The Potential Federal Shutdown on October 1, 2025 and its Effect on the U.S. Immigration Process
What is Happening? The deadline for Congress to pass a new budget to keep funding the federal government agencies is Tuesday, September 30, 2025, before midnight Eastern Time. The federal agencies responsible for administering the United States immigration process are...
USCIS Publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Create a Wage-Based Weighted Selection Process for H-1B Cap Registrations
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published today a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks to introduce a new wage-based “weighted” selection process to replace the current random selection process, or lottery, through which H-1B cap...
White House and State Department Comment on $100,000 H-1B Fee Proclamation
On Sunday, the White House issued an “H-1B FAQ” communication that seeks to clarify the scope and applicability of the September 19, 2025 Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers proclamation that imposes a $100,000 fee on certain H-1B petitions. In...
CBP Issues Memo Addressing Applicability of 9/19/2025 Proclamation on H-1B Restrictions
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) posted on X a redacted image showing an internal memorandum related to the 9/19/2025 Presidential Proclamation entitled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers. That Proclamation restricted admission to...
USCIS Issues Memo Addressing Applicability of 9/19/2025 Proclamation on H-1B Restrictions
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued today a memorandum that attempts to explain the agency’s interpretation of the 9/19/2025 Presidential Proclamation entitled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers. That Proclamation...
White House Social Media Posts Appear to Limit Scope of H-1B Presidential Proclamation
The White House recently posted messages on the X social media platform that appear to limit the applicability of yesterday’s proclamation that restricted the admission of H-1B nonimmigrants whose employers had not paid a $100,000 fee to the U.S. government. The...
Presidential Proclamation Adding $100,000 Fee for H-1B Petitions
President Trump signed a proclamation today directing that a $100,000 fee be charged to H-1B petitioners for the next 12 months. While the text and the exact intent of the proclamation is unclear, it appears that the proclamation directs USCIS to refrain from...
October 2025 Visa Bulletin Issued: Dates for Filing EB Cut-Off Dates Will Apply; Major Forward Movement in a Number of Categories
The U.S. Department of State has released its October 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...
State Department and USCIS Announce FY 2025 EB-1 and EB-3 Immigrant Visa Limits Have Been Reached
The United States State Department (DOS) and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have announced the exhaustion of all available immigrant visas in the Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) category and in the Employment-Based Third Preference...
State Department Announces that Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants Should Apply at Consulates in Their Countries of Citizenship or Residence
The United States Department of State (DOS) has issued an announcement that, effective immediately, United States nonimmigrant visa applicants “should” apply for their visas at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their country of nationality or residence, rather than as...