Headlines:
FY 2026 H-1B Preliminary Registration Choice Course of Accomplished – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers has acquired sufficient digital registrations for distinctive beneficiaries throughout the preliminary registration interval to achieve the fiscal yr 2026 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), together with the superior diploma exemption (grasp’s cap).
USCIS Publicizes Work Allow Procedures for Sure Hong Kong Residents Coated by Deferred Enforced Departure – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers introduced procedures for sure Hong Kong residents lined by Deferred Enforced Departure to use for Employment Authorization Paperwork legitimate by way of February 5, 2027.
E-Confirm Makes ‘Minor Adjustments’ to Kind I-9 – E-Confirm introduced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers has made “minor” modifications to Kind I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to align with statutory language, and the Division of Homeland Safety Privateness Discover has been up to date.
Venezuela TPS Stays in Impact Following Courtroom Order – Short-term Protected Standing for Venezuela will stay in impact and the validity of labor permits issued below the Venezuela TPS designations is prolonged by way of April 2, 2026, “pending additional litigation.”
USCIS Updates Coverage to Acknowledge Solely Two Sexes: Male and Feminine – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers mentioned that “if a profit requestor doesn’t point out his or her intercourse or signifies a intercourse completely different from the intercourse on his or her start certificates issued on the time of start (or issued nearest to the time of start), there could also be delays in adjudication.”
Agency within the Information
Particulars:
FY 2026 H-1B Preliminary Registration Choice Course of Accomplished
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers (USCIS) introduced on March 31, 2025, that it has acquired sufficient digital registrations for distinctive beneficiaries throughout the preliminary registration interval to achieve the fiscal yr (FY) 2026 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), together with the superior diploma exemption (grasp’s cap). USCIS mentioned it has notified all potential petitioners with chosen beneficiaries that they’re eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for these beneficiaries.
An H-1B cap-subject petition should be correctly filed on the right submitting location or on-line at my.uscis.gov and inside the submitting interval indicated on the related choice discover, USCIS defined. Petitioners should embody a duplicate of the relevant choice discover with the FY 2026 H-1B cap-subject petition. Petitioners should additionally submit proof of the beneficiary’s legitimate passport or journey doc used on the time of registration to determine the beneficiary.
USCIS Publicizes Work Allow Procedures for Sure Hong Kong Residents Coated by Deferred Enforced Departure
On April 3, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers (USCIS) introduced a Federal Register discover establishing procedures for sure Hong Kong residents lined by Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to use for Employment Authorization Paperwork (EADs) that will probably be legitimate by way of February 5, 2027.
The discover robotically extends by way of February 5, 2027, the validity of present Hong Kong DED-related EADs with an expiration date of February 5, 2023, or February 5, 2025, and a Class Code of A11. Staff could current this EAD as proof of identification and employment authorization for functions of Kind I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
USCIS defined that since DED “is a directive to defer elimination of a person, moderately than a selected immigration standing like Short-term Protected Standing, there is no such thing as a DED software kind required for a person to be lined by DED. If a person lined by DED desires to use for an EAD, they need to file Kind I-765. Equally, if a person lined by DED desires to use for advance journey authorization, they need to file Kind I-131.”
E-Confirm Makes ‘Minor Adjustments’ to Kind I-9
On April 2, 2025, E-Confirm introduced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers has made “minor” modifications to Kind I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to align with statutory language, and the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) Privateness Discover has been up to date. The revised Kind I-9 with an version date of 01/20/25 and an expiration date of 05/31/2027 is accessible for obtain. A number of earlier editions stay legitimate till their respective expiration dates:
- Kind I-9 (08/01/23 version) is legitimate till 05/31/2027
- Kind I-9 (08/01/23 version) that’s legitimate till 07/31/2026 (employers utilizing this manner should replace their digital methods with the 05/31/2027 expiration date by July 31, 2026)
Key updates embody:
- Renaming the fourth checkbox in Part 1 to “An alien licensed to work” from “A noncitizen licensed to work”
- Revising the descriptions of two Listing B paperwork within the Lists of Acceptable Paperwork
- Including statutory language and a revised DHS Privateness Discover to the directions
E-Confirm mentioned that employers ought to notice:
- If an worker attests on Kind I-9 as “A noncitizen licensed to work,” the employer should choose “An alien licensed to work” in E-Confirm.
