ABIL Immigration Insider • February 1, 2026
In this issue:
1. FY 2027 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens March 4 – The initial registration period for the Fiscal Year 2027 H-1B cap will open at noon ET on March 4 and run through noon ET on March 19, 2026.
2. DOL-DHS Temporary Rule Will Increase H-2B Visa Limit in FY 2026 – The Departments of Labor and Homeland Security plan to issue up to an additional 64,716 H-2B visas for this fiscal year.
3. Ninth Circuit Rules That Secretary Noem Exceeded Her Authority With Respect to Venezuelan and Haitian TPS – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her statutory authority in her vacatur and termination of Venezuela’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation and her partial vacatur of Haiti’s TPS designation. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s setting aside of the Venezuelan vacatur and termination, and the Haitian partial vacatur.
4. Trump Administration Launches ‘Gold Card’ Site – The site includes application information and questions and answers about the Trump Gold Card.
5. WHD Releases Info on ‘Project Firewall’ Enforcement Initiative to Maximize Compliance with H-1B Visa Program – The announcement notes that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division prioritizes investigations where employers may be displacing U.S. workers, failing to recruit U.S. workers in good faith, giving preference to H-1B workers when qualified U.S. workers are available, retaliating against workers who raise concerns about employers’ noncompliance, or misrepresenting job duties, requirements, or working conditions.
6. USCIS Releases Guidance on ‘Hold and Release’ Policies and Procedures – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released memoranda on “hold and release” policies and procedures for all pending asylum applications, USCIS benefit applications filed by individuals from “high-risk” countries, and Diversity Visa adjustment-of-status applications.
7. February Visa Bulletin Notes Expiration of ‘Certain Religious Workers’ Category – The Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers category expired on January 30, 2026.
8. EOIR Raises Fees for Immigration-Related Filings – The new fees are effective February 1, 2026.
9. DHS Increases Self-Deportation ‘Exit Bonus’ – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has temporarily increased the “exit bonus” for self-deportation through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home app from $1,000 to $2,600.
10. DOS Announces Temporary Pause on Certain Visas for Nationals of 75 Countries – The Department of State announced a temporary pause on the issuance of immigrant visas (green cards from overseas) for nationals of 75 countries, effective January 21, 2026.
11. DHS Terminates TPS Designation for Somalia – The Department of Homeland Security is terminating Somalia’s Temporary Protected Status designation, effective March 17, 2026.
12. DHS Reduces Wait Times for Certain Religious Workers Abroad – The Department of Homeland Security has issued an interim final rule, effective immediately, to eliminate the one-year foreign residence requirement and allow thousands of religious workers in R-1 status, who previously were required to remain outside the United States before returning, to resume their essential services.
13. Harvard Hits High for Foreign Student Enrollment Despite Battles With Trump Administration – Harvard University’s international student enrollment hit a high of 6,749 students in the fall of 2025, which is nearly 28 percent of the total number of students studying at Harvard and is the highest recorded share since at least 2002. The increase is due at least partly to graduate student enrollment; undergraduate international student enrollment nationwide declined in the fall 2025 term.
14. DHS to Raise Premium Processing Fees – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is raising premium processing fees effective March 1, 2026.
15. DOL, DHS Announce Additional 35,000 Visas to Supplement FY 2026 H-2B Cap – The agencies said they will focus these additional H-2B visas on U.S. businesses with seasonal or temporary workforce needs in “critical infrastructure sectors of the U.S. economy, such as seafood, forestry, hospitality and tourism, transportation, and manufacturing.”
16. DOS Adds Countries Subject to Visa Bonds and Expands Ports of Entry – All visa holders who have posted a visa bond must enter and exit the United States through designated ports of entry.
17. DHS Launches Sweeping Fraud Investigation in Minnesota – Operation PARRIS is part of a broader strategy to implement enhanced screening standards, the Department of Homeland Security said. It appears that all refugee approvals from January 21, 2021, to February 20, 2025 (approximately 233,000 cases) will be reviewed.
New Publications and Items of Interest – New Publications and Items of Interest
ABIL Member / Firm News – ABIL Member / Firm News
Government Agency Links – Government Agency Links
Download:
ABIL Immigration Insider – February 2026
1. FY 2027 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens March 4
On January 30, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 H-1B cap will open at noon ET on March 4 and run through noon ET on March 19, 2026.
