Posts

Aug 21, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

ICE Sends an OPT Fee Rule to the White House - Rated Economically Significant, With No Advance Notice

ICE filed a proposed Optional Practical Training Fees rule with OIRA on Aug. 20, 2026. It is rated economically significant and never appeared in a Unified Agenda, giving students no advance warning.

OPT F-1 USCIS Policy Updates

Aug 21, 2026 • Policy Updates • 4 min read

Immigration Court Fees Climb Again Oct. 1 - Cancellation of Removal Hits $1,690

DOJ published a final rule Aug. 21 applying a 3.4 percent inflation bump to every EOIR filing fee under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, effective Oct. 1, 2026. BIA appeals reach $1,060 and Form EOIR-42B reaches $1,690.

USCIS Policy Updates Immigration Court Fees

Aug 20, 2026 • Green Card • 3 min read

E-Verify Now Tells Your Employer When USCIS Invalidates Your Green Card EAD

USCIS expanded the E-Verify Status Change Report on Aug. 11 to flag invalidated EADs in categories C09, C08, A12 and C19. C09 is the work permit held by every pending adjustment of status applicant, and employers must now reverify Form I-9 using Supplement B when an employee appears on the report.

USCIS Green Card EAD Adjustment of Status

Aug 20, 2026 • Visa News • 3 min read

State Department Birth Tourism Task Force Has Already Revoked More Than 600 Visas

The State Department said on Aug. 13 that its new Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force has revoked more than 600 visas, using pooled DHS and State travel data to identify B-1/B-2 holders who gave birth in the United States. It is one workstream in more than 175,000 visa revocations to date.

Visa News Policy Updates USCIS

Aug 20, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

Treasury Moves to Strip Tax Refunds From H-1B and Other Visa Holders — Comments Close Oct. 5

Treasury and the IRS proposed a rule on Aug. 20 that would deny the refundable portion of the child tax credit, EITC, American opportunity credit and adoption credit to noncitizens who are not PRWORA qualified aliens — a category that excludes H-1B, L-1, F-1 and pending adjustment applicants. The agencies estimate 200,000 to 700,000 taxpayers would be affected.

USCIS H-1B EB-2 Policy Updates

Aug 19, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

Comment Window Closes Aug. 24 on the Rule That Would Push Citizenship Fees to $1,330 — and Kill Fee Waivers

DHS wants to raise the N-400 naturalization fee from $760 to $1,330 and eliminate reduced fees and fee waivers entirely. Public comments close Monday, Aug. 24, 2026.

USCIS Naturalization N-400 Filing Fees

Aug 19, 2026 • Green Card • 3 min read

Denials Now Outnumber Approvals in EB-1A and NIW — USCIS Data Shows a Four-Year Slide

USCIS data shows EB-1A approvals fell from 66.9% in FY2025 to 47.45% in Q1 FY2026, while EB-2 NIW slid from roughly 96% in FY2022 to 42.61%. In both categories, denials now exceed approvals.

NIW EB-1A EB-2 USCIS

Aug 19, 2026 • Immigration News • 3 min read

USCIS Sets a Hard Sept. 18 Cutover for Form I-485 — File the New Edition Early and It Gets Rejected

USCIS will publish a revised Form I-485 on Sept. 18, 2026 with no grace period. Filing the old edition on or after that date means rejection — and so does filing the new edition before it.

USCIS Green Card I-485 Public Charge

Aug 18, 2026 • Immigration News • 3 min read

BIA Overrules Arrabally: Traveling on Advance Parole Can Now Trigger the 3- and 10-Year Bars

In Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, decided Aug. 13, the Board of Immigration Appeals ended a 14-year protection for advance parole travelers — but applied the new rule prospectively only.

Green Card USCIS Policy Updates

Aug 18, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

Four Immigration Deadlines Hit in Nine Days: Your September 2026 Filing Calendar

The H-1B extension surcharge, the end of duration of status, two mandatory new form editions, and a broader public charge test all land between Sept. 9 and Sept. 18 — here is what changes on each date.

USCIS H-1B Green Card Processing Times