizenship to persons born in the United States whose...
Canada: Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP) Changes
Effective January 21, 2025, the following changes will take place to Spousal Open Work Permits (SOWPs) for spouses of foreign workers and international students in Canada: Foreign Workers: SOWPs will be restricted to spouses of foreign workers employed in the...
Canada: Upcoming Changes to Express Entry PR Applications and POE Work Permit Applications
Express Entry (EE) Permanent Residence Application Changes: Sometime in Spring 2025, EE candidates will no longer receive points for having an offer of ongoing or future employment in Canada. Typically, job offers would add 50 or 200 points towards EE scores. It is...
February 2025 Visa Bulletin Issued: Final Action EB Cut-Off Dates Will Apply for the First Time in Several Months
The U.S. Department of State has released its February 2025 Visa Bulletin imposing per-country cut-off dates that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications and consular Immigrant Visa application interviews and...
Romania Added to United States Visa Waiver Program
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the United States Department of State (DOS) announced on January 10, 2025, that Romania has been designated as a participant in the United States Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows visa-free travel to...