Posts

Aug 31, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

Four USCIS Form Editions Change in September — And None of Them Have a Grace Period

Forms I-864 (Aug. 31), I-539 and I-765 (Sept. 15), and I-485 (Sept. 18) all get new editions with no grace period — old editions are rejected on and after each date, and new editions cannot be filed early.

USCIS Adjustment of Status Processing Times Green Card

Aug 31, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

New Public Charge Rule Takes Effect Sept. 18 — Food Stamps, Housing Aid and College Financial Aid Now Count

USCIS Policy Manual guidance effective Sept. 18, 2026 expands public charge review to all means-tested benefits — including SNAP, housing aid and college financial aid — and revives public charge bonds. EB-2 and NIW applicants are subject.

USCIS Adjustment of Status NIW EB-2

Aug 31, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

The 60-Day Grace Period Was Always Discretionary - and Three Other Limits H-1B Workers Get Wrong

The regulation at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) already lets DHS shorten the 60-day grace period, caps it at the I-94 end date, and allows it only once per validity period.

H-1B Policy Updates Green Card USCIS

Aug 31, 2026 • Immigration News • 3 min read

USCIS Can Refer Your Asylum Case to Immigration Court Without an Interview - and Comments Close Sept. 28

A correction published August 31 restores the cost table for the interim final rule letting USCIS refer affirmative asylum cases to court without an interview. Comments are due September 28, 2026.

USCIS Policy Updates Asylum

Aug 31, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

USCIS Reverses Course on Voter Registration at Naturalization Ceremonies - Effective Immediately, Under Court Order

Policy Alert PA-2026-11, issued August 31, 2026, rescinds the 2025 restriction and lets nonpartisan organizations register new citizens to vote at naturalization ceremonies again.

USCIS Policy Updates Naturalization

Aug 31, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

USCIS Rolls Out New Form I-864 With No Grace Period — And It Now Authorizes Credit Checks on Sponsors

USCIS published a new 08/24/26 edition of Form I-864 effective Aug. 31, 2026 with no grace period — and the new version authorizes USCIS to pull sponsors' consumer credit reports.

USCIS Green Card I-864 Adjustment of Status

Aug 27, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

A Rule Erasing the 30-Day Warning Before Refugee Status Is Revoked Is Sitting at the White House - as an Interim Final Rule

RIN 1615-AD23 has been under OIRA review since August 10 and would take effect without public comment, targeting the only response window refugees get under 8 CFR 207.9.

USCIS Refugees Policy Updates

Aug 27, 2026 • Immigration News • 3 min read

OpenAI Pays $3.2 Million Over PERM Recruitment - Paper-Only Applications and Late-Night Radio Ads

The Justice Department's thirteenth Protecting U.S. Workers settlement finds OpenAI steered PERM job ads away from U.S. applicants, with $1.2M in penalties and a $2M back-pay fund.

PERM EB-2 EB-3 Green Card

Aug 27, 2026 • Policy Updates • 2 min read

The One Lever Citizenship Applicants Have Against the New Neighborhood Investigations: Character Reference Letters

USCIS says character reference letters from non-family U.S. citizens are weighed when it decides whether to waive a neighborhood investigation - and the policy already applies to pending N-400s.

USCIS Naturalization N-400 Citizenship

Aug 27, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

USCIS Can Now Deny Your Petition Without Ever Sending an RFE - and the Policy Already Covers Pending Cases

Policy Alert PA-2026-05 tells officers they may deny for missing initial evidence without first issuing an RFE or NOID, and strips the extra 14 days that international filers used to get.

USCIS NIW EB-1A RFE