- E-Confirm circumstances will show “An alien licensed to work,” whereas workers and employers could proceed to see “A noncitizen licensed to work” on Kind I-9, relying on the shape version getting used.
- E-Confirm+ members will see the up to date 01/20/25 version date and 05/31/2027 expiration date mirrored in Kind I-9NG.
Venezuela TPS Stays in Impact Following Courtroom Order
On April 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers (USCIS) introduced that Short-term Protected Standing (TPS) will stay in impact following a court docket order. On March 31, 2025, america District Courtroom for the Northern District of California ordered postponement of the vacatur, revealed February 3, 2025, and of the termination, revealed February 5, 2025, of the 2023 TPS designation for Venezuela.
In mild of the order, USCIS mentioned that TPS for Venezuela will stay in impact till the Division of Homeland Safety “obtains reduction from that order.” Additional, the validity of labor permits with an expiration date of September 10, 2025; April 2, 2025; March 10, 2024; or September 9, 2022, issued below the Venezuela TPS designations is equally prolonged by way of April 2, 2026, “pending additional litigation.”
USCIS mentioned that employers ought to check with the TPS webpage usually for updates.
USCIS Updates Coverage to Acknowledge Solely Two Sexes: Male and Feminine
On April 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers (USCIS) introduced that below a Trump administration govt order, it has up to date the USCIS Coverage Guide to state that it solely acknowledges two organic sexes: female and male.
Beneath this steerage, USCIS considers an individual’s intercourse as “that which is mostly evidenced on the start certificates issued at or nearest to the time of start. If the start certificates issued at or nearest to the time of start signifies a intercourse apart from male or feminine, USCIS will base the willpower of intercourse on secondary proof.”
USCIS mentioned it is not going to deny advantages solely as a result of the profit requestor “didn’t correctly point out his or her intercourse.” Nonetheless, USCIS famous that it “doesn’t challenge paperwork with a clean intercourse area,” so “if a profit requestor doesn’t point out his or her intercourse or signifies a intercourse completely different from the intercourse on his or her start certificates issued on the time of start (or issued nearest to the time of start), there could also be delays in adjudication.”
USCIS mentioned it “could present discover to profit requestors if it points a USCIS doc reflecting a intercourse completely different than that indicated by the profit requestor on the request.”
This steerage applies to profit requests pending or filed on or after April 2, 2025, USCIS mentioned, including that the steerage within the Coverage Guide “is controlling and supersedes any associated prior steerage.”
Agency within the Information
Cyrus Mehta was quoted by Forbes in Trump Immigration Insurance policies Enhance Peril for Worldwide College students. He mentioned, “Even when the visa is revoked and the F-1 standing has been terminated in SEVIS, a international pupil can nonetheless proceed to review and, if positioned in deportation proceedings, ought to problem the deportation earlier than an immigration decide. If elimination proceedings haven’t commenced, I feel a pupil also can problem the discover that they’ve been terminated in SEVIS in federal district court docket by way of the Administrative Process Act on the grounds that the motion was arbitrary, capricious and the scholar was not given any warning or discover to reply.” Mr. Mehta mentioned he believes that if a pupil is positioned in elimination, the scholar could possibly “problem on First Modification grounds, however the pupil might have to do that on the Courtroom of Appeals stage since an immigration decide and the Board of Immigration Appeals could rubber-stamp Rubio’s willpower.”
Mr. Mehta was quoted by Bloomberg Legislation in Trump Tempts Fits in Shutting Public Out of Immigration Guidelines. He mentioned that there’s “loads of case regulation” to assist arguments that Administrative Process Act guidelines ought to proceed to use to immigration and border-related rules.
Mr. Mehta was interviewed by Dainik Bhaskar in It Is Not Essential to Go away the U.S. Even If a Visa Is Revoked [in Hindi with Google Translate available]. He mentioned that america’ revoking of some F-1 pupil visas for protesting “is a silly resolution on the a part of the Trump administration. Beneath the Structure within the U.S., everybody has the precise to freedom of expression and peaceable protest.” He mentioned that below the regulation, a pupil can’t be forcibly deported earlier than going by way of a authorized course of and if a pupil receives an e mail asking them to self-deport, they will problem that call in a federal court docket.
