Legal Updates Archive

After the weekend talks, on May 12, 2025, the United States and China published the Joint Statement on U.S.-China Economic and Trade Meeting in Geneva. As a result, the U.S. government’s general tariff rate on Chinese goods will fall to 10% from 125%.

Following numerous lawsuits and court orders, DHS suddenly restored many foreign students’ SEVIS records that it had abruptly deleted, but uncertainty remained.

In a case challenging terminations of a group of more than 130 F-1 students’ Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records, a federal judge in Georgia granted a temporary restraining order on April 18, 2025. The order, effective immediately, directs the government to reinstate Plaintiffs’ student status and SEVIS authorization, retroactive to March 31, 2025.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 19,000 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the early second half of fiscal year 2025 with start dates from April 1 to May 14, 2025.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has begun issuing Requests for Evidence seeking home addresses for the purpose of collecting biometric data in H-1B and I-140 employment-based petitions, raising concerns.

Pursuant to a court order, parole termination notices sent to people in the United States from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela are stayed and therefore not currently in effect. No new requests for CHNV parole will be processed.

High demand and number use by India in the EB-5 unreserved visa categories, combined with increased Rest of World demand and number use, has made it necessary to further retrogress the India final action date to May 1, 2019.

By May 7, 2025, U.S. travelers’ documents must be REAL ID compliant to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities.

The Trump administration has recently revoked more than 525 student, faculty and researcher visas.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough electronic registrations for unique beneficiaries during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year 2026 H-1B numerical allocations, including the advanced degree exemption.

Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela will remain in effect and the validity of work permits issued under the Venezuela TPS designations is extended through April 2, 2026, pending further litigation.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said that if a benefit requestor does not indicate his or her sex or indicates a sex different from the sex on his or her birth certificate issued at or nearest to the time of birth, there may be delays in adjudication.

On April 30, 2025, the U.S., represented by the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, sued Hawaii and Michigan. The U.S. alleges that potential lawsuits by Hawaii and Michigan against various fossil fuel companies are preempted by the Clean Air Act and would be unconstitutional.

On Monday, April 21, 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) issued a proposed rule governing products with intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the Proposed Rule’s Statement of Need and Reasonableness (SONAR), and notice of MPCA’s intent to hold an administrative hearing regarding the Proposed Rule. The public may now submit comments on the Proposed Rule up to and at its hearing on May 22, 2025.

The Immigration and Nationality Act requires “registration” for noncitizens who remain in the U.S. for more than 30 days. Many noncitizens are already registered; however, others must register and complete a biometric appointment.

On April 8, 2025, in response to China’s 34% retaliatory tariff announced on April 4, President Trump increased the reciprocal tariff on Chinese imports from 34% to 84%, effective 12:01 a.m. on April 9, 2025, and, at the same time, increased the ad valorem rate of duty for de minimis value shipments from 30% to 90%.

In response to the reciprocal tariff of 34% imposed on Chinese imports announced by President Trump on April 2, 2025, and coming into effect on April 9, 2025, China announced 34% tariffs on all U.S. imports, which will take effect on April 10, 2025.

The Final Rule issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on December 27, 2024, to implement the Executive Order 14117 of February 28, 2024, “Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern” will come into effect on April 8, 2025.

On March 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14241, titled “Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production,” to facilitate domestic production of critical minerals vital for national security and economic prosperity (EO 14241). 

On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced a wide-ranging program of tariffs on imported goods from around the world. In announcing the new tariffs, President Trump stated that the tariffs are needed to redress large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits, which he argues result from disparate tariff rates and non-tariff barriers that make it harder for U.S. manufacturers to sell their products in foreign markets.

The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration announced annual updates to allowable monetary charges that employers of H-2A workers, in occupations other than herding or production of livestock on the range, may charge workers when the employer provides three meals per day.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to meet the H-2B statutory cap for the second half of fiscal year 2025. Also, the filing dates for supplemental H-2B visas for the remainder of this fiscal year are now available.

Travel to the United States has become trickier in recent months. This article summarizes tips recommended by the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers for international travelers to the United States.

The Trump administration is increasingly scrutinizing visa applicants and even permanent residents (green card holders) and has placed a "temporary pause" on certain green card applications "to do more vetting."

