Every major immigration law decision gets an executive summary, a plain-English breakdown, an FAQ, a timeline, and what to do now — built to engage with, not just read. Informational only, not legal advice.
The Labor Department will not accept or process PERM applications involving eight employers. What that means for an approved I-140, H-1B extensions past six years, porting, and the self-petition routes that need no employer at all.
USCIS's own I-140 data shows NIW denials rising after FY2024: in the first three quarters of FY2026, USCIS recorded 9,585 NIW denials and 9,238 approvals, with 96,297 NIW petitions pending at the end of June 2026. Recent AAO appeal decisions most often turn on the national-importance part of Dhanasar's first prong.
One day before DHS’s fixed-admission rule for F-1, J-1, and I visa holders was to take effect, a federal judge postponed it nationwide under the Administrative Procedure Act, finding the rule likely arbitrary and capricious. Duration of status stays in place while the case continues.
A federal court vacated the State Department policy that categorically suspended immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries, holding it violated the INA's anti-discrimination provision and exceeded the Secretary of State's authority.
A federal appeals court refused to keep the $100,000 H-1B fee alive while the government appeals, and on September 30, 2026 a second federal court blocked it too. The fee was renewed by proclamation on September 18, but it is not being collected. It only ever applied to petitions for workers outside the U.S. — and the fight is not over.
Update: a federal court postponed this rule on September 14, 2026, the day before it was to take effect, and duration of status remains in place nationwide while the case proceeds. This page explains what the rule would do if it returns: fixed end dates capped at four years for F-1 and J-1, 240 days for I, and a USCIS extension-of-stay filing to stay longer.
USCIS reached the 85,000 H-1B cap on July 17, 2026 with no second selection round, after unique-beneficiary registrations fell by more than a third in the first season run under wage-weighted selection. The H-1B did not become harder to win — it became more expensive to want, which is why attention is moving toward categories with no cap and no lottery.
A DHS interim final rule lets USCIS deny an immigration filing — and keep the fee — if it later finds the signature was not a valid handwritten (wet-ink) signature, even after the filing was already accepted.
The Fifth Circuit held 2–1 that the Due Process Clause entitles unadmitted immigrants held without bond under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) to a bond hearing within 90 days of detention, even though the statute itself provides none — affirming habeas relief for three long-term residents detained on routine traffic stops.
The Supreme Court held 6–3 that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully present, or lawfully but temporarily present, are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment — striking down Executive Order 14160.
USCIS reminds officers that adjustment of status is discretionary relief, not an automatic substitute for consular processing, even when an applicant is otherwise eligible.
On January 15, 2025, USCIS updated Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5 of its Policy Manual (alert PA-2025-03) to say you must first prove EB-2 eligibility before the national interest waiver is considered, and to add examples of what does and does not show national importance. The Dhanasar three-prong test did not change.