18 Sep 2025

EB5 Unreserved Category Reaches Limit for Current Fiscal Year

The U.S. Department of State announced on September 16, 2025, that all available immigrant visas in the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) unreserved category have been issued for fiscal year (FY) 2025. Accordingly, consular posts temporarily cannot issue immigrant visas in this category and the U.S....

08 Sep 2025

USCIS Resumes Neighborhood Investigations for Naturalization Applications

On August 25, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is resuming “neighborhood” investigations of certain individuals applying for naturalization. This policy change ends the agency's over three-decade long practice of waiving these investigations. Overview of Neighborhood Investigations The Immigration and Nationality Act...

04 Sep 2025

USCIS to Stop Accepting Checks and Money Orders, Effective 29.Oct.2025

In a significant policy shift, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced its plan to eliminate the ability to pay filing fees using personal checks, money orders, or other forms of paper payments, with few exceptions. For decades, these paper-based payments have been a...

28 Aug 2025

USCIS Updates Guidance on Discretionary Factors in Immigration Benefit Adjudications

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published policy guidance on 19.Aug.2025, updating the factors officers may consider when exercising discretion in certain immigration benefit requests. The update emphasizes negative discretionary weight for applicants with connections to “anti-American” or terrorist organizations. Understanding Discretionary Analysis Many immigration benefit...

19 Aug 2025

USCIS Announces Changes to Good Moral Character Evaluation for Naturalization Applications

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum on 15.Aug.2025, announcing changes to how "good moral character" is evaluated for naturalization applicants. The new policy restores a prior totality of the circumstances approach for good moral character determinations. Overview of Good Moral Character...