U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement has stepped up detentions and deportations of foreign nationals entering the United States as tourists or permanent residents, leading to several countries issuing travel warnings.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Democracy Forward, and the ACLU of the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over President Trump's "unlawful and unprecedented invocation" of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime authority, to round up and deport Venezuelans from the United States without due process.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to terminate parole programs for an estimated 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans in the United States and their immediate family members.

U.S. embassies and consulates will no longer refuse an immigrant visa application for failure to present documentation that the applicant received the COVID-19 vaccination.

The annual limits will reset with the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2025.

The Department of State's Visa Bulletin for April 2025 reports that increased demand and number use by China and India in the EB-5 unreserved immigrant investor green card category, combined with increased Rest of World demand and number use, has made it necessary to retrogress the final action dates.

The Trump administration has said it plans to expand arrests and deportations based on foreign policy grounds.

In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) under the Biden administration issued non-binding guidance for using employer-provided paid leave during overlapping state paid family leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

On March 24, 2025, the Department of Labor released an update that affects H-2A and H-2B employers.

Following the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s March 2, 2025, announcement, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has issued an interim final rule removing the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information under the Corporate Transparency Act.

On March 26, 2025, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 80 entities to the Entity List, including 54 from China and about two dozen from Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Africa and Iran.

The Council on Environmental Quality has announced plans to revoke its National Environmental Policy Act regulations following a recent court decision that found CEQ lacked the authority to issue them.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a divided opinion on March 4, 2025, that reversed a Ninth Circuit decision upholding a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued to San Francisco for its combined sewer system treatment facility.

A split panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit addressed a dispute over an Air Tour Management Plan developed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Park Service (NPS) which governs commercial tourist flights over four national parks near San Francisco, California. The Marin Audubon Society and other environmental groups challenged the Plan, arguing that the agencies failed to comply with regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing NEPA.

On January 29, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed Lee Zeldin as the new EPA administrator with a 56-42 vote, including support from three Democratic senators. Zeldin, a Republican, served in the New York State Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives before running unsuccessfully for New York governor in 2022.

On February 25, 2025, Judge Tunheim of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota issued an order denying the Cookware Sustainability Alliance’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

On March 2, 2025, President Trump signed executive orders confirming that the 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports (10% on Canadian energy and energy resources) would not be further paused and would take effect on March 4, 2025.

On February 25 and 26, 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) provided a “mid-point update” on its environmental justice/cumulative impacts rulemaking efforts. The next day, Administrative Law Judge Jessica Palmer-Denig presided over a hearing on MPCA’s proposed air toxics emissions reporting rule and its proposed repeal of the emergency affirmative defense for air permittees.

When economic headwinds sour a promising loan deal, lenders face the challenge of borrower default. This article explores key loan agreement provisions and elements in a default notice letter that protect lenders in such situations.

It seems like everyone has something to say about how Generation Z is starkly different from other generations. It should therefore come as no surprise that Gen Z banks differently, and institutions must react and engage appropriately if they wish to attract this key population as customers. 

There have already been a number of articles and several continuing legal education webinars discussing the November 2024 election results and the change in leadership of various agencies. In most cases, the articles also discuss what impact the leadership change might have on regulations. One thing they all agree on with some certainty is that there will be regulatory change.

In January 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Health released the “PFAS removal report” which focuses on strategies to manage PFAS contamination in drinking water and wastewater in Minnesota.

In 2022, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision in Thryv, Inc., greatly expanding the NLRB’s traditional concept of “make-whole relief” for employees who are the victims of an employer’s unfair labor practices to include “all direct or foreseeable pecuniary harm” caused by the employer’s practices.

Following the February 17, 2025, decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, beneficial ownership information reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act are once again back in effect.

On January 27, 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued a draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System/State Disposal System general permit to control pollution generated from rain and snow melt runoff (i.e., stormwater) associated with industrial activities discharging into waters of the State of Minnesota. Once finalized, the Permit will replace the current ISW General Permit, which expires on March 31, 2025.

The Minnesota State Legislature, in its 2024 legislative session, directed the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to develop recommendations regarding products containing lead, cadmium and PFASs.