Headlines:
DOS Ultimate Rule Amends Range Visa Program Documentation Necessities – The brand new amendments require a DV petitioner to offer legitimate, unexpired passport info and to add a scan of the biographic and signature web page within the digital entry type or to in any other case point out that the applicant is exempt.
USCIS Updates Steering on Automated Extensions of Work Authorization for TPS Beneficiaries – USCIS mentioned that if a TPS beneficiary presents a TPS-based Employment Authorization Doc (EAD) and well timed filed a renewal utility that was pending on or filed after July 22, 2025, however earlier than October 30, 2025, their automated extension is restricted to 1 yr or the length of TPS, whichever is shorter.
SAVE Releases Updates on TPS for A number of International locations – In response to latest court docket orders, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies’ Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program and E-Confirm launched updates on Non permanent Protected Standing for Burma, Ethiopia, Haiti, South Sudan, and Syria.
International Entry Program Restarted Amid Partial DHS Shutdown – The International Entry Program, which the Trump administration had paused amid a partial Division of Homeland Safety shutdown because of a lapse in funding, was reactivated on March 11, 2026.
Particulars:
DOS Ultimate Rule Amends Range Visa Program Documentation Necessities
On March 11, 2026, the Division of State (DOS) printed a closing rule amending laws governing the Range Visa (DV) program.
The brand new amendments require a DV petitioner to offer legitimate, unexpired passport info and to add a scan of the biographic and signature web page within the digital entry type or to in any other case point out that the applicant is exempt from this requirement.
Moreover, the Division is standardizing and amending its laws so as to add the phrase “shall” to simplify steering for consular officers; guarantee the usage of the time period “intercourse” in lieu of “gender”; and substitute the time period “age” within the DV laws with the phrase “date of start.”
DOS famous that it has traditionally encountered tens of millions of fraudulent DV program entries, together with entries submitted by third events, a few of them prison enterprises, on behalf of people with out their data or consent. In DV-2025, for instance, DOS found 2.5 million fraudulent entries. “Unauthorized third events usually contact these people, inform them of the chance to use for a variety immigrant visa (‘‘DV’’), and withhold the entry info except the person pays a big charge or agrees to take part in fraudulent actions. Upon submitting an entry, an entrant receives a novel affirmation quantity, with out which it’s inconceivable to verify whether or not the entrant was chosen to proceed the DV course of,” DOS famous. The company advises entrants to retain the affirmation quantity and notes that DOS “won’t substitute or present it sooner or later.”
USCIS Updates Steering on Automated Extensions of Work Authorization for TPS Beneficiaries
On March 13, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies (USCIS) up to date its steering on automated extensions of labor authorization for Non permanent Protected Standing (TPS) beneficiaries.
Particularly, USCIS mentioned that if a TPS beneficiary presents a TPS-based Employment Authorization Doc (EAD) and well timed filed a renewal utility that was pending on or filed after July 22, 2025, however earlier than October 30, 2025, their automated extension is restricted by H.R. 1 (the One Massive Stunning Invoice Act) to 1 yr or the length of TPS, whichever is shorter. They don’t seem to be eligible for an up-to-540-day extension, even whether it is listed on their EAD renewal receipt discover.
USCIS famous that if the Type I-797C receipt discover has a “Acquired Date” of July 21, 2025, or earlier, the up-to-540-day automated extension applies; nonetheless, any a part of this extension that falls after July 22, 2025, can’t last more than one yr from this date or at some point of the TPS designation interval, whichever is shorter.
SAVE Releases Updates on TPS for A number of International locations
In response to latest court docket orders, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies’ (USCIS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program and E-Confirm launched updates on Non permanent Protected Standing (TPS) for a number of international locations:
- Following a court docket order in Aung DOE v. Noem, the termination of TPS for Burma, which had been set for January 26, 2026, is stayed and beneficiaries’ standing and work authorization (classes A12 and C19) have been prolonged, in response to a SAVE announcement issued on March 12, 2026. As a result of this case is in “energetic litigation,” USCIS suggested checking the TPS Burma web page for any updates.
