On October 7, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposed rule that would require U.S. universities to pay a $70,000 fee for each F-1 student’s initial Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorization and $30,000 for subsequent OPT...
Topic: Immigration Articles
Passport Redesign, Online Process Announced
On September 29, 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced several upcoming changes to the U.S. passport and related processes, including: A transition to online applications in 2027 through the newly launched gov, including for first-time applications, with a...
Afrikaners Prioritized in FY 2027 Refugee Admissions, Trump Announces
On October 2, 2026, President Trump announced the admission of up to 17,500 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year 2027, to “primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa.” President Trump has previously claimed that white Afrikaners are being...
Supreme Court Rules Trump Administration Can Resume Mass Deportations to Third Countries
On September 29, 2026, the Supreme Court issued a one-page, unsigned ruling allowing the Trump administration to resume mass deportations of immigrants to third countries temporarily while litigation is pending. The Court said that it would hear oral arguments in...
DHS Agencies Announce Changes in Fees
Several Department of Homeland Security agencies have announced changes in fees: S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, effective October 16, 2026, fees will increase for several benefits. Any request postmarked on or after that date without...
Preliminary Injunction Blocks $100,000 Fee Implementation for New H-1B Applications
On September 30, 2026, a federal judge in Global Nurse Force v. Trump temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s agency policies implementing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions based on Presidential Proclamation No. 10973 and its extension, No. 11069. In...
Steve Yale-Loehr Quoted in USA Today on Diversity Visa Delays
In They Won the Diversity Visa Lottery. Now Their American Dream Is On Hold, Steve Yale-Loehr said the Trump administration’s actions in delaying diversity visa processing after a court order to resume it “undermine the rule of law. The reason we have courts is that...
Steve Yale-Loehr to Speak on “Our Broken Immigration System and How to Fix It”
Steve Yale-Loehr, retired immigration law professor at Cornell Law School and of counsel at Miller Mayer, will give a talk on Wednesday, September 30 from 6-7 pm entitled “Our Broken Immigration System and How to Fix it”. The talk will be held at the Skaneateles...
USCIS Narrows Weekend and Holiday Filing-Deadline Rule
On September 23, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Alert clarifying when a filing deadline that falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday moves to the next business day. Effective October 23, 2026, the extension will apply...
EOIR Swears in Dozens of New Immigration Judges
On September 24, 2026, the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced the swearing-in of 47 immigration judges and six temporary immigration judges. EOIR also released the new judges’ biographical summaries, which include their...