During that period, prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners and representatives must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary for the selection process and pay the associated $215 H-1B registration fee. H-1B petitioning employers who do not have a USCIS online account must create an organizational account. Representatives may add company clients to their accounts at any time, but both representatives and employers must wait until March 4 to enter beneficiary information and submit registrations and the $215 fee.
Selections will take place after the initial registration period closes. USCIS said it will send selection notifications by March 31, 2026, via users’ USCIS online accounts, to prospective petitioners and representatives who have at least one registration selected.
New for the FY 2027 Cap Season
The new H-1B selection process prioritizes allocating visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid workers. For the FY 2027 H-1B cap season, USCIS will conduct a weighted selection if it receives registrations for unique beneficiaries during the initial registration period that exceed the cap. If USCIS does not receive registrations for enough unique beneficiaries, it will select all registrations for unique beneficiaries that were properly submitted in the initial registration period.
Pursuant to the Presidential Proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, a petitioner whose registration is selected and who is otherwise eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition “may need to pay an additional $100,000 fee before filing the H-1B petition as a condition of eligibility,” USCIS noted.
Additional information on the electronic registration process is available on the H-1B Electronic Registration Process page. USCIS said it will update the page before the initial registration period.
2. DOL-DHS Temporary Rule Will Increase H-2B Visa Limit in FY 2026
The Departments of Labor (DOL) and Homeland Security (DHS) plan to publish a temporary rule on February 3, 2026, to exercise their time-limited Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 authority to issue up to an additional 64,716 H-2B visas for this fiscal year. The supplemental visas will be available only to U.S. businesses “that are suffering or will suffer impending irreparable harm, i.e., those facing permanent and severe financial loss, as attested by the employer,” an advance copy of the rule states. The supplemental visas “will be distributed in three allocations based on the petitioner’s start date of need through the end of the fiscal year”:
- 18,490 immediately available visas limited to returning workers, that is, those who were issued an H-2B visa or otherwise granted H-2B status in FYs 2023, 2024, or 2025, and who will be available for eligible employers with a need for workers to begin work between January 1, 2026, through March 31, 2026. Employers must file these petitions no later than 14 days after the second half of the statutory cap is reached;
- 27,736 visas, plus any unused visas from the first allocation, limited to returning workers, that is, those who were issued an H-2B visa or otherwise granted H-2B status in FYs 2023, 2024, or 2025, and who will be available for eligible employers with a need for workers to begin work between April 1, 2026, and April 30, 2026. Employers must file these petitions no earlier than 15 days after the second half of the statutory cap is reached; and
- 18,490 visas, plus any unused visas from the first or second allocations, for those who will be available for eligible employers with a need for workers to begin work between May 1, 2026, and September 30, 2026. These petitions are exempt from the returning worker requirement. Employers must file these petitions no earlier than 45 days after the second half of the statutory cap is reached.
DHS said that it will not accept any H-2B petitions under provisions related to the FY 2026 supplemental numerical allocations after September 15, 2026, and will not approve any such H 2B petitions after September 30, 2026. The rule is effective from January 30, 2026, through September 30, 2026, except for the requirements at 20 CFR 655.69, which are effective from January 30, 2026, through September 30, 2029. Under the document retention requirements at 20 CFR 655.69, petitioners must retain documents and records demonstrating compliance with this rule for three years from the date of the attestation, and must provide the documents and records at the request of DHS or DOL.
Comments on the temporary rule will be accepted for 60 days from publication and can be submitted via the method noted in the rule.
3. Ninth Circuit Rules That Secretary Noem Exceeded Her Authority With Respect to Venezuelan and Haitian TPS
On January 28, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her statutory authority in her vacatur and termination of Venezuela’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation and her partial vacatur of Haiti’s TPS designation. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s setting aside of the Venezuelan vacatur and termination, and the Haitian partial vacatur.
The Ninth Circuit noted that Secretary Noem vacated the prior administration’s extension of TPS for Venezuela through October 2, 2026, and terminated Venezuela’s TPS effective April 3, 2025. Secretary Noem also partially vacated the prior administration’s extension of Haiti’s TPS such that the designation would expire in August 2025 instead of February 2026. Among other things, the court noted that the plain text of the TPS statute provides that a TPS termination cannot be effective earlier than the expiration of the most recent previous extension.
