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After quietly updating consular websites, signaling a significant change to Visa Interview Waiver (“dropbox”) eligibility requirements, on Feb. 18, 2025, the Department of State (DOS) officially announced the reversion to pre-COVID eligibility standards, reducing the window for dropbox eligibility from 48 months to 12 months. This update follows reports of Visa Application Centers turning away applicants who no longer meet the revised criteria. Effective immediately, only those renewing a visa in the same nonimmigrant category that expired within the past year qualify for the dropbox process.

This shift means more applicants will need to schedule and attend in-person visa interviews, potentially increasing wait times at U.S. consulates worldwide.

If you have questions about your visa renewal or need assistance navigating these changes, please contact your immigration counsel as soon as possible.

For more information, visit Jackson Lewis Immigration Practice Group.

President-Elect Donald Trump is promising sweeping changes to the U.S. immigration system, with a focus on ramping up enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants. We can look to his first term, along with his campaign platform, to anticipate upcoming immigration action.

We expect President Trump will take swift action in the following areas through executive orders and policy directives:

  • Reinstatement of USCIS adjudication practices that resulted in increased denials, including the end of deference to prior decisions and expanded discretion in the denial of a petition or application without first requesting clarifying evidence.
  • Termination of certain humanitarian-based programs, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and parole programs for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The continued status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is uncertain.
  • Increased I-9 audits, worksite investigations, and site visits to verify H-1B and L-1 petition terms.
  • Travel restrictions and extreme vetting in visa interviews.

As his term progresses, Trump is expected to push additional changes to employment-based immigration, which are likely to include:

  • Changes to the H-1B program, such as re-defining “specialty occupation,” increasing wage requirements, and prioritizing H-1B cap registrations based on compensation levels.
  • Restrictions on Optional Practical Training (OPT) currently available to F-1 students engaged in a U.S. program of study.
  • Termination of individual work authorization programs, such as EADs for certain H-4 spouses.
  • Expanded tariffs.

Like what was proposed during his first term, the second Trump Administration may look to make more fundamental changes, such as ending birth-right citizenship and creating a merit-based immigration system focused on workers who possess: valuable skills, job offers, advanced education, ability to create jobs for U.S. workers, higher wages, and financial self-sufficiency. The aim of the proposed merit-based system was to attract high-skilled workers while reducing family-based immigrants. The plan also included protections for American jobs and wages, including recruitment requirements, displacement prohibitions, and wage floors. The proposal gave priority to young applicants, top graduate students from American universities, and those with extraordinary achievement and potential who are likely to contribute to society.

What does this mean for employers?

  • Tougher adjudications: During the first Trump Administration, employers saw a significant increase in the denial of immigration benefits, particularly H-1B, L-1, and O-1 work visa petitions. Employers should be prepared to provide additional documentation for otherwise routine petitions and for lengthier processing times in cases not submitted for “premium processing.”
  • Travel restrictions: Expanded travel bans would greatly hinder business and personal travel for covered workers and employees. Even in an emergency, travelers could find themselves unable to return to the United States. Employers should closely monitor international business travel requirements and carefully plan to avoid disruption from employee travel.
  • Enhanced screening: The further expansion of screening in the visa application process to identify extreme ideological positions and affiliations is expected to cause an increase in visa denials and significant delays in processing. Employers should plan for increased processing times for consular visa applications that could result in employees having to spend longer than expected outside of the United States.
  • Increased worksite investigations and raids: Employers should evaluate onboarding programs and I-9 compliance regularly through training and internal audits and ensure an escalation protocol is in place in anticipation of record number of I-9 audits and potential workplace raids. Employers should also expect an increased number of USCIS, DOJ/IER, and DOL investigations and audits related to employment of non-immigrant and immigrant employees.
  • Changes to the H-1B program: Employers should prepare for higher prevailing wage requirements, which may be prohibitive in both hiring new H-1B workers and continuing employment for existing H-1B workers. Changes in the prevailing wage rules would also impact H-1B1 and E-3 workers, as well as the employer-sponsored permanent residence application process where a labor certification is required.
  • Termination of humanitarian and individual work authorization programs (TPS, DACA, H-4 Spouse EADs): Many recipients of these programs have no other option for work authorization. If these programs are terminated, workers with these statuses will lose work authorization and may no longer be legally employable in the United States, causing disruption to business operations. Employers should anticipate potential loss of these employees, while being careful not to engage in unlawful discrimination.

