In August 2026, the State Department told U.S. embassies and consulates to stop holding immigrant visa interviews while consular officers were trained on public charge rules. At the time, an official suggested the pause would be over by mid-September. As of early November, many posts still have not resumed interviews, and the...
A federal lawsuit filed on October 5, 2026 asks a court to set aside two USCIS policies that have made green card applications filed inside the United States harder to win. The suit is titled American Association of University Professors v. Mullin and carries docket number 1:26-cv-14527 in federal court in Massachusetts....
Form I-9 enforcement has picked up. An October 2026 report from an HR compliance firm says ICE Notices of Inspection have risen by as much as tenfold since early 2025. That figure comes from a private report, not from ICE data, but the direction is consistent with what employers are reporting. At...
The Department of Labor's proposed rule to modernize the PERM labor certification program has cleared White House review. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs concluded its review on October 23, 2026, finding the proposal consistent with change. The rule, titled "Modernizing the Labor Market Test and Improving Protections for U.S....
If you have applied for an extension of stay (EOS) or change of status (COS), you may wonder what happens if your current nonimmigrant status expires before USCIS makes a decision.
Understanding the difference between lawful immigration status and a period of authorized stay is important, especially before making...
Costumes are fine on October 31. On an immigration application, a disguise of any kind can be costly. A forged bank statement, a borrowed job letter, or a quietly missing refusal can lead to a misrepresentation finding, and that finding can follow an applicant for years. Here is how Canada treats false...
Stay informed with the November 2026 Immigration Newsletter from Nachman, Phulwani, Zimovcak & Batra Law Group, P.C.
This edition covers important U.S. and Canadian immigration developments, including the November Visa Bulletin, proposed changes to USCIS deference policies, H-1B extensions, F-1 OPT and CPT developments, visa refusals, and Canadian work...
H-1B status is generally limited to six years. Many workers reach that point while a green card case is still moving through the Department of Labor or USCIS, and a delay at the PERM stage, such as the October 2026 suspension of eight large employers from the program, makes the question more...
The U.S. Department of State has released the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, and it brings significant forward movement across several employment-based categories. After October's mixed picture — which included a retrogression in EB-2 All Chargeability Areas — November offers welcome relief for many applicants, particularly those in EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3. Below...
Employers that want to bring a foreign national to Canada usually think first of the Labour Market Impact Assessment, or LMIA. Canada also has a second route, the International Mobility Program (IMP), that lets an employer hire certain workers without one. It is a common choice for companies moving staff across borders,...