The court said that Secretary Noem’s actions “have left hundreds of thousands of people in a constant state of fear that they will be deported, detained, separated from their families, and returned to a country in which they were subjected to violence or any other number of harms. The Secretary’s actions fundamentally contradict Congress’s statutory design, and her assertion of a raw, unchecked power to vacate a country’s TPS is irreconcilable with the plain language of the statute.”
In a concurrence, Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr., remarked on Secretary Noem’s “rushed and abnormal process” in vacating Venezuelan and Haitian TPS, leading to a “preordained outcome,” and underscored “why we must not permit government agencies to justify their actions with pretext, especially when that pretext is cloaking animus on the basis of race or national origin.” He said that “Secretary Noem’s vacatur actions would fail on the independent ground that they were arbitrary and capricious in contravention of the [Administrative Procedure Act], as even a cursory review of the record indicates that her decisions were both preordained and rooted in pretext.” Noting that public statements by President Trump and Secretary Noem were founded on “racist stereotyping based on country of origin,” he said, “This case presents one of the rare situations where the strong showing of bad faith needed to look beyond the administrative record is easily met.”
4. Trump Administration Launches ‘Gold Card’ Site
The Trump administration has launched its “Trump Gold Card” website. The site includes application information and questions and answers about the Trump Gold Card. It explains that for a $15,000 “processing fee” and, after background approval, a contribution of $1 million, an individual can “receive U.S. residency in record time.” The site includes information for individuals and businesses.
The site also includes information on the “Trump Platinum Card,” which it says is coming soon. The site says that foreign nationals can sign up now to secure their places on the waiting list. When launched, and upon receipt of a $15,000 “processing fee” and a $5 million contribution, “they will have the ability to spend up to 270 days in the United States without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income.”
5. WHD Releases Info on ‘Project Firewall’ Enforcement Initiative to Maximize Compliance with H-1B Visa Program
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently released an announcement and a flyer on “Project Firewall,” a WHD “enforcement initiative to protect highly skilled U.S. workers and maximize compliance with the H-1B visa program.”
The announcement notes that WHD prioritizes investigations where employers may be displacing U.S. workers, failing to recruit U.S. workers in good faith, giving preference to H-1B workers when qualified U.S. workers are available, retaliating against workers who raise concerns about employers’ noncompliance, or misrepresenting job duties, requirements, or working conditions.
The flyer includes the following reminders about legal protections for U.S. workers under the H-1B program.
All H-1B employers:
- MUST provide notice of the Labor Condition Application to relevant U.S. workers on or before the date of filing.
- MUST NOT intimidate, threaten, restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, or discriminate in any other manner against a U.S. worker or applicant who has exercised whistleblower rights under the program.
- MUST NOT employ an H-1B worker at a worksite where a strike/lockout in their occupational classification is in progress.
- MUST NOT employ H-1B workers in such a way that the working conditions (e.g., hours, shifts, vacation periods, and seniority-based preferences) of its similarly employed U.S. workers are adversely affected.
- MUST NOT undercut U.S. worker wages by paying H-1B workers less than an applicable collectively bargained wage, a statistically derived prevailing wage, or the wage it pays to U.S. workers with the same job and with similar experience and qualifications.
- MUST NOT undercut U.S. worker benefits by offering H-1B workers fewer benefits than U.S. workers.
H-1B dependent employers and willful violators who employ nonexempt H-1B workers:
- MUST take good faith steps to recruit U.S. workers for the offered job.
- MUST offer the job to an equally or better-qualified U.S. worker before hiring an H-1B worker.
- MUST NOT lay off or displace the U.S. worker from a job that is essentially equivalent to the job for which the H-1B worker is sought.
6. USCIS Releases Guidance on ‘Hold and Release’ Policies and Procedures
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released memoranda on “hold and release” policies and procedures for all pending asylum applications, USCIS benefit applications filed by individuals from “high-risk” countries, and Diversity Visa adjustment-of-status applications. The memoranda include:
- Hold and Release of All Pending Asylum Applications and All USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens From High-Risk Countries (PM-602-0194). This guidance outlines the adjudicative hold, procedural requirements, and processes for the re-review, interview, or re-interview of affected individuals. The memo specifies which cases are subject to the adjudicative hold, identifies exemptions, and outlines the factors to consider when assessing benefit eligibility during the re-review, interview, or re-interview of affected individuals. USCIS personnel are instructed to prioritize national security and public safety concerns and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations during the adjudication process.
