The U.S. Department of Justice has officially closed the San Francisco Immigration Court months earlier than expected, transferring its operations to the Concord Immigration Court.
The sudden closure has caused uncertainty for thousands of immigrants whose cases were pending in San Francisco.
Immigration courts handle deportation proceedings, asylum claims, and other immigration-related hearings.
In a policy memorandum released today, just ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, the Trump administration announced that temporary visa holders seeking green cards should leave the United States and complete their immigration process through consular processing in their home countries.
But is adjustment of status completely off the table? No. While the government has made clear that individuals intending to immigrate to the United States are generally expected to pursue immigrant visas abroad, adjustment of status remains a discretionary pathway to a green card.
When deciding whether to exercise discretion to grant adjustment of status in the United States, USCIS officers will apply a “totality of the circumstances” analysis, weighing both favorable and unfavorable factors before reaching a decision.
Overview
For decades, Adjustment of Status has been one of the most reliable pathways to apply for a green card for immigrants already living in the U.S., who entered the country lawfully. This process has involved filing the I-485, remaining in the country while the green card case is pending, waiting for an interview, and receiving a final approval.
The ability to apply for adjustment of status has not been taken away with today’s announcement, however, the sense of security that applicants once had has been blurred.
The Policy Memorandum
In its policy memorandum, the government stressed that individuals admitted to the United States on temporary visas (tourist, student, work visas, etc.) are generally expected to leave the country rather than pursue Adjustment of Status from inside the U.S.
Instead, those wishing to remain in the U.S. permanently are expected to apply for an immigrant visa from abroad. But today’s announcement does not prevent those who qualify from seeking adjustment of status, although applicants should exercise greater caution and understand that certain factors may negatively affect their chances of approval.
We are pleased to report that the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has published the June 2026 Visa Bulletin.
In this blog post, we breakdown the movement of the employment-based and family-sponsored categories in the coming month.
Adjustment of Status Chart
For adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of June, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for family-sponsored categories only.
For employment-based categories, USCIS will also continue using the Final Action Dates Chart.
Highlights of the June 2026 Visa Bulletin
At a Glance
What can we expect to see in the month of June?
Employment-Based Categories
Final Action Advancements
EB-1 Aliens of extraordinary ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Certain Multinational Managers or Executives
EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability
The Trump administration has quietly reversed a policy that threatened the jobs and immigration status of thousands of foreign doctors working in the United States.
Doctors from countries impacted by the administration’s expanded travel ban will once again be allowed to continue processing visa applications, work permits, and green card cases.
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security implemented a freeze on immigration benefits for nationals from 39 countries. The policy placed many foreign physicians in legal limbo, forcing some hospitals to place doctors on administrative leave while others faced the possibility of losing their ability to work entirely.
The administration has now confirmed that applications associated with medical physicians will continue processing, exempting doctors from the immigration freeze. The change was made quietly, without a formal public announcement.
The update appeared on the USCIS webpage outlining its enhanced screening and vetting procedures which now indicates doctors are no longer subject to adjudicative processing holds:
“Internal Review Process
USCIS established an internal process for lifting holds on individual or group cases, requiring comprehensive review by multiple offices. Holds have been lifted for aliens vetted through Operation PARRIS, certain petitions filed by U.S. citizens, intercountry adoption forms, certain rescheduled oath ceremonies, statutory and regulatory decision issuance, refugee registrations for South African citizens/nationals, certain special immigrant visa petitions, certain employment authorization documents, and asylum applications from non high-risk countries, and applications associated with medical physicians….”
USCIS is expected to pause or delay adjudication of certain immigration benefit requests that require fingerprint-based background checks following the agency’s implementation of a new enhanced FBI security vetting process.
The new process became effective on April 27, 2026.
According to reports, USCIS officers have been directed to submit pending applications for enhanced FBI background checks and to withhold final adjudication until the required security clearances are completed.
The initial group of impacted cases is expected to include applications for which fingerprints were already collected and submitted before April 27, 2026.
At a Glance
Applications requiring fingerprint-based background checks may be subject to an adjudication pause for enhanced security checks, based on new USCIS internal guidance
Affected case types are expected to include adjustment of status, asylum, naturalization, family-based green card sponsorship petitions, and other immigration benefit requests requiring biometrics (fingerprints).
For pending cases where fingerprints were submitted before April 27, USCIS officers are expected to re-submit the fingerprints already on file through the new FBI system. Applicants generally should not be required to take further action unless specifically instructed by USCIS.
Newly filed cases received after April 27 may also be placed in a processing queue while USCIS works through the backlog of pending cases requiring re-vetting. At this time, one reported exception appears to be U.S. citizenship applications where oath ceremonies have already been scheduled.
We are pleased to report that the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has published the May 2026 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 adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of May, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for family-sponsored categories only.
For employment-based categories, USCIS will now use the Final Action Dates Chart.
Highlights of the May 2026 Visa Bulletin
At a Glance
What can we expect to see in the month of May?
Employment-Based Categories
Final Action Advancements
EB-3 Other Workers
EB-5 Unreserved Categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5)
Dates for Filing Advancements
EB-5 Unreserved Categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5)
Family-Sponsored Categories
A newly proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) could significantly reshape the cost and strategy of hiring foreign talent through the H-1B and PERM programs.
The proposal, aimed at increasing wage protections for U.S. workers, is expected to drive up salary requirements—adding what some are calling “sticker shock” for employers.
What the Proposed Rule Does
The DOL’s proposal focuses on revising how prevailing wages are calculated across H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM programs. Instead of relying on lower wage percentiles, the rule would shift wage levels upward to better reflect actual market compensation.
Under the current system, wages are divided into four levels based on experience. The proposal would significantly raise each level—for example, entry-level wages would move from the 17th percentile to the 34th percentile, with similar increases across all tiers.
The DOL’s stated goal is to ensure foreign workers are paid comparably to similarly situated U.S. workers and to eliminate incentives for employers to hire lower-cost foreign labor.
We are pleased to report that the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has published the April 2026 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 adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of April, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for the employment-based and family-sponsored categories.
Highlights of the April 2026 Visa Bulletin
At a Glance
What can we expect to see in the month of April?
Employment-Based Categories
Final Action Advancements
EB-1 Aliens of extraordinary ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Certain Multinational Managers or Executives
EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability
*Note, there is an immigrant visa freeze for all countries subject to the 75-country ban on immigrant visa issuance. Lawsuits opposing the freeze are currently pending.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is seeking to gain access to a federal database designed to track child support payments—a move that could expand the government’s ability to locate individuals for immigration enforcement.
According to reporting by ProPublica, officials have discussed whether DHS could obtain information from the Federal Parent Locator Service, a system maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The system helps states locate parents who owe child support.
One part of the system, the National Directory of New Hires, collects employment data reported by employers across the United States. The database includes wage and employment information for millions of workers.
Officials familiar with the discussions said DHS is evaluating whether this information could help immigration authorities locate undocumented immigrants. Although the database does not contain immigration status information, employment records could potentially help identify individuals’ locations.
We are pleased to report that the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has published the March 2026 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
Visa Lawyer Blog