According to reports, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has quietly updated its enhanced screening and vetting policy to lift the adjudication hold for foreign national physicians. The update applies only to cases pending or filed with USCIS and does...
Topic: Immigration Articles
Enhanced Security Vetting Causes Adjudications Pause, Coinciding With New RFE Trends
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun implementing enhanced security vetting procedures that are expected to delay certain pending immigration benefit adjudications. In addition, more types of petitions and applications will require...
USCIS Ordered to Resume Processing for Certain ‘Restricted’ Countries’ Applicants
On April 30, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts issued a significant ruling ordering the U.S. government to lift its blanket hold on certain U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) immigration applications for approximately 200 plaintiffs from specific...
DOL Seeks Comments on Extension and Revision of CW-1 Application for Temporary Employment Certification for Northern Marianas Workers
On April 30, 2026, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice requesting comments on an extension and revision of the CW-1 Application for Temporary Employment Certification for workers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. DOL said the notice was...
OFLC Announces Accommodations for Employers Affected by Typhoon in Northern Marianas
On April 21, 2026, the Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) released guidance on accommodations for employers and their representatives affected by Typhoon Sinlaku in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. OFLC’s Frequently...
DOS Instructs Officers to Reject Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants Who Claim Fear of Returning to Home Countries; Appeals Court Rejects Trump Admin’s ‘Invasion’ Proclamation Banning Asylum Claims at Border
According to reports, the Department of State (DOS) has sent a cable to diplomatic and consular posts instructing officers to ask two questions of nonimmigrant visa applicants and to refuse visa issuance if an applicant answers “yes” to either of the questions: Have...
Work Authorization Revocation, Other Consequences Announced for Unpaid Asylum Fees Under DHS Interim Final Rule
Effective May 29, 2026, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) interim final rule published on April 29, 2026, will implement fees, requirements, and consequences for nonpayment of asylum-related fees under the H.R. 1 Reconciliation Act of 2025 (“One Big Beautiful...
Cap Reached for Second Allocation of Returning Worker H-2B Visas for FY 2026
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 29, 2026, that it has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 27,736 H-2B visas made available for the second allocation of returning workers for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 with...
Trump Admin Considers Sending Afghan Refugees in Camp Who Aided United States to DRC
According to reports, after halting a U.S. resettlement program for Afghan refugees who had aided the United States in various ways during the U.S. war against the Taliban, the Trump administration is considering sending up to 1,100 of those currently in Camp...
Trump Gold Card: Amid Contradictory Statements, Just One Approved So Far
On April 23, 2026, at a hearing before the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that just one Trump Gold Card, under an executive order issued in September 2025, has been approved so far, but that “there are...
