The U.S. Department of State has announced expanded screening and vetting procedures for visa applicants, effective Monday March 30. As a result, applying for a U.S. visa will now involve closer review of your background, including your online activity. Who Is Affected The following nonimmigrant visa applicants may now be…
On March 11, 2026, the U.S. Department of State published a final rule in the Federal Register requiring applicants to hold a valid passport before entering the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery—commonly known as the “green card lottery,” effective April 10, 2026. This change marks a return to a policy first…
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in the United States. TPS is a humanitarian program that allows people from countries affected by disasters or conflict to live and work in the U.S. legally, without fear…
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Yemen, ending protections that shielded Yemeni nationals from deportation and allowed them to work legally in the United States. The change, announced on February 13, 2026, takes effect 60 days after the notice…
On January 21, the Trump administration quietly froze immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries — a move that instantly threw thousands of families, workers, and employers into uncertainty. Just weeks later, civil rights organizations and affected U.S. citizens who were separated from their family members have filed a…
As the FY 2027 H-1B cap season approaches, employers will need to take additional steps to prepare for the new wage-based weighted selection system and to assess whether their petitions will be subject to the recently implemented $100,000 H-1B fee. Registration Opens March 4, 2026 USCIS recently announced that the…
In a new change to U.S. consular policy, the State Department has announced it will indefinitely pause immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries (see listed countries below), while it establishes a process for determining whether applicants are likely to become financially dependent on the U.S. government (also known…
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that the agency will increase the fees for premium processing service for certain employment-based applications and petitions on March 1, 2026 to reflect inflationary adjustments. Those who plan to file a request for premium processing postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, must include…
Nearly 200 immigrants, including six from Massachusetts, have filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. government over a sudden pause in processing green cards, citizenship applications, and asylum petitions. The pause was announced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shortly after the Trump administration expanded travel restrictions to 39…
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a final rule that replaces the longstanding random H‑1B cap lottery with a wage‑level‑based weighted selection system, set to take effect in time for the fiscal year 2027 H‑1B cap season beginning in March 2026. Under the new rule, beneficiaries registered…