President Trump signed two H-1B-related actions on September 18, 2026: a proclamation extending the $100,000 H-1B fee originally imposed in September 2025 for another 12 months, and a separate Executive Order directing agencies to weigh an employer's recent layoffs when reviewing its H-1B petitions. The fee extension takes effect at 12:01...
A significant expansion of the public charge ground of inadmissibility takes effect today, September 18, 2026, even as a coalition of states and cities is actively suing to stop it. Unless a court intervenes on short notice, the new rule applies to admission applications filed today and after, along with adjustment of...
Stay informed with NPZ & B Law Group’s latest U.S. and Canadian immigration newsletter, covering important developments affecting individuals, families, students, employers, and foreign workers. This edition includes updates on the Duration of Status litigation, public charge changes, immigrant visa processing, EB-5 medical RFEs, F-1 CPT guidance, Form I-864, the September Visa...
As employers turn to budgeting and headcount planning for 2027, there's a step worth adding to that process that doesn't usually make the list: a review of where your sponsored foreign national employees actually stand. This year alone has brought an unusual volume of change to employment-based immigration, and a number of...
A new temporary Canadian immigration policy gives eligible work permit holders more flexibility to pursue short-term education and training without obtaining a separate study permit. Under the measure, workers with a valid work permit may study in a qualifying program lasting up to six months, subject to important conditions involving permit validity,...
Identity fraud can create serious Canadian immigration consequences, including criminal inadmissibility and a separate finding of immigration misrepresentation. The outcome depends on the specific conduct, conviction, Canadian legal equivalent, and whether false identity information was used in an immigration application. Depending on the circumstances, criminal rehabilitation or a Temporary Resident Permit may...
There's a significant update to a rule we've been closely tracking: on September 14, 2026, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking DHS's rule ending Duration of Status for F, J, and I nonimmigrants — just one day before the rule was scheduled to take effect. The...
President Trump's push to limit birthright citizenship has taken a new shape. On August 6, 2026, roughly five weeks after his original 2025 order was struck down by the Supreme Court, the President signed two new executive orders that go after narrower slices of the same issue rather than...
EB-5 investors with a pending Form I-485 case should pay close attention to their mail over the next few weeks. USCIS has recently moved a substantial batch of pending EB-5-based adjustment of status filings out of the California Service Center and into the Texas Service Center, and applicants whose cases were part...
Major changes affecting F-1 international students and J-1 exchange visitors are set to take effect on September 15, 2026. The new rule replaces Duration of Status (D/S) with fixed periods of admission, introduces an “Admit Until Date,” reduces the F-1 grace period from 60 to 30 days, and creates new requirements for...