- Hold and Release of Pending USCIS Adjustment of Status Applications Filed by Aliens Under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. This directive mandates that all persons with pending adjustment of status, ancillary benefits, and waiver applications meeting certain criteria undergo a thorough review process, including an interview for the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485) and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security, criminal, and related grounds of inadmissibility and deportation.
7. February Visa Bulletin Notes Expiration of ‘Certain Religious Workers’ Category
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for February 2026 notes that the Employment-Based Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category expired on January 30, 2026.
The bulletin states that the SR category is listed as “Unavailable” for all countries for February. If legislative action extends the category, “it is likely it will become available effective immediately. If extended, the category will be subject to the same dates for filing and final action dates as the other Employment Fourth Preference categories per applicable foreign state of chargeability,” the bulletin notes.
8. EOIR Raises Fees for Immigration-Related Filings
On January 21, 2026, the Department of Justice announced “inflationary adjustments” to immigration-related fees for filings with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) for Fiscal Year 2026.
The new fees are effective February 1, 2026. Any filing with an Immigration Court or the Board of Immigration Appeals postmarked on or after February 1, 2026, without the proper filing fee or an applicable request for fee waiver will be rejected.
As examples, the OBBBA fee for Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, will increase from $1,500 to $1,540 (with FY 2026 EOIR total fees of $2,980).
9. DHS Increases Self-Deportation ‘Exit Bonus’
On January 21, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has temporarily increased the “exit bonus” for self-deportation through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home app from $1,000 to $2,600, in addition to a free flight home.
DHS said that since January 2025, 2.2 million people have voluntarily self-deported and “tens of thousands” have used the CBP Home app. DHS noted that using the CBP Home app “also qualifies recipients for forgiveness of any civil fines or penalties for failing to depart the country.”
It is unclear how long the increase will be in effect. The announcement said it “may not last long.”
10. DOS Announces Temporary Pause on Certain Visas for Nationals of 75 Countries
On January 14, 2026, the Department of State (DOS) announced a temporary pause on the issuance of immigrant visas (green cards from overseas) for nationals of 75 countries, effective January 21, 2026. DOS said this pause is for the government to review how immigrant visa applicants are evaluated under the “public charge” rules. In announcing this review, the government has indicated it wants stricter standards to prevent new immigrants from receiving any public support.
This policy applies only to immigrant visas (green card processing through a U.S. embassy or consulate) for applicants who are:
- Nationals of one of the 75 countries identified by DOS, and
- Applying for an immigrant visa abroad (not adjustment of status in the United States).
The affected countries include Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
Applicants from these countries may attend their visa interviews, but their immigrant visas will not be issued for the time being, unless a limited exception applies. A dual national applying with a valid passport of a country that is not listed above is exempt from this pause. No immigrant visas have been revoked as part of this guidance.
11. DHS Terminates TPS Designation for Somalia
On January 13, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is terminating Somalia’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation, effective March 17, 2026.
DHS said it has automatically extended the validity of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) previously issued under the TPS designation of Somalia through March 17, 2026. As proof of continued work authorization through March 17, 2026, Somali TPS beneficiaries can show their EADs that have the notation A-12 or C-19 under Category and a “Card Expires” date of March 17, 2023, September 17, 2024, or March 17, 2026.
DHS said that Somali nationals who do not have a legal status other than TPS that would allow them to remain in the United States should use U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP Home mobile app to report their departure from the United States. The app includes a complimentary plane ticket, a $1,000 exit bonus, and “the opportunity for potential future legal immigration,” DHS said.
12. DHS Reduces Wait Times for Certain Religious Workers Abroad
On January 14, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has issued an interim final rule, effective immediately, to eliminate the one-year foreign residence requirement and allow thousands of religious workers in R-1 status, who had reached their maximum period of stay in the United States and were required to remain outside the United States before returning, to resume providing their services to “U.S. churches, mosques, synagogues, and other bona fide nonprofit religious organizations.”
