Following defeat in the Supreme Court in Trump v. Barbara on constitutional grounds of a presidential order limiting birthright citizenship, President Trump signed two new executive orders on August 6, 2026, to limit birthright citizenship for those he deems not to “fall within the rule of birthright citizenship announced by the Supreme Court”: Continuing to […]
By Cyrus D Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* The Supreme Court’s decision in Mullin v. Doe is a major setback for TPS holders and a deeply troubling signal about how the Court is willing to treat racialized immigration policy. By allowing the Trump administration to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Manjeeta Chowdhary * For many beneficiaries, approval of an O-1 petition by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) feels like the final hurdle has been cleared. After all, USCIS has already reviewed the petition and determined that the beneficiary qualifies for O-1 classification as an individual possessing extraordinary ability or […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Manjeeta Chowdhary In our previous blog, we discussed the decision of a district court in Nebraska in Mukherji v. Miller, which relied on Loper Bright principles to overturn an EB-1A denial based on USCIS’s use of the “final merits determination” framework. As explained in that post, the court questioned whether […]
By Cyrus Mehta, Damira Zhanatova and Kaitlyn Box On Monday, June 8, 2026, a Massachusetts federal judge delivered a major decision for employers who rely on the H‑1B program. In State of California et al. v. Markwayne Mullin et al., U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin ruled that President Donald Trump’s $100,000 payment requirement on […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Manjeeta Chowdhary * In visa categories such as EB-1 and O-1, evidence is the cornerstone of the petition. The USCIS Policy Manual identifies the types of evidence that may support O-1 and EB-1 petitions, underscoring that these classifications are fundamentally evidence-driven. In EB-1 cases, the central issue is whether the […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On April 1, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Trump v. Barbara, a case which raises a 14th Amendment challenge to President Trump’s executive order restring birthright citizenship. The executive order, which was discussed in detail in a prior blog, interprets the language “subject to the jurisdiction […]
In Mukherji v. Miller, a district court in Nebraska recently set aside the denial of a petition of extraordinary ability on the ground that the “final merits” determination was unlawful. Although the petitioner satisfied five out of the ten criteria for establishing extraordinary under 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3), when only three were needed to be satisfied, […]
In its June 28, 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court abolished the long-standing Chevron doctrine. Under this doctrine, courts were required to defer to the government agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, stated that “Chevron is overruled. Courts must exercise their independent judgment […]
On January 14, 2026, the Department of State (DOS) announced a temporary pause on the issuance of immigrant visas (green cards from overseas) for nationals of 75 countries, effective January 21, 2026. DOS said this pause is for the government to review how immigrant visa applicants are evaluated under the “public charge” rules. In announcing […]
