By Cyrus Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* On January 14, 2026, the Department of State announced that, effective January 21, 2026, it was pausing immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries. The Department publicly justified the policy on the ground that applicants from those countries posed a heightened risk of using public benefits or becoming […]
By Cyrus Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* Starting September 18, 2026, DHS will significantly change how public charge determinations are made. The final rule rescinds the 2022 Biden-era public charge regulations at 8 C.F.R. §§ 212.20-212.23 and revises the public-charge-bond provisions at 8 C.F.R. § 103.6(c). For adjustment applicants, this means USCIS officers will no longer […]
By Cyrus Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* For years, many H-1B professionals treated a layoff as an immigration emergency and entrepreneurship as something they had to postpone. The January 17, 2025 H-1B modernization rule changes that somewhat. It gives H-1B workers a clearer path to move into a startup they own, not because USCIS created a […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Damira Zhanatova∗ In Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS, No. 26‑cv‑132‑JJM‑PAS, Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. held that USCIS’s Trump‑era “Travel Ban Countries” policies violated both the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). He found that the agency had thrown “the lives […]
By Cyrus D Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* As previously addressed here, on May 21, 2026, USCIS issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 (“memo”), announcing that filing an I-485 adjustment of status (AOS) application in the United States will be treated as an “extraordinary” form of relief and emphasizing that most individuals seeking permanent residence should instead complete […]
By Cyrus D Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* One of the most misunderstood areas of U.S. immigration law is the treatment of children born in the United States to foreign diplomats. Most people assume that anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically a U.S. citizen. In reality, the Fourteenth Amendment and federal regulations carve out a […]
By Cyrus D Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* Over the last few years, many U.S. employers sponsoring Indian-trained lawyers for permanent residence have begun seeing a new kind of I-140 Request for Evidence (RFE). The problem is not usually the lawyer’s experience, bar admission, or the substantive need for foreign law expertise. Instead, the RFE often […]
By Cyrus D Mehta and Damira Zhanatova* For many multinational employees, founders and senior executives, especially outside the United States, “employment” is not always a simple paycheck and payroll relationship. They may be compensated through their own entities, hold significant equity, or even draw no traditional salary. Yet U.S. immigration law still requires that an […]
