The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the November 2025 Visa Bulletin. There is a bit of forward movement since the previous month's bulletin. All cutoff dates listed below refer to the final action chart (i.e., Chart A), unless otherwise specified. Visa Bulletin Summary Employment-Based, First...
On November 5, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) announced filing accommodations for employers affected by the suspension of OFLC operations during the government shutdown of 2025. The OFLC ceased operations on 01.Oct.2025, and OFLC staff who officially were...
The Trump Administration has directed the U.S. Department of State to issue new guidance directing consular officers to consider a significantly expanded range of health conditions when evaluating visa applications, including common chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and mental health conditions. Although...
The Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) program is a tool used by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to validate basic information about a company or organization wishing to employ a foreign national in the United...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has resumed processing employer applications for prevailing wage determinations and labor certifications, ending a suspension of operations that had stalled many employment-based immigration cases throughout the ongoing government shutdown. The...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will publish an interim final rule on October 30, 2025, eliminating the practice of automatically extending employment authorization documents (EADs) for foreign nationals who file timely renewal applications. The rule takes effect immediately upon publication and applies to...
An applicant for adjustment of status (form I-485) or naturalization (form N-400) may face denial on two broad legal grounds: mandatory and discretionary. Understanding when a denial is compelled by statute, as opposed to when it reflects a negative exercise of discretion, is essential for...
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from implementing the $100,000 fee for H1B petitions imposed by presidential proclamation in September 2025. The complaint challenges both the legal authority for the fee and...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will publish a proposed rule on October 23, 2025, that would significantly reduce fees for most EB5 immigrant investor program applications and petitions. The proposed fee schedule represents decreases ranging from 14 percent to 61 percent for existing EB5...
Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services posted guidance on its website clarifying who is subject to the $100,000 fee imposed by Trump’s September 19, 2025 executive proclamation. Among other points of clarification, the updated guidance indicates that virtually all H1B workers will be subject...
