posted on: July 1, 2026
If you are applying for a green card from inside the United States, a recent policy change makes the strength of your application more important than ever. On May 21, 2026, USCIS issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, reminding its officers and the public that adjustment of status under INA § 245 is an act of “administrative […]
posted on: June 30, 2026
For Afghan allies and their families, the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) picture has two parts that are easy to confuse — and the difference between them can affect critical decisions about your case. First, the program is now closed to new applicants. The deadline to file an application for Chief of Mission (COM) approval — […]
posted on: June 29, 2026
If you have an asylum application pending with USCIS, there is an important deadline you cannot afford to miss. As of May 29, 2026, USCIS will reject a pending Form I-589 if the applicant fails to pay the Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) on time. This change comes from an interim final rule published on April […]
posted on: June 26, 2026
In one of the most significant immigration developments in months, a federal court has ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to restart the adjudication of applications it had frozen for nationals of 39 “travel-ban” countries, a list that includes Afghanistan. On June 5, 2026, Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. of the U.S. District […]
posted on: June 25, 2026
On June 8, 2026, a federal judge in Massachusetts vacated, nationwide, the September 2025 presidential proclamation that had imposed a $100,000 fee on most new H-1B petitions. Ruling in State of California v. Noem, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin sided with a coalition of twenty states that had challenged the policy. The court concluded that […]
posted on: May 11, 2026
If you have an asylum case pending, are applying for a work permit, or are seeking Temporary Protected Status (TPS), recent fee changes will affect you. At Anwari Law Firm, PC, we have spent 18 years guiding immigrants and their families through every shift in U.S. immigration law, and these latest changes are some of the most significant […]
posted on: February 6, 2026
What is the Board of Immigration Appeals? The Board of Immigration Appeals, or BIA, is the highest administrative appellate body in the U.S. immigration system. It reviews decisions made by immigration judges and is responsible for correcting legal and factual errors, ensuring consistent application of immigration law nationwide, and providing a basic level of due […]
posted on: December 31, 2025
We are updating guidance in Volume 3 of the USCIS Policy Manual related to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) program—a program where certain immigration benefits can be provided to survivors of domestic abuse. From fiscal years 2020 to 2024, the overall number of Form I-360 VAWA self-petitions increased by approximately 360% and male self-petitioners increased by 259%. These […]
posted on: December 29, 2025
In December 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalized a major overhaul of the H-1B visa selection process, replacing the traditional random lottery with a weighted selection system. Key Features of the Weighted System The new system prioritizes higher-paid and higher-skilled workers by giving them more entries into the selection pool based on their […]
posted on: December 5, 2025
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its Policy Manual to reduce the maximum validity period for Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) for certain categories of aliens. This update also incorporates changes to EAD validity periods made by recent legislation to ensure proper vetting and screening of aliens. The reduced maximum validity periods for certain categories will result […]
