The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has announced updates to immigrant visa processing at U.S. consulates around the world for applicants from a specified list of 75 countries. The stated rationale for the pause is so that the DOS can review their assessment protocols to better determine whether certain applicants may potentially seek public benefits upon arrival in the U.S. Effective January 21, 2026, the DOS will pause the issuance of all immigrant visas to applicants who […]
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published the monthly Visa Bulletin for February 2026. Until February 1, the January 2026 Visa Bulletin remains in effect. The Visa Bulletin contains the DOS’s Final Action Dates chart, which lists the priority dates that are current in each respective category, the categories that are current during the applicable month (i.e., categories […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule to increase USCIS premium processing fees under the USCIS Stabilization Act. This Act authorizes DHS to adjust premium processing fees every two years to account for inflation. Key Effective Date: March 1, 2026 Any petitions postmarked on or after […]
On December 23, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new rule to revise the H-1B cap-registration selection process. The new final rule replaces a purely random selection with a system that will increase the probability of selection for higher-paid foreign nationals. The new framework will weigh entries based on the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage levels I–IV. Registrations assigned to wage level IV will enter the H-1B lottery pool four times, while level III will enter three times, level II will […]
