U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced updates to its guidance related to considering "anti-Americanism" in adjudications of immigrant benefits and expanding what constitutes "good moral character" for naturalization applicants.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested approximately 475 people during a raid on a Hyundai manufacturing plant outside of Savannah, Georgia. About 300 of those arrested were from South Korea.
- USCIS Plans to Recruit and Train ‘Special Agents’ to Exercise Additional Law Enforcement Authorities
The special agents' activities will include "making arrests, carrying firearms, executing search and arrest warrants, and other powers standard for federal law enforcement."
On September 5, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security announced the termination of the 2021 designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status, effective 11:59 p.m. on November 7, 2025.
On September 6, 2025, the Department of State announced that nonimmigrant visa applicants generally must schedule their appointments at the U.S. embassy or consulate in their country of nationality or residence.
On September 19, 2025, the Trump Administration announced a plan for three new immigration pathways: the Trump Gold Card, the Trump Corporate Gold Card, and the forthcoming Trump Platinum Card.
In a major ruling for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the U.S., the Ninth Circuit has upheld a district court decision restoring Venezuela’s 2023 Temporary Protected Status designation.
USCIS has announced the first changes in a planned multi-step overhaul of the naturalization process, reintroducing a revised civics test that will apply to applicants filing on or after October 20, 2025.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that the quota for H-2B non-agricultural worker visas for the first half of fiscal year 2026 has been reached on September 12, 2025.
AILA reports an increase in Notices to Appear issued when an employer withdraws an H-1B petition, even when a change-of-employer or change-of-status petition has been timely filed within the grace period.
The October 2025 Visa Bulletin has been released, marking the start of a new fiscal year and a reset of annual visa limits.
For employers with foreign national workers, it is important to understand which immigration related functions may be affected in the event of a federal government shutdown.
Following on the heels of President Trump’s issuance of a proclamation requiring a $100,000 fee for certain H-1B petitions where the worker is outside the United States, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a related frequently asked questions document, and other agencies released related guidance.
On September 19, 2025, the Department of Labor launched “Project Firewall,” to ensure that “employers prioritize qualified Americans when hiring workers and [hold] employers accountable if they abuse the H-1B visa process.”
On September 24, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule to implement a “weighted selection” process for cap-subject H-1B petitions that “would generally favor the allocation of H-1B visas to higher skilled and higher paid aliens, while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage levels.”
On September 19, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Temporary Protected Status for Syrians is terminated and affected Syrian nationals have 60 days to voluntarily depart the United States and return home.
Sora 2 from OpenAI has launched, but some guardrails should be in place before you create.
The Commission’s September 16 Order clarifies acceptable CFS compliance credits, establishes how net market purchases may contribute to partial compliance without credit retirement, sets new annual CFS reporting requirements beginning in 2026, preserves the current credit-expiration framework for now and invites optional hourly matching sensitivities in resource plans.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) changed clean energy tax incentive rules, extending them and tying their value to compliance with prevailing wage and apprenticeship (PWA) requirements during construction and operation of energy projects. Although PWA compliance is the ultimate responsibility of taxpayers, PWA requirements impose obligations on the construction companies that build the energy projects. As a result, owners of clean energy projects are pushing all PWA obligations down to their contractors, imposing steep consequences for noncompliance.
Because the legal safeguards we enjoy and the process for purchasing real estate differ substantially between the United States and Mexico, it is important to seek the advice and assistance of experienced real estate and legal consultants when venturing into the Mexican real estate market.
On September 19, 2025, President Trump signed a proclamation that significantly changes how the H-1B visa program works for foreign workers currently outside the U.S. These changes take effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2025, and will remain in place for 12 months, unless extended.
The administrative law judge charged with reviewing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s proposed intentionally added PFAS product reporting and fee rules has disapproved those rules on procedural and substantive grounds.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a strategic priority for many organizations. If your company is using (or considering using) AI in human resources (HR), this article will walk you through the benefits, the legal landmines and the practical steps you can take to stay compliant.
