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 […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In recent weeks, the Trump administration has taken troubling immigration-related actions that draw the United States ever closer to becoming a police state. Most notably, on January 7, 2025, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a U.S. citizen who was observing an ICE raid. In a […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta The H-1B visa program has been eviscerated through the promulgation of a final rule that would prioritize the allocation of H-1B visas in the lottery to those who are higher skilled and higher paid and through executive action. Relatedly, President Trump issued an executive order that would impose a $100,000 fee […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta Upon President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, the immigration landscape got radically altered. Immigrants were no longer viewed as assets to the United States. Rather, they were treated as invaders taking away American jobs and engaging in crimes. The “alien invasion” needed to be eradicated, and in order to achieve […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* The Trump administration recently announced two new policies that create additional hurdles to lawful immigration. The first policy, announced on December 16, 2025, is an expansion of the earlier Presidential Proclamation which restricted the entry of nationals of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, […]
By Cyrus Mehta U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has posted a new form for the “Trump Gold Card” immigrant visa program, Form I-140G, Immigrant Petition for the Gold Card Program. The program requires a minimum “contribution” of $1 million along with a hefty application fee. Applicants may only file the form after they have […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On June 6, 2025, USCIS issued a policy alert stating that it would eliminate the automatic consideration of deferred action for Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs) who are not yet able to apply for adjustment of status due to visa unavailability. SIJ is a classification that provides a pathway […]
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 […]