Some measures require congressional action, while others can be addressed quickly through executive order or policy directive.

Employers should remain in close contact with immigration counsel to plan and develop strategies that make sense for their immigration programs as the second Trump Administration gets under way.

The U.S. Embassy in Havana has expanded visa services to include some temporary non-immigrant visas. Cuban nationals with the following approved petitions will be able to schedule visa interviews at the Embassy:

  1. H – Temporary workers or trainees
  2. J – Exchange visitors
  3. L – Intracompany transferees
  4. O – Workers with extraordinary ability or achievement
  5. P – Athletes, artists, and entertainers
  6. Q – International cultural exchange participants
  7. R – Members of a religious denomination performing religious work

This expansion does not include B-1 or B-2 visas for business or tourism travel. For those, Cubans will still have to travel to embassies or consulates in other countries.

The history of the Havana Embassy has been marked by periods of closure and reopening. An embassy first opened in Havana in 1923, but it closed in 1961 when the United States severed diplomatic relations. In 1977, it reopened as the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. In 2015, the Obama Administration restored diplomatic relations, but that was reversed by the Trump Administration in 2017 due to unexplained health incidents among the diplomatic staff (often referred to as “sonic attacks” or Havana Syndrome). Cubans were forced to undertake sometimes arduous or dangerous (and expensive) travel to other consulates in Colombia or Guyana – and many fled to Central or South America to then journey to the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 535,037 encounters with Cubans at the border from 2021 through 2024.

In 2022, under the Biden Administration, some consular services were restored and, by 2023, the Embassy resumed immigrant visa processing for immediate family members, the family preference categories, diversity visas, and K (fiancé) visas.

Now, with the resumption of non-immigrant visa processing, most Cubans will be able to avoid applying as third-country nationals at consulates outside of Cuba. An Embassy official reported the Embassy has doubled its number of employees since 2022, but it still would need more staff to reinstate all visa services.

To schedule an interview for H, L, O, P, Q, or R visas, the applicant must submit evidence of their approved petition (Form I-797 Notice of Action) from USCIS. To apply for a J visa, applicants must submit their Form DS-2019, Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status. Applicants must also submit the required application, fees, a valid passport, and a current photograph.

For more information on the process, please visit the Cuban Embassy’s website.

Jackson Lewis attorneys are available to assist in filing the necessary petitions with USCIS and advising regarding consular applications.

In a 6-3 ruling in U.S. Department of State et al v. Munoz et al (Case Number 23-334), the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) reaffirmed the doctrine of consular nonreviewability ruling against a U.S. citizen’s spouse who argued that the federal government violated her due process rights by denying her Salvadoran spouse an immigrant visa based on an approved family-based petition. The doctrine of consular nonreviewability holds that because the INA fails to authorize judicial review of consular decisions denying visas, federal courts do not have the authority to review visa denials.

In Munoz, SCOTUS held that U.S. citizens do not have a constitutional fundamental liberty interest in their non-citizen spouse’s ability to be admitted to United States, moreover, that U.S. citizens are not constitutionally entitled to review of denied visas as they could not raise this issue indirectly in their spouse’s case.

