Current intelligence on
US immigration law.
Analysis of policy developments, visa strategy, and adjudication trends — written by the attorneys who handle the cases.
USCIS's New Vetting Wave: 10 Years of Social Media Handles, and a Signature Rule With No Cure
Updated forms will demand a decade of handles — including closed accounts. And from July 10, an invalid signature can mean denial with the fee kept. How to prepare a filing that survives both.
EB-2 India Is Unavailable for the Rest of FY 2026 — What NIW Applicants Should Do Now
The July bulletin shut down EB-2 and EB-5 India through September 30 and retrogressed EB-1 India again. What resets in October, and the EB-1A upgrade that carries your priority date with it.
Dorcas v. USCIS: Benefits Hold Vacated — What Travel Ban Nationals Should Do Now
A Rhode Island court struck down USCIS's freeze on green cards and EADs for 39 countries. The AOS discretion memo is still in force. What to do with a pending or planned I-485.
The $100,000 H-1B Fee: Vacated, Then Stayed — Where Employers Stand Now
A Massachusetts court vacated the fee as an unlawful tax on June 8, then stayed its own order. The First Circuit has the appeal. The fee is still in effect.
O-1A vs. H-1B: Which Work Visa Fits a High-Skill Professional?
No cap, no lottery, and a path to EB-1A. How the two visas compare across eligibility, timing, family, and green card strategy.
O-1A for Startup Founders: Self-Sponsoring and Building a Qualifying Record
Founders can petition through their own company or an agent. What trips up most founder petitions is the evidence, not the structure.
O-1A Final Merits Determination: Why Meeting Three Criteria Is Not Enough
USCIS runs a two-step evidentiary test. Clearing the criteria threshold is step one. Most denials happen at step two.
EB-1A for Indian Nationals: Priority Date Strategy and Timing the I-485
EB-1 India is years shorter than EB-2. How to time the I-140, manage status during the wait, and plan around retrogression.
EB-1A for Researchers: Which Criteria Apply and What Citation Counts Actually Matter
Citation counts, peer review, and the final merits test all work differently for academic profiles. Here is what USCIS actually evaluates.
EB-1A Self-Petition: How to File Without an Employer Sponsor
No PERM, no job offer, no employer dependency. How the I-140 self-petition works and what the evidentiary record needs to show.
USCIS Pulls Back on Adjustment of Status: What the May 2026 Memo Means
I-485 is now framed as "extraordinary relief." Most applicants are being pushed back to consular processing.
The $100,000 H-1B Fee: What It Is, Who Pays, and Where It's Going
Eight months in, the September 2025 Proclamation has reshaped sponsorship. The exemptions, the litigation, and the September sunset.
What the December 2025 Expansion Means for Business Travelers
19 countries lost B-1 access. Here's what replaced it and what executives need to know now.
O-1A for Business Executives: What Qualifies as Extraordinary Ability
The statutory standard is high but not impossible. A breakdown of what USCIS actually evaluates.
EB-1A vs. EB-2 NIW: Choosing the Right Green Card Path
Both waive job offer and sponsorship requirements. How they differ — and which one fits your record.
The L-1A-to-EB-1C Pipeline: How Executives Fast-Track Permanent Residence
For multinational executives, the path from work visa to green card can be shorter than you think — if it's structured correctly from the start.
EB-5 in 2026: What the Regional Center Program Means for Investor Applicants
The program survived the sunset. What's still available, what's changed, and whether $800K still buys a visa.
O-1A vs. EB-1A: Extraordinary Ability as a Work Visa and a Green Card
Same standard, fundamentally different outcomes. When O-1A is right, when EB-1A is right, and why they most often appear together.
EB-1B vs. EB-2 NIW: The Researcher's Green Card Dilemma
EB-1B requires a permanent job offer. NIW can be self-petitioned. For postdocs and independent researchers, the difference defines the strategy.
EB-1A, O-1A, or EB-2 NIW: Which Path Fits Your Profile?
Three overlapping self-petition options for researchers and scientists. How the standards diverge, five archetype profiles, and four common sequences.
How to Write a Recommendation Letter for an O-1A or EB-1A Petition
What USCIS reads for, who should write, how to structure the credential and evaluation sections, and an annotated sample.
What Goes Into a Strong O-1A or EB-1A Petition Letter
The petition brief is the argument that holds the case together. Structure, the final merits section, handling weak criteria, and what separates strong letters from adequate ones.
What Counts as "Original Contributions of Major Significance"
The most relied-upon and most contested criterion in extraordinary ability petitions. What the AAO requires, how to build a citation analysis, and four common failure modes.
How to Document National Interest for an EB-2 NIW Petition
The Dhanasar three-prong framework applied. How to define the proposed endeavor, what evidence works for each prong, and how entrepreneurs fit the NIW.
Responding to an RFE on an O-1A or EB-1A Petition
How to read what the officer is actually asking, what the response can add, the most common RFE types, and what to do if the petition is denied anyway.
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