Headlines:
FY 2026 H-1B Cap Preliminary Registration Interval Opens March 7 – The preliminary registration interval for the fiscal 12 months 2026 H-1B cap season will open at midday ET on March 7, 2025, and run via midday ET on March 24, 2025.
DHS Terminates 2023 However Not 2021 Venezuela TPS Designation – The Division of Homeland Safety introduced the termination of the Momentary Protected Standing (TPS) designation for Venezuela, efficient April 7, 2025, for Venezuelan nationals lined by a 2023 designation. The willpower doesn’t apply to the 2021 designation of Venezuela for TPS, which stays in impact till September 10, 2025.
President Trump Requires Resettlement of White South Africans in america – An government order directs the Secretaries of State and Homeland Safety to “prioritize humanitarian aid, together with admission and resettlement via america Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners in South Africa who’re victims of unjust racial discrimination.”
EOIR Rescinds 2023 Memo on Language Entry in Immigration Court docket – The Govt Workplace for Immigration Assessment rescinded a 2023 EOIR memorandum on language entry in immigration courtroom.
EOIR Re-establishes Anti-Fraud Program – The Govt Workplace for Immigration Assessment introduced a renewed anti-fraud emphasis.
DOS Suspends Comply with-to-Be part of Refugee Processing – Processing of all refugee functions beneath the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is suspended, together with following-to-join refugee journey eligibility determinations performed at consular posts and embassies abroad.
USCIS Pauses Acceptance of Declaration of Monetary Assist – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers is pausing acceptance of Type I-134A, On-line Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Monetary Assist, till it evaluations “all categorical parole processes” as required by an government order.
Particulars:
FY 2026 H-1B Cap Preliminary Registration Interval Opens March 7
On February 5, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers (USCIS) introduced that the preliminary registration interval for the fiscal 12 months 2026 H-1B cap season will open at midday ET on March 7, 2025, and run via midday ET on March 24, 2025. Throughout this era, potential petitioners and representatives should use a USCIS on-line account to register every beneficiary electronically for the choice course of and pay the related $215 registration payment.
Under are highlights of the USCIS announcement:
- H-1B petitioning employers who don’t have a USCIS on-line account should create an organizational account. Present accounts for H-1B petitioning employers who had an H-1B registrant account for the FY 2021–2024 H-1B registration seasons, however didn’t use the account for FY 2025, will probably be transformed to an organizational account after their subsequent log-in. First-time registrants can create an account at any time. Further data is out there on the Organizational Accounts Ceaselessly Requested Questions USCIS stated that the FAQs will probably be up to date with FY 2026 data “earlier than the beginning of the preliminary registration interval.”
- USCIS will use the beneficiary-centric choice course of launched in FY 2025. Underneath that course of, registrations are chosen by distinctive beneficiary fairly than by registration. USCIS stated, “If we obtain registrations for sufficient distinctive beneficiaries by March 24, we are going to randomly choose distinctive beneficiaries and ship choice notifications through customers’ USCIS on-line accounts. If we don’t obtain registrations for sufficient distinctive beneficiaries, all registrations for distinctive beneficiaries that have been correctly submitted within the preliminary registration interval will probably be chosen. We intend to inform by March 31 potential petitioners and representatives whose accounts have a minimum of one registration chosen.”
- The Division of the Treasury has accepted a short lived enhance within the day by day bank card transaction restrict from $24,999.99 to $99,999.99 per day for the FY 2026 H-1B cap season “in response to the amount of earlier H-1B registrations that exceeded the day by day bank card restrict.” Transactions of greater than $99,999.99 could also be made through Automated Clearing Home (ACH).
USCIS additionally stated that for FY 2026, it’s making “a number of enhancements” for organizational and consultant accounts for H-1B submitting, to go stay earlier than the beginning of the preliminary registration interval, together with:
- The power for paralegals to work with a couple of authorized consultant;
- A neater method for authorized representatives so as to add paralegals to firm shoppers;
- Pre-population of sure Type I-129 fields from chosen H-1B registrations; and
- The power to arrange a spreadsheet of H-1B beneficiary knowledge and add the knowledge to pre-populate knowledge in H-1B registrations.