Ms. Munoz, a U.S. citizen, and her non-citizen spouse of over 10 years, Mr. Munoz, were forced to live apart for several years. Mr. Munoz was denied a visa following several interviews and without any explanation other than a broad reference to section 212(a)(3)(A)Iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which makes an individual inadmissible if the consular officer “knows, or has reasonable ground to believe” that the individual seeks to enter the United States to engage in unlawful activity. Ms. Munoz eventually guessed (correctly) that the Consulate believed her husband was a member of MS-13, a transnational criminal gang, due to his tattoo. Mr. Munoz asked the Consulate to reconsider its visa denial, but the Consulate denied this request. The couple then filed a federal lawsuit against the Consulate and the Department of State (DOS), arguing, inter alia, that the government had abridged Ms. Munoz’s constitutional liberty interest in her husband’s visa application by failing to give a sufficient reason he was inadmissible under the cited INA provision. The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of DOS after DOS admitted the denial was in fact based on a consular officer’s determination that Mr. Munoz had religious tattoos that looked like gang logos. Thereafter, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the judgment, which brought the case next to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In its ruling, SCOTUS indicated that the “’the Due Process Clause specially protects’ only ‘those fundamental rights and liberties which are, objectively, deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.’” While Munoz invoked the fundamental right to marriage, SCOTUS concluded that Ms. Munoz was in fact claiming something different – the right to reside with her non-citizen spouse in the U.S. And that, SCOTUS concluded, is not a right deeply rooted in the nation’s history. Indeed, the country’s history instead recognizes instead the government’s sovereign authority to set the terms of admission and exclusion. SCOTUS also noted that while Congress has made some specific exceptions for spouses, Congress has not made spousal immigration a matter of right.

In its decision, SCOTUS distinguished an earlier case, Kerry v. Din, 576 U.S. 86 (2015) where in a concurring opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy assumed that a U.S. citizen would have a liberty interest that would be burdened by a spouse’s visa denial and was therefore entitled to more information than a simple citation explaining the denial. In that case, Justice Kennedy was referring to the fact that a U.S. citizen should have some right to question a denial of a spouse’s visa because there could be “bad faith” denial.

Advocates are concerned that SCOTUS’ opinion in Munoz could lead to unnecessary family separations and subject U.S. citizen spouses to arbitrary decisions by consular officers, denying them the opportunity to build their lives together with their spouses in the U.S. Moreover, this decision casts fear and uncertainty on non-citizen spouses who have an approved family-based petition who must leave the country temporarily to process their immigrant visas abroad – not knowing whether a consular officer may erroneously deny their visa. Ultimately, SCOTUS’ decision may force U.S. citizen spouses to leave the U.S. so they can live with their spouses abroad – without having had the ability to challenge a potentially erroneous visa denial by a consular officer.

USCIS is resuming the Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP) Program beginning with already pending CFRP applications. This program started in 2007 and has been on hold for some time. It allows beneficiaries of approved Forms I-130, Petitions for Alien Relative, to come to the United States on parole while waiting for an available visa number.  The purpose of the program is to offer safe immigration pathways for those confronting humanitarian crises and alleviate the dangers associated with irregular immigration efforts for family members of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.

Under the CFRP, USCIS sends invitation letters to petitioners who are eligible for the program. Upon receipt of an invitation, parole forms and fees must be submitted. The last step is the scheduling of a consular interview in Havana. Upon arrival in the United States, beneficiaries are eligible to apply for work authorization. When the beneficiary’s immigrant visa becomes available or after one year of physical presence in the U.S., the beneficiary may apply for lawful permanent residence, if otherwise eligible.

At this time, USCIS is not issuing new invitations. The agency, however, has started to mail interview notices to petitioners with pending applications along with instructions for the beneficiary interviews. The Embassy in Havana was closed in 2017 and the USCIS field office in Havana was closed in 2018. Currently, there is limited interview capacity; however, on August 18, 2022, USCIS began conducting interviews.

USCIS is also sending general information about the program to petitioners with pending applications.  That information includes points that petitioners and beneficiaries should consider to determine whether they are still eligible for the program and how to proceed. These considerations include:

  • Has the beneficiary already applied for adjustment of status?
  • If the petitioner has naturalized, can the beneficiaries be considered immediate relatives for adjustment purposes?
  • Have any beneficiaries aged out?
  • Is immigrant visa processing an alternative?

USCIS has:

  • Recommended petitioners with pending CFRP applications for family members should ensure that USCIS and National Visa Center (NVC) both have their current address; and
  • Warned petitioners and beneficiaries to avoid scams explaining that the government agencies will not email or call to ask for money or payment or fees.

In June 2022, DHS announced that it would resume both the CFRP and the Haitian Family Reunification Parole (HFRP) Program. To date, the Haitian program has not resumed.

Jackson Lewis attorneys are available to advise regarding these family reunification programs.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is trying to approve as many employment-based green card applications as it can before the annual deadline of September 30, 2022 (the end of the fiscal year).

