Short answer: DV-2026 selectees lose the right to receive a visa after September 30, 2026. That date is not an administrative target. It is written into the statute. This year the process was also disrupted by a pause on DV…
Short answer: three separate developments affect F-1 work options, and each is at a different stage. A fee rule for OPT has cleared White House review but has not been published. On CPT, no regulation changed, but SEVP scrutiny increased.…
Short answer: starting September 9, 2026, employers with 50 or more employees in the United States, more than half of whom hold H-1B, L-1A, or L-1B status, must pay the 9-11 fee on extension petitions for the same employee as…
Short answer: two developments affect green card holders planning to naturalize. First, USCIS can use “neighborhood investigations,” speaking with neighbors, employers, and coworkers to verify an applicant’s residence and character. USCIS resumed the practice in August 2025 and added it…
Short answer: two separate developments affected immigrant visa processing this summer, and they are often confused. The first is the pause on immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries. A federal court vacated that policy on August 21, 2026 and…
The 60-day grace period is a discretionary window available under current regulations after employment or an approved activity ends for certain nonimmigrant workers. The rule published on September 11, 2026 did not eliminate that window immediately. DHS and USCIS proposed…
The EB-5 September 30, 2026 deadline does not mean that the Regional Center Program closes that day. It is the statutory cutoff for a grandfathering protection created by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. The protection requires continued…
A USCIS denial without RFE is possible. Policy Alert PA-2026-05, issued on August 5, 2026, reemphasizes officer discretion to deny without first sending a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) when required initial evidence is…
Current as of September 15, 2026: The new USCIS form editions in this article were checked against official form pages and the Federal Register. USCIS may revise edition dates or acceptance rules again, so confirm the relevant form page on…