DHS said the rule “significantly reduces this wait time, providing stability and minimizing disruptions for faith-based communities.” The agency said that the purpose of this change “is to promote stability and minimize disruptions to the vital services that R-1 religious workers provide to U.S. churches, mosques, synagogues, and other bona fide nonprofit religious organizations.”
The rule removes the requirement that R-1 religious workers reside outside the United States for one year when they reach the statutory five-year maximum period of stay. While R-1 religious workers are still required to depart the United States, the rule establishes that there is no longer a minimum period of time during which they must reside and be physically present outside the United States before seeking readmission in R-1 status.
13. Harvard Hits High for Foreign Student Enrollment Despite Battles With Trump Administration
According to reports, Harvard University’s international student enrollment hit a high of 6,749 students in the fall of 2025, which is nearly 28 percent of the total number of students studying at Harvard and is the highest recorded share since at least 2002. The increase is due at least partly to graduate student enrollment; undergraduate international student enrollment has been declining. This was despite the university’s battles with the Trump administration over funding cuts and vetting and admission of foreign students.
According to Bloomberg Law, foreign graduate student enrollment at U.S. universities declined by 1.4% in the fall 2025 term. The number of foreign students across the U.S. dropped by close to 5,000 even as the overall number of students grew by 1%, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Harvard’s share of students from India (545) dropped by about 31 percent in the fall of 2025. The largest group of international students at Harvard are Chinese.
14. DHS to Raise Premium Processing Fees
On January 9, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security announced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is raising premium processing fees effective March 1, 2026. Those submitting a request for premium processing postmarked on or after that date must include the new fee.
Please consult the new fee schedule below:
| Form | Previous Fee | New Fee |
| Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, H-2B or R-1 nonimmigrant status | $1,685 | $1,780 |
| Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, all other available Form I-129 classifications: E-1, E-2, E-3 | $2,805 | $2,965 |
| Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, employment-based classifications: E11, E12, E13 | $2,805 | $2,965 |
| Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, requesting: F-1, F-2 | $1,965 | $2,075 |
| Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, for certain eligible applications (OPT and STEM-OPT Classifications) | $1,685 | $1,780 |
15. DOL, DHS Announce Additional 35,000 Visas to Supplement FY 2026 H-2B Cap
The Departments of Labor (DOL) and Homeland Security (DHS) said they will make an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, on top of the congressionally mandated 66,000 H-2B visas that are available each fiscal year.
The agencies said they will focus these additional H-2B visas on U.S. businesses with seasonal or temporary workforce needs in “critical infrastructure sectors of the U.S. economy, such as seafood, forestry, hospitality and tourism, transportation, and manufacturing.” DOL and DHS said they plan to release these additional H-2B visas, including any eligibility criteria and filing requirements, “in the coming weeks through a temporary final rule published in the Federal Register.”
16. DOS Adds Countries Subject to Visa Bonds and Expands Ports of Entry
The Department of State (DOS) has identified nationals from a list of countries as needing visa bonds. Any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries, who is found otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 visa, must post a bond for either $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. The amount is determined at the time of the visa interview.
All visa holders who have posted a visa bond must enter and exit the United States through one of the designated ports of entry listed below. Failure to do so might lead to a denied entry or a departure that is not properly recorded, DOS said. The earliest date on which a visa holder who posted a visa bond may enter or exit at each port of entry is in parentheses. Additional designated ports of entry will be added on a rolling basis:
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) (August 20, 2025)
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) (August 20, 2025)
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) (August 20, 2025)
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) (January 1, 2026)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) (January 1, 2026)
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) (January 1, 2026)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) (January 1, 2026)
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) (January 1, 2026)
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) (January 1, 2026)
The applicant must also submit a Form I-352 with the Department of Homeland Security. Applicants must agree to the terms of the bond through the Department of the Treasury’s online payment platform Pay.gov. This requirement applies regardless of place of application, DOS said.
Applicants should submit Form I-352 to post a bond only after a consular officer directs them to do so. Applicants will receive a direct payment link through Pay.gov. They must not use any third-party website for posting the bond, according to DOS.
17. DHS Launches Sweeping Fraud Investigation in Minnesota
On January 9, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they have launched Operation PARRIS (Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening) in Minnesota, “a sweeping initiative reexamining thousands of refugee cases through new background checks and intensive verification of refugee claims.”