Primarily due to COVID-19 restrictions, approximately 140,000 family-based visa numbers went unused last fiscal year. As a result, these unused visa numbers were rolled over to this year’s employment-based visa number allocation; meaning, twice as many employment-based green cards are available this year.

USCIS and the Department of State (DOS) are primarily dealing with processing challenges and backlogs due to restraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other issues.

What are USCIS and DOS doing in order to appropriately issue all available employment-based visas and hit the 280,000 limit this year? Among other things, the agencies are:

  • Prioritizing processing and adjudication of employment-based adjustment applications at all locations;
  • Prioritizing adjudication of immigrant visa petitions (I-140s) to focus on beneficiaries who are or will be current this year;
  • Providing overtime and supplemental USCIS staff to support the employment-based applications;
  • Initiating an aggressive hiring and training plan for new staff;
  • Waiving interviews and reusing biometrics, where possible;
  • Redistributing cases to match workloads with resources;
  • Establishing a dedicated mailing address for requests from those who wish to transfer their pending cases to a different employment-based category;
  • Encouraging applicants who know their Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Records, are no longer valid to be prepared to submit a new medical as soon as they receive a Request for Evidence (RFE) (but not submit their I-693 before the RFE is issued);
  • Proactively identifying applications that lack valid medicals and issuing early RFEs; and
  • Temporarily waiving (until September 30, 2022) the requirement that the civil surgeon sign the Form I-693 no more than 60 days before the applicant files for adjustment of status.

DOS issued 19,799 immigrant visas and USCIS used 175,728 immigrant visas (through adjustment of status applications) for a total of 195,507 out of the available total of 262,288. Accordingly, 66,781 employment-based visas went unused. In comparison to this year, these respective agencies noted that, as of mid-June, they had used many more employment-based immigrant visas than they did at the same point in time last year, and they are continuing to adjudicate these respective applications at a higher rate than last year. According to USCIS, they are “well-positioned to use all the available employment-based immigrant visas in FY 2022 ….”

If you have any questions about pending green card matters, please reach out to your Jackson Lewis attorney.

USCIS has changed its mission statement again – this time to adopt a more immigration-friendly stance.

In 2018, USCIS, under the Trump Administration, changed its mission statement to align with President Donald Trump’s focus on enforcement, strict scrutiny, and extreme vetting. The statement did not emphasize customer satisfaction, i.e., the satisfaction of petitioners, applicants, and beneficiaries. The change in emphasis was stark and did not go unnoticed. Instead, the mission statement focused on protecting and serving the American people and ensuring that benefits were not provided to those who did not qualify or those who “would do us harm ….” The 2018 statement did not speak of the United States as a “nation of migrants” and it focused on efficiency while “protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.”

The new 2022 USCIS mission statement reflects President Joe Biden’s belief that “new Americans fuel our economy as innovators and job creators, working in every American industry, and contributing to our arts, culture, and government.” Accordingly, he has issued executive orders directing the various immigration agencies to reduce unnecessary barriers to immigration. The 2022 mission statement also reflects President Biden’s directions and USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou’s “vision for an inclusive and accessible agency.” Director Jaddou “is committed to ensuring that the immigration system . . . is accessible and humane . . . [serving] the public with respect and fairness, and lead with integrity to reflect America’s promise as a nation of welcome and possibility today and for generations to come.”

According to Director Jaddou, USCIS will strive to achieve the core values of treating applicants with integrity, dignity, and respect and using innovation to provide world-class service while vigilantly strengthening and enhancing security. On February 3, 2022, Director Jaddou, along with her deputies, briefed the nation on the agency’s efforts to improve service at USCIS. The leaders of the agency made clear that USCIS knows it must continue to eliminate backlogs, cut processing times, reduce unneeded Requests for Evidence and interviews, eliminate inequities in processing times across service centers and improve the contact center, among other things, to achieve its goals. Using streamlining and technological innovation, USCIS hopes to make itself much more consumer-oriented.

