On Tuesday, August 19th, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated policy guidance clarifying that immigration officers will assess a range of factors when determining whether to grant a favorable exercise of discretion in the green card process—signaling a tougher stance that may create additional hurdles for applicants seeking…
Articles Posted in Immigrant Visas
September Visa Bulletin: No Movement in the Employment-Based Categories, Minimal Movement for Some Family Sponsored Categories
We are pleased to report that today the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs published the September 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…
New USCIS Policy Seeks to Intimidate Immigrants Applying for Green Cards by Threatening Deportation Proceedings
On August 1st the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new policies that could make immigrants applying for green cards through family-based petitions more vulnerable to deportation. The changes appear in various updates to USCIS’ Policy Manual which states that immigration officials can begin removal proceedings for immigrants who…
USCIS Announces New Annual Fees for Asylum Seekers, Increases TPS Registration Fees, and Makes Changes to EAD Validity Periods
On Tuesday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will issue a Federal Register notice enforcing new fees for certain immigration benefit requests postmarked on or after July 22, 2025. Benefit requests submitted to the agency without the proper fees will be rejected. These new fees are part of the…
August Visa Bulletin: EB-2 Final Action Retrogressions, EB-5 China and India Advancement, Little to No Movement in Other Categories
We are pleased to report that today the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs published the August 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…
CBP, ICE, and USCIS Announce Crackdown on Visa Overstays
On June 4, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the agency will expand its efforts to crackdown on visa overstays, due to a recent terrorist attack in Boulder Colorado. The attack was perpetrated by an Egyptian national who had been in the United States unlawfully since overstaying…
Immigration Roundup: Federal Judge Blocks Harvard Travel Ban, Crisis at Immigration Courts Leads to Lawsuit Stopping Fast Track Deportations
Harvard Travel Ban Blocked by Federal Judge Earlier this month President Trump had signed an Executive Order suspending the entry of all nonimmigrants and exchange visitors attending Harvard University, for a period of 6 months starting June 4th (the effective date of the proclamation). Those affected by the executive order…
July Visa Bulletin: Major Movement for Family Sponsored Categories, and EB-3 Final Action Dates
We are pleased to report that today the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs published the July 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…
Travel Ban 3.0 Restricting the Entry of 12 Country Nationals Effective Today June 9th
After months of speculation and buildup, President Trump’s long-anticipated travel ban has finally arrived. Issued by executive order on June 4th President Trump’s travel ban entitled “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” closely mirrors…
BREAKING: Federal Judge Lifts Administrative Pause on Immigration Applications for Parolees of Uniting for Ukraine, Military Parole in Place, CHNV, Family Reunification Parole Programs
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…