On July 17, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it has received enough H-1B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular cap and the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master's cap, for fiscal year 2027.
This closes the FY 2027 cap season. Employers...
DHS has issued a final rule rescinding the 2022 public charge regulation, restoring officers' ability to weigh a broader range of factors when deciding whether someone applying for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status is likely to become primarily dependent on government benefits. The change takes effect September 18, 2026, and...
CUSMA gets the spotlight, but Canada has signed 15 free trade agreements covering more than 50 countries, and several offer the same LMIA-exempt fast track for workers who hold neither American nor Mexican citizenship. CETA opens the door for European Union citizens — particularly independent contractors, engineers, and scientific consultants coming to...
While Canada has tightened many of its temporary work streams over the past year, one route remains wide open for skilled Americans and Mexicans: the CUSMA work permit, the successor to the old NAFTA framework. The biggest draw is that CUSMA applicants skip the Labour Market Impact Assessment entirely — no lengthy...
Effective June 26, 2026, Ontario retired all eight streams of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and replaced them with a single Workforce Priority Stream. The new system sorts applicants into three tracks: skilled workers in TEER 0–3 occupations with a permanent job offer, essential workers in TEER 4–5 roles, and a standalone...
Effective with the Department of Labor's 7/2026-6/2027 occupational data series, O*NET reclassified Computer Systems Analysts, SOC code 15-1211.00, from Job Zone 3 back to Job Zone 4. It sounds like a small administrative shift, but for employers sponsoring H-1B workers or filing PERM applications in this occupation, it changes the baseline USCIS...
The P visa category covers a narrower slice of talent than the O-1, but for internationally recognized athletes and performing groups, it's often the more practical fit. It doesn't require the very top-of-the-field standard that O-1 demands, and it comes with its own support-personnel and family categories built in. Here's where things...
Starting July 1, 2026, certain U.S. consulates are testing something new: a $750 fee that moves a B-1/B-2 visa applicant's interview up to within 10 business days. The pilot runs through December 31, 2026, and it's a direct response to visa interview backlogs that have stretched past a year at some posts,...
On July 2, 2026, DHS published a sweeping proposed rule that would, for the first time, turn the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 into actual regulations. Since RIA passed back in March 2022, USCIS has largely run the EB-5 program on policy guidance and informal practice rather than a finished...
The O visa category exists for one purpose: bringing people who are genuinely at the top of their field into the United States to keep doing that work, without forcing them through a lottery or a rigid degree requirement. Four letters get used together so often that people mix them up,...
