U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its Policy Manual to reduce the maximum validity period of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for certain categories of aliens. The maximum validity period for initial and renewal EADs will be changed from 5 years back to 18 months for the following individuals:…
On December 2, 2025, USCIS issued a policy memorandum placing a hold on numerous immigration benefit requests and ordering the re-examination of previously approved cases. What the Memo Says: Key Provisions Pending benefit requests frozen for many nationals. USCIS is pausing processing of all pending immigration benefit requests if the…
On Friday August 15th, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new policy memorandum (PM-602-0188) increasing the scrutiny of applications for U.S. citizenship, as part of the Trump administration’s latest efforts to tighten eligibility for naturalization. Specifically, USCIS has directed immigration officers to evaluate additional factors when assessing…
On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, a federal judge from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a nationwide court order lifting the Trump administration’s suspension of adjudications for immigration benefit applications submitted by noncitizens who were lawfully paroled into the United States under certain categorical parole…
The Trump administration is not letting up on its campaign to target international students applying for visas at U.S. Embassies and Consulates, beginning with Harvard University students. On Friday May 30, 2025, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent an internal cable to U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide requiring them…
Following a wave of lawsuits from international students whose visas and Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records were terminated without prior notice, the Trump administration has suddenly changed its course. In recent weeks, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun reinstating SEVIS records that were previously terminated,…
We are pleased to report that today the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs published the May 2025 Visa Bulletin. In this blog post, we breakdown the movement of the employment-based and family-sponsored categories in the coming month. USCIS Adjustment of Status For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and…
Today March 21, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an advance copy of a notice in the Federal Register ending four Biden-era parole programs for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV). When The temporary parole period of aliens in the United States under the CHNV parole programs will…
A new article published in the New York Times reveals the 43 countries that are reportedly included in President Trump’s new travel ban, expected to be released by executive order on Friday March 21st. According to anonymous government sources, the White House is considering a draft proposal establishing partial or…
We knew it was coming. The Trump administration is preparing to roll out a new ban on travel to the United States, restricting the entry of citizens from certain countries for which vetting and screening warrants a partial or full suspension of admission to the United States. This travel restriction…