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…
Articles Posted in USCIS
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…
Trump Administration Plans to Change Selection Process for H-1B High-Skilled Workers and Naturalization Exams
In a recent interview with the New York Times, published on July 25th the new director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Joseph Edlow told reporters that the agency is planning sweeping changes to the way the agency awards visas for H-1B high-skilled workers in specialty occupations. Under…
New Proposed Rule Re-Evaluates Selection Process for H-1B Visa Workers
A new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed rule known as RIN 1615-AD01 “Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions,” seeks to make radical changes to the selection process for new H-1B specialty occupation cap-subject visas. On Thursday last week, the proposed rule was…
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…
Federal Judge Blocks Birthright Citizenship Executive Order in New Class Action Lawsuit
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that lower courts cannot issue nationwide injunctions blocking the Trump administration’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship, except in class action lawsuits. Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling, at least three different lawsuits had secured nationwide injunctions protecting all individuals potentially affected by Trump’s executive…
Judge in Lawsuit Over San Diego Immigration Courthouse Arrests Questions ICE practices
A new lawsuit filed by a man detained in San Diego, California, is challenging the controversial practice of courthouse arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) taking place in recent months. The case could offer critical insight into the government’s approach in making these arrests. (A.M. v. Larose (3:25-cv-01412)) The man identified…
BREAKING: Federal Judge Blocks DHS from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians
In a stunning turn of events, on Tuesday a federal judge in New York blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) benefits for Haitians ahead of schedule, ruling that DHS violated the law in attempting to strip deportations and work permits from over half a million Haitians.…