USCIS has officially released Form I-140G, the immigrant petition for the new Gold Card Program established by Executive Order 14351. The form and instructions provide the first complete look at eligibility criteria, financial requirements, and extensive due-diligence obligations that applicants must satisfy. While public attention has focused on the program’s financial gift thresholds, the...
USCIS has announced a significant shift in its security and vetting procedures following Presidential Proclamation 10949 and recent national-security incidents. These changes include broad adjudication holds, mandatory interviews, and a comprehensive re-review of pending and previously approved cases involving nationals of 19 “high-risk countries.” The new requirements are outlined in USCIS...
From Reactive to Proactive Enforcement On September 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced Project Firewall, a new enforcement initiative under which the agency will actively investigate employers for compliance with H-1B program requirements. Historically, H-1B investigations were generally reactive — meaning the DOL typically opened reviews only after a worker filed a...
On September 21, 2025, a presidential proclamation introduced a $100,000 supplemental payment requirement for certain new H-1B filings and restricted entry for some H-1B nonimmigrants. USCIS has now issued guidance clarifying how the rule applies in practice. Below is a summary focusing on which H-1B cases are affected and which are not. What the Rule Covers (Impacted H-1B Filings) New petitions...
As of September 2025, PERM Labor Certification processing continues to show modest improvement. Employers and foreign workers should still prepare for a multi-stage timeline—but signs point to sub-15-month adjudication times returning soon, based on both Department of Labor (DOL) disclosures and real-world tracking from our clients. Current PERM Processing According to DOL’s official...
We’re continuing to see surprisingly fast processing times for family-based adjustment of status applications—at least from the Baltimore Field Office. On May 8, 2025, we shared that I-130/I-485 packages filed in March 2025 for the parents of a U.S. citizen had already been scheduled for an interview. At the time, this seemed like a rare acceleration. But the pattern has since continued. As...
Our office has observed a trend in H-1B petition adjudications: USCIS is issuing Requests for Evidence (RFEs) that vaguely reference “adverse information” related to the foreign national employee—without specifying what that information is. In several recent cases, these RFEs have included standard requests such as updated addresses or other basic documentation. At the same time, USCIS has...
1. Immigration Policy Can Change Suddenly In today’s climate, USCIS policies and reviewing standards are anything but stable. What’s acceptable today may face more scrutiny tomorrow. Delaying your filing now might mean facing a very different and potentially more difficult adjudication environment down the road. 2. You May Miss Out on Work Authorization—and Travel Flexibility If you are...
As we enter 2025, we continue to track processing times for H-1B petitions filed under regular (non-premium) processing. While wait times remain a significant factor for employers and employees, recent sample cases handled by our firm show a general range of 5 to 10 months, depending on the service center. H-4s filed together with H-1Bs often process concurrently – When H-4 dependent...
In December 2024, USCIS published new rules introducing significant changes to Employment Authorization Document (EAD) extensions and the H-1B program. These updates aim to address processing delays and improve continuity for impacted workers and their employers. Key Changes to EAD Extension Periods The automatic extension period for certain EADs has been permanently increased from 180 days to...
