Entries by Cyrus Mehta

Trump’s Escalating Extreme Immigration Measures Towards Noncitizens in the Wake of the National Guard Member Shootings Will Not Make America Any Safer

In the wake of the tragic shooting of two National Guard members  on November 26, 2025, one of whom has succumbed, Trump uses her death as a pretext to go after millions  who had nothing to do with this attack. The alleged suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal,  was paroled into the US  from Afghanistan as part of […]

Navigating the Immigration Maze in an Age of Fear and Hope

Immigration is one of the most complex areas of the law—so complex that even seasoned lawyers struggle to keep pace with shifting rules, changing interpretations, and unpredictable outcomes. Yet despite this complexity, people continue to come. They come because the United States has long represented freedom, opportunity, and the promise of a better future. But […]

AC21 Trap for H-1B Workers Caught in the Green Card Backlogs and Who Have Changed Jobs

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Manjeeta Chowdhary* H-1B status is typically limited to six years in up to three-year increments. One statutory exception is § 104(c) of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) (8 CFR § 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(E)), which permits three-year extensions for workers with an approved I-140 petition while no immigrant visa […]

Trump’s Reshaping of the H-1B Visa in the Manner He Chooses is Further Demonstration of Authoritarianism

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On September 24, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) promulgated a new proposed rule to introduce a “weighted selection” system for H-1B cap-subject petitions. The new proposed system is aimed at favoring the “allocation of H-1B visas to higher skilled and higher paid aliens”. Pursuant to the […]

Poking Holes at the Poorly Drafted Proclamation Banning H-1B Workers through a $100,000 Fee

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* The Proclamation banning H-1B workers unless a $100,000 fee is paid is so blatantly unlawful that it rewrites parts of the INA. However, a successful challenge to the proclamation – after the Supreme Court upheld Trump’s travel ban for nationals of mainly Muslim countries under INA 221(f) in Trump v. Hawaii […]

Trump Resorts to Heightened Good Moral Character Standard and Anti-Americanism to Deny Citizenship and Immigration Benefits 

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* The Trump Administration has been creatively finding ways to put obstacles in the path of people applying for US citizenship and other immigration benefits. In this latest obstacle, broad and amorphous terms such as “anti-Americanism” and “good moral character” have been deployed as ways to evaluate, and perhaps […]

Resolving Conflicts of Interest When an H-1B Worker is Terminated

The recent trend of issuing  a Notice to Appear (NTA) to terminated H-1B workers – even within their 60-day grace period – has created new ethical challenges for immigration attorneys who often represent both employer and employee.[1] The NTA is the document that begins removal proceedings. The removal proceeding against the H-1B worker is initiated […]