United States: Immigration

Enforcement activity across the country has become increasingly disruptive, particularly in select geographic areas and certain industries. Employers must prepare for potential in-person visits from the Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, by understanding their rights, assessing risks, training employees, and creating comprehensive response plans. This guidance explores essential strategies for avoiding business disruptions resulting from compliance and enforcemen

A federal court has vacated USCIS policies that froze immigration benefit adjudications for nationals of 39 countries under an expanded travel ban, but the State Department's separate pause on immigrant visa issuance for 75 countries remains in effect. Employers must now distinguish between domestic USCIS benefits that can proceed and consular processing that remains suspended when planning for affected workers.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued updated guidance terminating Temporary Protected Status for Haiti, Syria, and Yemen, while litigation continues for other countries. Employers now face difficult compliance decisions as they navigate conflicting agency directives, ongoing legal challenges, and uncertain enforcement priorities in an increasingly fluid immigration landscape.

Following the First Circuit Court of Appeals' July 24 decision denying the federal government’s emergency stay, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has formally updated its official H-1B guidance to reflect the ruling.

A federal court has vacated USCIS policies that froze immigration benefit adjudications for nationals of 39 countries under an expanded travel ban, but the State Department's separate pause on immigrant visa issuance for 75 countries remains in effect. Employers must now distinguish between domestic USCIS benefits that can proceed and consular processing that remains suspended when planning for affected workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced plans to modernize the PERM program's labor market test, which hasn't been updated since 2004 and still relies on outdated recruitment methods like newspaper and radio advertisements. The proposed changes will update minimum recruitment requirements to reflect internet-based job searches, strengthen rules around layoffs, and enhance non-discrimination compliance requirements for employers seeking to hire foreign workers for permanent positions.

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final rule eliminating “duration of status” (D/S) for F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors takes effect on Sept. 15, 2026. The rule will change how certain categories of nonimmigrants maintain lawful status in the United States.

May 2026, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum signaling a shift in how employment-based permanent residence cases may be processed. The memorandum encourages adjudicators to deny adjustment of status (Form I-485) applications rather than issue requests for evidence (RFEs) in appropriate cases, with the expectation that many applicants could instead pursue immigrant visa processing abroad through U.S. consulates.

As the September 30 grandfathering deadline approaches for the EB-5 regional center program, investors face critical decisions about filing their I-526E petitions to secure protection under current program rules. What protections does this deadline actually provide, and what recent Administrative Appeals Office decisions mean for investors considering partial investment strategies? Immigration attorneys Kate Kalmykov and Jennifer Hermansky examine these urgent questions while analyzing USCIS's newly release