The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is implementing changes to the civics portion of the naturalization test. The new examination, designated the 2025 Naturalization Civics Test, is effective on September 18, 2025, and USCIS will begin administering [...]
While few, if any, of our clients and readers spent too much time planning and celebrating, October 1st is an important date as it marks the beginning of the new government fiscal year. The beginning of [...]
On September 19, 2025, the President issued a proclamation suspending the adjudication of H-1B petitions for individuals outside the United States and barring their entry into the U.S. unless the employer pays a $100,000 fee per [...]
The federal government has been shut down as of October 1, 2025. We are providing details on the immigration-related services that are impacted by the shutdown. The biggest impact for employment-immigration matters is disruption in DOL services via FLAG [...]
The U.S. State Department has released the October 2025 Visa Bulletin which is the first Visa Bulletin for the new fiscal year which starts on October 1. The headline in [...]
Effective as of September 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) requires all nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applicants to schedule their interview appointments at the U.S. Embassy [...]
Starting September 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) are narrowing the interview waiver policy and eligibility, effectively ending the interview waiver (aka “dropbox”) for the vast majority of visa applicants. This means that as of September 2, 2025, most U.S. [...]
For entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to build their companies in the United States, the E-2 investor visa is one of the most flexible and accessible pathways. Unlike other work visas tied to employer sponsorship, the E-2 visa allows foreign nationals to establish and direct their own business in the U.S. while maintaining significant [...]
Many of our readers recall that on December 18, 2024 USCIS released a final rule “Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers” (also see our analysis) which sought to “modernize” [...]
For artists, musicians, performers, designers, and other creative professionals, the O-1 visa is often the golden ticket to working in the United States. Known as the “extraordinary ability” visa, it allows talented individuals to pursue their craft in the U.S. while contributing to the country’s vibrant cultural landscape. But what many don’t realize is that [...]
