Posts

Oct 07, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

DHS Proposes a $70,000 OPT Fee, and Schools Must Pay It Before Students Can Apply

The OPT fee NPRM (RIN 1653-AB01) publishes Oct 8, 2026: $70,000 for a student's first OPT and $30,000 for each later one, including STEM OPT, paid by the school before the DSO recommendation. Comments run 30 days.

OPT F-1 H-1B Policy Updates

Oct 06, 2026 • Green Card • 3 min read

Unions and green card applicants sue USCIS over the adjustment-of-status 'negative factor' memo and the no-RFE denial policy

A lawsuit filed Oct. 5 in D. Mass. (AAUP v. Mullin) seeks to block PM-602-0199, which treats adjusting status inside the U.S. as a negative factor, and PA-2026-05, which lets USCIS deny cases without an RFE or NOID.

USCIS Green Card EB-2 NIW

Oct 06, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

Universities sue ICE over the CPT crackdown and ask a judge to block it right away

AAU, the Presidents' Alliance, NAFSA and AICUM filed suit in D. Mass. on Oct. 5 challenging SEVP's August 12 and 24 CPT broadcast messages and moved immediately for a preliminary injunction.

F-1 CPT H-1B Students

Oct 05, 2026 • Green Card • 3 min read

The DS-260 Now Asks for 15 Years of Foreign Travel, Siblings and Every Passport You've Held — What Consular Green Card Applicants Need to Know

The State Department's expanded immigrant visa form went live in late September, tripling the travel-history lookback to 15 years and adding questions on siblings, partners and prior nationalities.

DS-260 Consular Processing NIW Green Card

Oct 04, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

CBP Stops Routinely Stamping Passports at the Border, Making Your I-94 the Main Proof of Entry

A CBP Carrier Liaison Program bulletin dated October 1, 2026 ends routine admission stamps at primary inspection. H-1B, F-1 and other nonimmigrants should now download and check their electronic I-94 after every entry.

CBP I-94 H-1B Travel

Oct 03, 2026 • Visa News • 3 min read

DV-2026 Gets 10 Extra Days Past Sept. 30 After a Judge Finds the State Department Slow-Walked His Order. The Window Opens After a Short Stay

A federal judge in Medani v. Trump ordered the State Department to keep adjudicating DV-2026 visas for ten days past the September 30 fiscal-year deadline, then let it pause the order up to ten days to fix its systems and issue guidance to 111 consulates.

Diversity Visa DV-2026 State Department Court Ruling

Oct 03, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

White House Clears the Final Rule Making the End of Automatic EAD Extensions Permanent, and USCIS Has Already Rewritten Its Manual

OIRA concluded review of DHS's final rule removing automatic EAD extensions (RIN 1615-AD05) on Sept. 9, 2026, with changes; it has not yet been published, and an Oct. 2 Policy Manual update now describes automatic extensions only for renewals filed before Oct. 30, 2025.

USCIS Employment Authorization H-1B Processing Times

Oct 02, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

DHS Appeals the Duration of Status Ruling to the First Circuit, but Has Not Asked to Pause It, So F-1 and J-1 Holders Keep D/S

On September 30, 2026, the government appealed the order blocking its rule ending duration of status for F, J and I visa holders (First Circuit No. 26-2112). It has not sought a stay, so D/S and the older I-539/I-765 editions remain in effect.

F-1 Duration of Status USCIS OPT

Oct 01, 2026 • Policy Updates • 4 min read

A Second Court Vacates the $100,000 H-1B Fee Policies — and This Ruling Also Covers the September 2026 Renewal

On Sept. 30, Judge Gilliam (N.D. Cal.) vacated the agency policies implementing the $100,000 H-1B payment under both Proclamation 10973 and its 2026 extension, Proclamation 11069, until DHS and State complete notice-and-comment rulemaking.

H-1B USCIS Policy Updates

Sep 30, 2026 • Policy Updates • 3 min read

USCIS raises H.R. 1 fees for FY2027: $570 for first work permits, $1,050 parole fee, starting Oct. 16

A DHS notice publishing Oct. 1 applies a 3.36% inflation increase to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act fees for asylum, parole, TPS and first EADs. Filings postmarked on or after Oct. 16, 2026 without the new amounts will be rejected.

USCIS Fees EAD Asylum