Immigration

In a sweeping new directive, the Trump administration has ordered US visa officers to start weighing chronic health conditions, including obesity, diabetes, and even depression, as potential reasons to deny entry or residency to foreigners. According to a cable sent by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to US embassies and consulates worldwide on November 6, […]

On Oct. 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to end the practice of automatically extending the validity of certain Forms I-766, Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) when a renewal Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, application was timely filed. EAD renewal applicants will no longer receive an up-to-540-day automatic […]

The Department of Homeland Security is publishing a Federal Register notice to implement a new immigration parole fee required by the H.R. 1 Reconciliation Bill. The fee is $1,000 for FY 2025 and is subject to annual adjustments for inflation. You must pay this fee when you are paroled into the United States, unless you qualify for an […]

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the factors that officers consider in certain benefit requests where an exercise of discretion is required, including factors relating to aliens’ past requests for parole and any involvement in anti-American or terrorist organizations, as well as the use of discretion in adjudication […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is resuming personal investigations of immigrants applying for naturalization. These investigations, also known as “neighborhood investigations,” will scrutinize an applicant’s place of residence and employment for the five years before they filed their application. According to USCIS, the purpose is to verify an alien’s eligibility for naturalization, which includes […]

In an Aug. 15 policy memo, USCIS issued new guidance on how it will evaluate “good moral character” (GMC) for naturalization applicants. USCIS is moving away from a checklist-style review toward a more rigorous, holistic, and comprehensive assessment. The goal is to ensure that applicants granted U.S. citizenship are not only free from disqualifying acts […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is updating its policy guidance to clarify how we evaluate eligibility for the second preference employment-based (EB-2) classification for immigrant petitions filed with a request for a national interest waiver (NIW). In general, an employer files an EB-2 petition using Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, after obtaining a labor certification from the Department of […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration and Services is issuing guidance regarding the legal and physical custody requirements for purposes of acquisition of U.S. citizenship under section 320 and naturalization under section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). We are also expanding guidance on derivation of citizenship before the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, under […]