News
Immigration policy changes weekly. This is where our attorneys explain what changed, who it affects, and what to do.
Marriage Green Cards: How the Process Actually Runs
Two different routes with the same name, one inside the country and one through a consulate, plus the parts that decide which one you are on and how long you wait.
K-1 Fiancé Visa or Spousal Visa: Which Route Fits
The fiancé visa is not simply the faster option. What you gain in one stage you usually pay back in another, and the right answer depends on where you want to be when the waiting happens.
The Naturalization Interview: What Actually Happens
The civics questions are the part everyone studies and the part that fails fewest people. The application itself, and the years behind it, are what the interview is really about.
Work Visas: Which Category Fits Which Job
H-1B, L-1, TN, E-2, O-1 and the employment green card, described by what each one actually requires rather than by its letter.
Your First Immigration Court Hearing: What to Expect
The first hearing is short, procedural, and easy to underestimate. Missing it is the single most damaging thing a person in removal proceedings can do.
The One-Year Asylum Deadline, and Its Exceptions
Asylum applications are generally due within one year of arrival. The exceptions are real but narrow, and they have to be proved rather than asserted.
Temporary Protected Status: What It Does and Does Not Do
TPS stops removal and allows work while a country is designated. It is not a green card, it does not fix an unlawful entry by itself, and designations end.
Travel on Advance Parole Can Now Trigger the Re-Entry Bars
The Board of Immigration Appeals has overruled a rule immigrants relied on for fourteen years. Leaving the United States on advance parole is now a departure for the unlawful presence bars. If you have a pending green card case and unlawful presence in your past, talk to a lawyer before you travel.
U.S. Pauses Immigrant Visa Interviews Worldwide
The State Department paused immigrant visa interviews at embassies and consulates worldwide while consular officers are retrained on public charge screening. Who is affected, what to do if your interview was cancelled, and what it does not change.
DHS Ends “Duration of Status (D/S)” for F-1 & J-1 Students: What It Means
From 15 September 2026, F, J and I nonimmigrants are admitted for a fixed period instead of duration of status, extensions go to USCIS, and the departure grace period drops to 30 days. What students need to do.
Adjustment of Status Interviews Are Receiving More Detailed Review
A waiver that was approved for a temporary visa does not necessarily fix inadmissibility for a green card. A recent second-opinion case, and why old history resurfaces at the adjustment interview.
Federal Court Decision Could Help Move Long-Pending USCIS Cases Forward
A federal court struck down the USCIS policies that put benefit applications on hold. The government appealed, and in August 2026 the First Circuit paused only one piece of the ruling. Where that leaves a case that has been pending for months.
USCIS I-751 Receipt Notice Delays: Temporary Solution Available
USCIS has been slow to issue receipt notices for Form I-751, leaving conditional residents without proof of status. How clients have been getting an ADIT stamp instead, usually in about two weeks.
USCIS Increasing Scrutiny of Adjustment of Status Cases Following Visa Overstays
Adjustment of status after a visa overstay is getting a much closer look. Who can still adjust, what a well-prepared filing has to explain, and why leaving the country is rarely the fix people think it is.
USCIS's New Adjustment of Status Memo: The Interview Questions to Expect, and How to Answer Them
Officers are working from updated adjustment of status guidance. The questions to expect at the green card interview, and how to answer them truthfully without damaging your case.
USCIS's New Adjustment of Status Memo: Serious Policy Shift or Legal Overreach?
Is the May 2026 adjustment of status memo a real change in the law, or an agency stretching past what the statute allows? A look at where the line sits and why it matters for your case.
USCIS Just Issued New Guidance That Could Affect Green Card Cases Filed Inside the United States
A May 2026 USCIS memo calls adjustment of status an extraordinary discretionary benefit rather than an automatic right. What the memo says, what it does not change, and which cases feel it first.
Screening for “Anti-Americanism”: What Immigrants Need to Know
USCIS treats anti-American activity as an overwhelmingly negative factor when an application calls for discretion, and it now screens social media for it. What the guidance covers, what it does not, and what to do before you file.
The New Wave of NTAs: What to Know If Your Immigration Case Was Denied Years Ago
USCIS is issuing Notices to Appear on cases that were denied years ago, sometimes with no new filing from the applicant. What an NTA is, why an old denial can produce one now, and what to do the day it arrives.
Understanding the Lifetime Immigration Bar (INA §212(a)(9)(C)): What It Means and When It Applies
The permanent bar under INA 212(a)(9)(C) is the harshest provision in immigration law and the most often confused with the three and ten year bars. Who it applies to, how it is triggered, and the narrow ways around it.
Married and Want to Use Your Spouse's Family Name?
Changing your name after marriage is simple for citizens and complicated for immigrants, because several documents have to agree. How to line up your passport, your green card and your USCIS file, and when to do it.
Visa Bonds for Zambian Visitors: Now Permanent, Up to $20,000
The visa bond pilot that covered Zambian B-1/B-2 applicants is now a permanent program, and the maximum bond has risen from $15,000 to $20,000. What that means for visitors and the families sponsoring them.
The 2025 Naturalization Civics Test: What Changed and What It Means for Applicants
USCIS uses two civics tests, and which one you take depends on the date you filed Form N-400. The 2025 test asks 20 questions from a bank of 128. What changed, who takes which version, and how to prepare.
Parole in Place and Form I-131F: Where the Program Stands
A federal court vacated the Keeping Families Together parole process in November 2024. USCIS stopped adjudicating Form I-131F and stopped accepting new ones. What that means if you filed, and what routes remain.
Immigration news newsletter
FreeA plain-English note from our attorneys when a policy changes, and a short digest when it is quiet. No marketing.
Choose "Official updates" above to see announcements pulled straight from USCIS, the Federal Register, and CBP.
Get a notification on this device when we post a new policy alert. It appears the next time you open this site.