E-Confirm mentioned that the validity of Employment Authorization Paperwork (EADs) issued underneath the TPS designation of Burma with an authentic expiration date of November 25, 2025, Might 25, 2024, or November 25, 2022, can also be prolonged. E-Confirm mentioned that when finishing the Expiration Date (if any) fields on Type I-9, employers ought to enter “as per court docket order” in Part 1 and “March 15, 2026” in Part 2 together with a observe within the further info field. Employers could obtain the Alert and TPS Burma webpages and fix them to Type I-9. When finishing a case in E-Confirm for these beneficiaries, the employer ought to enter the expiration date of “March 15, 2026” from the I-9.
- Following a court docket order in African Communities Collectively v. Noem, the termination of TPS for Ethiopia, which had been set for February 13, 2026, is stayed and beneficiaries’ standing and work authorization (classes A12 and C19) have been prolonged, in response to a SAVE announcement issued on March 12, 2026. As a result of this case is in “energetic litigation,” USCIS suggested checking the TPS Ethiopia web page for any updates.
E-Confirm mentioned that when finishing the Expiration Date (if any) fields on Type I-9, employers ought to enter “as per court docket order” in Part 1 and “April 8, 2026” in Part 2 together with a observe within the further info field. Employers could obtain the Alert and TPS Ethiopia webpages and fix them to Type I-9. When finishing a case in E-Confirm for these beneficiaries, the employer ought to enter the expiration date of “April 8, 2026” from the I-9.
- Following a court docket order in Miot v. Trump, the termination of TPS for Haiti, which had been set for February 3, 2026, is stayed and beneficiaries’ standing and work authorization (classes A12 and C19) have been prolonged. USCIS famous that the brand new steering on this extension, launched on March 13, 2026, supersedes SAVE’s earlier message posted on February 14, 2026, relating to termination of Haiti TPS. As a result of this case is in “energetic litigation,” USCIS suggested checking the TPS Haiti web page for any updates.
E-Confirm mentioned that when finishing the Expiration Date (if any) fields on Type I-9, employers ought to enter “as per court docket order” in Part 1 and “March 15, 2026” in Part 2 together with a observe within the further info field. Employers could obtain the Alert and TPS Haiti webpages and fix them to Type I-9. When finishing a case in E-Confirm for these beneficiaries, the employer ought to enter the expiration date of “March 15, 2026” from the I-9.
- South Sudan. Following a court docket order in African Communities Collectively v. Noem, the termination of TPS for South Sudan, which had been set for January 5, 2026, is stayed and beneficiaries’ standing and work authorization (classes A12 and C19) have been prolonged, in response to a SAVE announcement issued on March 12, 2026. As a result of this case is in “energetic litigation,” USCIS suggested checking the TPS South Sudan web page for any updates.
E-Confirm mentioned that when finishing the Expiration Date (if any) fields on Type I-9, employers ought to enter “as per court docket order” in Part 1 and “April 10, 2026” in Part 2 together with a observe within the further info field. Employers could obtain the Alert and TPS South Sudan webpages and fix them to Type I-9. When finishing a case in E-Confirm for these beneficiaries, the employer ought to enter the expiration date of “April 10, 2026” from the I-9.
- Following a court docket order in Dahlia Doe v. Noem, the termination of TPS for Syria, which had been set for November 21, 2025, is stayed and beneficiaries’ standing and work authorization (classes A12 and C19) have been prolonged, in response to a SAVE announcement issued on March 12, 2026. As a result of this case is in “energetic litigation,” USCIS suggested checking the TPS Syria web page for any updates.
E-Confirm mentioned that when finishing the Expiration Date (if any) fields on Type I-9, employers ought to enter “as per court docket order” in Part 1 and “March 13, 2026” in Part 2 together with a observe within the further info field. Employers could obtain the Alert and TPS South Sudan webpages and fix them to Type I-9. When finishing a case in E-Confirm for these beneficiaries, the employer ought to enter the expiration date of “March 13, 2026” from the I-9.
International Entry Program Restarted Amid Partial DHS Shutdown
The International Entry Program, which the Trump administration had paused amid a partial Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) shutdown because of a lapse in funding, was reactivated on March 11, 2026. This system permits U.S. residents and everlasting residents to expedite their reentry into the US after touring overseas.
The reactivation follows studies of prolonged delays in processing vacationers at airports. A pause on the T.S.A. PreCheck expedited safety program was additionally rapidly restarted. The DHS shutdown continues, though lots of the company’s capabilities are persevering with whereas current funds stay.
