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 […]
The Board of Immigration Appeals in Matter of J-H-M-H held on October 7, 2025 that even if the parties in a case – the noncitizen respondent and the government – have stipulated to certain aspects of the case, Immigration Judges exercise independent judgment and are not required to accept party stipulations. In this case, the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The USCIS has issued an Implementation Plan to end birthright citizenship under Executive Order 14160, Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship. See 90 Fed. Reg. 8449 (2025) (E.O.). The E.O. provides that the following categories of individuals will no longer be considered to be born “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States […]
On June 27, 2025, in a case implicating President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on birthright citizenship, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision limiting federal courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions blocking EOs and broad national policies. It explained that in such cases, courts should normally only block federal policies for the individuals or organizations […]
On June 18, 2025, the Department of State resumed visa processing for new and returning students and exchange visitors (F, M, and J nonimmigrants) but announced enhanced social media and online presence screening and vetting procedures. All applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all […]
In the wake of a wave of dozens of lawsuits and emergency court orders following sudden revocations of the visas of foreign students and scholars and deletion of thousands of Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without notice or explanation, which have thrown foreign students’ lives […]
