POLICY & ANALYSIS
Follow U.S. immigration policy, filing changes and official announcements.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally established H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2026. Sept. 12 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2026.
On Wednesday, September 10, 2025, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) published a Federal Register notice (FRN), which proposes to revise the application forms, instructions, appendices, and other information associated with the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program as covered under OMB control number 1205-0466 (OMB 1205-0466).
The Department of Homeland Security today posted a Federal Register notice on the termination of the 2021 designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is revising policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual emphasizing the non-partisan nature of voter registration services offered to new citizens at administrative naturalization ceremonies. As of August 31, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is rescinding PA-2025-21, Voter Registration at Administrative Naturalization Ceremonies, and the related provisions. The USCIS Policy Manual version effective June 28, 2017, found in Volume 12, Part J, Chapter 5, Sections F and H, is reinstated.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is revising policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual on false claims to U.S. citizenship (including those made during the voter registration process), unlawful registration to vote, and unlawful voting in the naturalization context as part of USCIS’ implementation of recent executive orders.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual on the transition from accepting paper-based forms of payment to accepting only credit or debit cards and the new Authorization for ACH Transactions (Form G-1650). This guidance becomes effective October 28, 2025.
As part of the modernization of the Department of Labor’s websites, OFLC will be archiving the searchable Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) database, currently located at https://foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/faqsanswers.cfm , and moving it to a new location. Once, the page is archived, OFLC will not be making any further updates to the searchable database.
Pursuant to 20 CFR 655.154(d), the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) Administrator announces the annual determination of labor supply states (LSS). LSS are additional states in which an employer’s job order will be circulated and, if appropriate, where additional recruitment may be required. On May 22, 2025, consistent with 20 CFR 655.154, the OFLC Administrator solicited public input for 60 days about LSS and related recruitment mechanisms to make a determination that identifies whether there are areas of traditional or expected labor supply for each state with respect to the availability of qualified workers and the appropriate and effective means of recruiting those workers. This determination includes specific geographic area(s) of the United States in which a significant number of qualified workers have been identified and who, if recruited through additional positive employer recruitment activities, would be willing to make themselves available for work in the state.
On Monday, August 25, 2025, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) published a notice in the Federal Register notice (FRN) announcing the rescission of a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) issued on July 22, 2011, that provided informal guidance prohibiting employers from filing a single Application for Temporary Employment Certification for staggered dates of need.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating the policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address fees not eligible for fee waivers in accordance with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.-1), and applicable dates for determining the proper fees and filing deadlines for benefit requests.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is restoring robust screening and vetting processes to detect aliens seeking to defraud or abuse the immigration system, including aliens who make false claims to U.S. citizenship.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is revising policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the false claim to U.S. citizenship ground of inadmissibility.