DHS Terminates 2023 However Not 2021 Venezuela TPS Designation
On October 3, 2023, Venezuela was newly designated for Momentary Protected Standing (TPS), which was set to run out on April 2, 2025. On February 5, 2025, the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) introduced the termination of the TPS designation for Venezuela, efficient April 7, 2025, for Venezuelan nationals lined by the 2023 designation.
DHS stated that this willpower doesn’t apply to the 2021 designation of Venezuela for TPS, which stays in impact till September 10, 2025, or to people who’re registered for TPS beneath the 2021 designation. A lawsuit difficult DHS’s termination of the 2023 Venezuela TPS designation is predicted shortly.
President Trump Requires Resettlement of White South Africans in america
On February 7, 2025, President Trump signed an government order (EO) to halt overseas support to South Africa and “promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, together with racially discriminatory property confiscation.” The EO directs the Secretaries of State and Homeland Safety to “prioritize humanitarian aid, together with admission and resettlement via america Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners in South Africa who’re victims of unjust racial discrimination.”
Teams representing some Afrikaners, who’re members of South Africa’s white minority who communicate Afrikaans and are descended from predominantly Dutch settlers in addition to French, German, and others, stated they need to keep in South Africa. Kallie Kriel, CEO of the AfriForum, an Afrikaner lobbying group, stated, “We’ve got to state categorically: We don’t need to transfer elsewhere.” Non-Afrikaner white South Africans, who weren’t referred to within the EO, are of British descent or from different backgrounds.
EOIR Rescinds 2023 Memo on Language Entry in Immigration Court docket
On February 6, 2025, Sirce Owen, Appearing Director of the Division of Justice’s Govt Workplace for Immigration Assessment (EOIR), issued a memorandum rescinding an EOIR memorandum dated June 6, 2023, Language Entry in Immigration Court docket (DM 23-02), which offered steering to immigration judges (IJs) on how to make sure that each noncitizen who seems earlier than an immigration courtroom has a “full and honest alternative to current their case,” together with being supplied with interpretation and translation into the noncitizen’s most well-liked language.
Amongst different issues, the 2023 memorandum directed IJs to familiarize themselves with assets obtainable to noncitizens at detention services; for instance, language help providers on the facility’s library. The 2025 memorandum stated that the job of an IJ “is to not function a roving inspector of detention facility libraries operated by the Division of Homeland Safety, and directing [IJs] to have interaction in extrajudicial factfinding about such libraries was grossly improper.”
The 2025 memorandum states that EOIR “acknowledges the significance of language entry and interpretive providers” for these showing in its proceedings and “is dedicated to offering skilled interpretive providers in all acceptable instances.”
EOIR Re-establishes Anti-Fraud Program
On February 5, 2025, Sirce Owen, Appearing Director of the Division of Justice’s Govt Workplace for Immigration Assessment (EOIR), introduced a renewed anti-fraud emphasis. The memo states that EOIR “is dedicated to re-establishing a sturdy and efficient Anti-Fraud Program” that can:
- Present assets to workers on determine and report cases of suspected fraud (notably asylum fraud);
- Coordinate with investigative authorities to answer cases of fraud; and
- Notify acceptable authorities of cases of fraud, misrepresentation, or abuse involving attorneys or accredited representatives.
DOS Suspends Comply with-to-Be part of Refugee Processing
On February 7, 2025, the Division of State (DOS) introduced that pursuant to an government order, processing of all refugee functions beneath the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is suspended, together with following-to-join refugee (FTJ-R) journey eligibility determinations performed at consular posts and embassies abroad. DOS stated that “FTJ-R beneficiaries whose instances are already at a U.S. embassy or consulate ought to contact that embassy or consulate on to inquire in regards to the standing of their journey eligibility interviews and for directions on passport retrieval in the event that they haven’t already obtained such steering.” FTJ-R beneficiaries whose instances are on the Nationwide Visa Middle (NVC) ought to contact NVC utilizing the Public Inquiry Type.
DOS stated that FTJ-R beneficiaries in possession of unexpired boarding foils ought to direct questions on entry into america to U.S. Customs and Border Safety.
USCIS Pauses Acceptance of Declaration of Monetary Assist
On January 28, 2025, USCIS introduced, “As a result of Jan. 20, 2025 Govt Order, Securing Our Borders, USCIS is pausing acceptance of Type I-134A, On-line Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Monetary Assist, till we evaluation all categorical parole processes as required by that order.”