Effective September 2, 2025, the categories of applicants who may be eligible for a waiver of the nonimmigrant visa interview will be updated. All nonimmigrant visa applicants generally will require an in-person interview with a consular officer, with a few exceptions.
Update: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to stay the lower court’s injunction, thus TPS benefits have now ended for Honduras and Nepal as of September 8, 2025.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently released an undated Non-Retaliation Policy Statement. The statement says that ICE is committed to upholding standards of fair regulatory enforcement practices.
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for September notes a “steady increase” in both U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and DOS demand patterns for employment-based visas.
The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification released statistics on employer activities regarding prevailing wage determinations and labor certifications, and the H-2B foreign labor recruiter list.
The Department of State will require immigrant visa applicants to interview in the consular district designated for their place of residence, or in their country of nationality if requested, with limited exceptions.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has implemented a new way to pay fees using electronic debits from U.S. bank accounts and will stop accepting paper checks and money orders after October 28, 2025.
The Visa Navigator, which leads the user through a series of prompts, can be found on the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate’s website.
Department of State published a temporary final rule on August 5, 2025, announcing the start of a 12-month visa bond pilot program. As part of that pilot, DOS announced visa bonds on nationals of Malawi and Zambia coming to the United States on B-1/B-2 visas.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a policy alert, effective immediately, to prevent trans women from entering the United States to participate in women’s sports.
In recent months, property managers and attorneys across Iowa have encountered increasing inconsistency in how magistrates handle proof of service for pre-eviction notices. While Iowa law does not explicitly require an affidavit of posting and mailing for notices such as the 3-Day Notice of Nonpayment of Rent, 3-Day Notice to Quit, or 7-Day Notice to Cure, some magistrates have begun routinely requiring them.
In Part One of this article series, we examined at a high level the importance of planning for shareholder succession for an organization that wishes to remain independent. In Part Two, we dig into the details.
Credit scores have steadily risen since their introduction in 1989. However, student loan defaults are now causing significant drops in credit scores. This trend could shrink the pool of creditworthy borrowers, disrupt banks’ long-term customer models, and push younger generations toward alternative financial services.
Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code provides a framework to allow a secured party to foreclose its security interest in personal property without judicial proceedings. Article 9 sales are important tools for secured parties to consider, but whether an Article 9 sale is the best option depends on the facts of each case.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Donald Trump into law on July 4, 2025, contains several provisions that may impact an employer’s benefit plans. Many of these provisions take effect in 2026, and plan sponsors and executives should be aware of them.
How a group of fishermen changed United States internet regulation, perhaps forever.
The Treasury Department and IRS have released Notice 2025-42, overhauling the rules for determining the Beginning of Construction (BOC) of a project for purposes of the §45Y production tax credit and §48E investment tax credit as it applies to wind and solar facilities.
On June 11, 2025, the Civil Division of the Department of Justice issued a memorandum announcing its enforcement priorities under the Trump administration. Under the memo, among other things, a policy shift heightens the priority of civil denaturalization enforcement.
On July 1, 2025, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's recently announced early termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti.
The judge said that "this court has no hesitation determining this situation warrants emergency injunctive relief and class certification."
The Temporary Protected Status designations for the two countries were set to expire on July 5, 2025. The termination will be effective September 8, 2025.
Applicants must submit the new fees with benefit requests postmarked on or after July 22, 2025. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it will reject any form postmarked on or after August 21, 2025, without the proper fees.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master's cap, for fiscal year 2026.
The new Status Change Report now includes an additional "Revoked Document Number" field.
For the first time in 120 years, the Minnesota legislature has enacted a comprehensive overhaul of its laws on the partition of real property with the new Minnesota Partition Act. The Act will replace the existing partition law for all partition actions commenced on or after August 1, 2025.
Manufacturers who sell, offer for sale or distribute within Minnesota products that contain intentionally added per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances now have until July 1, 2026, to submit information on those products to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency commissioner.
A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sheds light on how existing intellectual property laws apply (or do not apply) to AI-generated voice clones.