The initial focus is on Minnesota’s 5,600 refugees who have not yet received green cards. DHS said that USCIS’s newly established vetting center is leading Operation PARRIS, with adjudicators conducting background checks, reinterviews, and merit reviews of refugee claims.
Begun in mid-December and now referring cases to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Operation PARRIS is part of a broader strategy to implement enhanced screening standards, DHS said. It appears that all refugee approvals from January 21, 2021, to February 20, 2025 (approximately 233,000 cases) will be reviewed.
New Publications and Items of Interest
Know your rights. A number of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (English and Spanish), the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., the National Immigrant Justice Center, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Asian Law Caucus, have published resources highlighting immigrants’ and nonimmigrants’ rights in the United States and at ports of entry, including “know your rights” information and what documents they may want to carry when traveling inside the United States. ACLU of Northern California also released Know Your Rights: U.S. Airports and Ports of Entry.
E-Verify webinars: E-Verify has updated its calendar of webinars.
SAVE webinars: Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) has updated its calendar of webinars.
Immigration agency X (formerly Twitter) accounts:
- EOIR: @DOJ_EOIR
- ICE: @ICEgov
- Study in the States: @StudyinStates
- USCIS: @USCIS
Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers: ABIL is available on X (formerly Twitter): @ABILImmigration
ABIL Member / Firm News
Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP, has announced that four of its EB-5 attorneys have received recognition in the 2025 Top 25 issue of EB5 Investors Magazine: Ron Klasko, Anu Nair, Jessica DeNisi, and Alison Li. Mr. Klasko was recognized on the EB-5 All Stars list. Ms. Nair and Ms. DeNisi were recognized as Top Immigration Attorneys. Ms. Li was recognized on the Top 10 Rising Stars list. With offices in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, DC, the firm provides top-tier legal services to individuals, multinational corporations, small companies, universities, and hospitals.
Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP, has published several new client alerts: Temporary Pause on Certain Immigrant Visas Pending Public Charge Review and EEOC’s New Guidance Targeting Anti-American Bias: What Employers Should Know.
Charles Kuck, of Kuck Baxter, was interviewed by ABC News Australia on its program, Trump Administration Defends Killing Man in Minneapolis, Contradicting Videos.
Mr. Kuck was quoted by World in ICE Memo Argues for Home Searches Without Judicial Warrant. He said, “I am slack-jawed. It’s truly unbelievable. Prior to this, we saw ICE doing this, but we just assumed it was rogue agents. Now we know they’re being instructed to violate the Constitution.” Mr. Kuck added, “Our Constitution protects ‘people,’ it doesn’t [just] protect ‘citizens.’ Everybody that is in the United States, regardless of their immigration status, [is] protected by the basic rights of the Bill of Rights, which includes the right to be free of search and seizure without a judicial warrant.” Mr. Kuck noted that not every individual who has deportation orders is trying to flee justice. Often, individuals don’t even know that they have final orders calling for their removal, he said. “There are hundreds of thousands of people walking around the United States with removal orders that don’t know they have them. I see it every week at my practice, when someone comes in and I’m the one to inform them that they have a removal order.” Additionally, he said that there may be some legal relief available even after removal orders are issued. He also said, “We really haven’t seen the level of enforcement in Georgia that you’ve seen elsewhere around the United States. “But I have colleagues around the country that are actively putting together these complaints and moving forward.”
Cyrus Mehta has authored several new blog posts: No Dramatic Changes in Immigration Cases After Loper Bright, DOS Announces Temporary Pause on Certain Visas for Nationals of 75 Countries Based on Unfounded Concerns That They Will Seek Public Benefits, Police State for Noncitizens in the U.S.?, and Evisceration of the H-1B Program Through Executive Action.
Stephen Yale-Loehr, of Miller Mayer, LLP, co-authored an op-ed published in The Hill, Back to the Future: Trump’s Restrictions Echo the Immigration Act of 1924.
Government Agency Links
Follow these links to access current processing times of the USCIS Service Centers and the Department of State’s latest Visa Bulletin with the most recent cut-off dates for visa numbers:
USCIS case processing times online: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/
Department of State Visa Bulletin: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html
Back to Top