Keeping you informed on the latest immigration news.
OFLC Releases Statistics on Prevailing Wage Determinations/Labor Certifications and an Updated H-2B Foreign Labor Recruiter List
On August 15, 2025, the Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) released statistics on employer activities regarding prevailing wage determinations and labor certifications, and the H-2B foreign labor recruiter list. The comprehensive set of...
Economic Policy Institute Says Trump Deportation Agenda Will Lead to Millions of Lost Jobs for Both Immigrants and U.S. Citizens
Echoing news reports about developments in the U.S. economy related to job losses, a new report by the Economic Policy Institute, Trump's Deportation Agenda Will Destroy Millions of Jobs, says that the Trump administration's emphasis on increasing deportations will...
Most FY 2025 Employment-Based Limits Could Be Reached in August or September, Visa Bulletin Says
The Department of State's (DOS) Visa Bulletin for September notes a "steady increase" in both U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and DOS demand patterns for employment-based green cards. As a result, the bulletin says that the Visa Office expects to reach...
USCIS Issues Policy Guidance to Prevent Trans Women From Competing in Women’s Sports in the United States
On August 4, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy alert, effective immediately, to prevent trans women from entering the United States to participate in women's sports. The alert, which characterizes trans women as "male," clarifies...
Routine Visa Services Paused at U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe as Part of Worldwide Review of Visa ‘Screening and Vetting Procedures’
Effective August 7, 2025, the U.S. Embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe, has temporarily paused all routine visa services. The Department of State said that this pause "includes applications for immigrant visas as well as nonimmigrant visas for tourists, business travelers,...
DOS Launches Visa Bond Pilot Program, Imposes Visa Bonds on Nationals of Malawi and Zambia
The Department of State (DOS) published a temporary final rule on August 5, 2025, announcing the start of a 12-month visa bond pilot program. Individuals applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure (B-1/B-2) who are nationals of countries...
DOS Proposes Rule to Increase Vetting and Combat Fraud in DV Program
On August 5, 2025, the Department of State (DOS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to "improve the integrity and combat fraud" in the Diversity Visa (DV) Program. DOS proposes to require DV Program applicants "to provide valid, unexpired passport information...
DV-2025 Entrants From UK and Dependent Areas Need to Re-Check Their Selection, DOS Says
On August 8, 2025, the Department of State (DOS) announced that in reviewing the entry selection system for the DV-2025 Program, the agency has determined that for a "small number" of entrants from Great Britain (United Kingdom) and its dependent areas, "the selection...
285 South Quotes Steve Yale-Loehr: Self-Deportation Leads to Arrest
In An Augusta Man Decided to 'Self-Deport.' The Government Arrested Him Anyway, Steve noted that although U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) website says that people using the self-deportation app will be "deprioritized," there's nothing that actually...
Bloomberg News Quotes Steve Yale-Loehr: Columbia to Aid Trump Policing of Foreign Students
– In Columbia University to Aid Trump Policing of Foreign Students Under Deal, Steve said that for Columbia and other schools entertaining such concessions, "the devil is in the implementation details." But "no matter how this is implemented," he said, "it shows...
