April 2025 Visa Bulletin Issued: Final Action EB Cut-Off Dates Will Once Again Apply; Very Modest Forward Movement Has Occurred
The U.S. Department of State has released its April 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...
USCIS Publishes Federal Register Notice on Collection of Social Media Information for Certain Applicants for Immigration Benefits
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published in the Federal Register a 60-Day Notice inviting comments on its intention to start gathering information concerning the "online social media presence" for the past five years of foreign...
Trump Administration Announces Foreign National Registration Requirement
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on February 25, 2025, a new registration procedure for foreign nationals in the United States. This has apparently been done in an effort to comply with the January 20, 2025, Executive Order...
President Trump Announces Intention to Introduce “Gold Card” Permanent Residence Program
President Trump announced on February 25, 2025, a potential “gold card” program to grant United States permanent residence, or green cards, to foreign nationals in exchange for a payment of US $5 million. It is not clear from the President’s statements if an...
U.S. Department of State Changes Nonimmigrant Visa Application Interview Waiver (i.e., “Dropbox”) Procedures and Requirements
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has revised its requirements for waiving interviews for certain nonimmigrant visa applicants who are applying for visa stamps. Visa applications that are accepted without an interview are commonly referred to as being submitted...
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...