The restrictions on the issuance of H-1B, L-1, and J-1 nonimmigrant “guest-worker” visas, which have been in place since June 24, 2020, expired without fanfare on March 31, 2021. As a result, U.S. consulates around the world will resume issuing H-1B, L-1, and J-1 visas without the need for an additional national interest exception application.

Now that the restriction has expired, H, L, and J visa applicants who have or had not been scheduled for interviews will be scheduled in accordance with each consulate’s existing phased resumption of services. Those who were refused visas based on the expired restrictions may reapply by submitting a new application and a new fee.

The expiration was not completely unexpected, given that a limited injunction had been issued in the fall of 2020 on the basis that the restrictions exceeded presidential authority. Additionally, many businesses, particularly those in the technology industry, have long-argued that the restrictions did not protect U.S. workers, but, instead, harmed the U.S. economy.

While the lifting of this particular restriction is helpful, the 14-day United Kingdom, Ireland, Schengen area, Brazil, South Africa, Iran, and China travel bans remain in place. Most of those travel bans, which are an effort to control the spread of COVID-19, were tightened in early March 2021. At that time, the Biden administration removed a number of categorial exceptions to the bans and left only exceptions for those who seek to enter the United States for humanitarian purposes, public health response, national security, or “vital support” for critical infrastructure sectors.

This is the fourth Trump administration travel ban that the Biden administration has removed. On January 20, 2021, the “Muslim” and “Africa” bans were terminated. In February, President Joe Biden also withdrew a Presidential Proclamation that prevented individuals from obtaining immigrant visas and entering the country as legal permanent residents, as it prevented the unification of family members and made it more difficult for industries to hire talent from abroad. At that time, many immigration advocates hoped the nonimmigrant visa restrictions would also be removed. Now, that has come to pass.

Jackson Lewis attorneys are available to assist you in determining how to continue to cope with the 14-day bans, COVID-19 test requirements for travel into the United States, and the reciprocal land port of entry travel bans at the Northern and Southern borders with Canada and Mexico.

USCIS may be close to negotiating an agreement that would mean EADs for thousands of foreign nationals with approved applications will finally start to be produced.

Yet, first-time EAD applicants who are in H-4 or L-2 status may still face impediments. In March, when the COVID-19 crisis began and USCIS offices closed, the Application Support Centers (ACS) had to reschedule biometrics appointments. The biometrics appointment is essential and a precondition to USCIS issuing a final determination. Although USCIS agreed to reuse previously submitted biometrics to expedite processing, first-time applicants (or applicants who were not previously required to submit biometrics) had no recourse but to wait.

When ASCs started to reopen in June, individuals with appointments were subject to COVID-19 precautions, including face coverings (which may be removed for identification or photographing purposes) and social distancing. These limitations have resulted in ASCs limiting the number of daily appointments. It appears that some individuals have been told that appointments will not be available until October.

It is reported that during a three-week period, starting in mid-July, ASCs completed approximately 74,000 biometrics appointments. But on an average day pre-COVID-19, 14,000 were photographed and fingerprinted across all the field offices and ASCs. So, the backlog continues and the possibility that USCIS may furlough two-thirds of its workforce by the end of August will only exacerbate the problem.

Those who do get appointments for biometrics, interviews, or naturalization ceremonies must remember to comply with the current USCIS Visitor Policy:

  • Wear face coverings;
  • Follow signage related to social distancing;
  • Be aware that USCIS is placing specific limits on those who can accompany applicants with scheduled appointments; and
  • Do not bring or invite guests to naturalization ceremonies.

Individuals will not be allowed to enter a USCIS office if they:

  • Are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19;
  • Have had close contact within the last 14 days with a person known or suspected to have COVID-19;
  • Have been instructed by a healthcare provider to public health authority to isolate or self-quarantine with the last 14 days; or
  • Refuse to wear a face covering in accordance with USCIS policy.

USCIS asks anyone who feels sick to reschedule their appointments.

If you have any questions regarding these regulations, please reach out to your Jackson Lewis attorney. We are available to assist you in interpreting the rules and advising on how to proceed.

New USCIS filing fees will go into effect on October 2, 2020, under a new final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Federal Register on August 3, 2020. This rule raises fees by a weighted average of 20% and changes the current fee structure to impose specific fees per visa category.

USCIS, a fee-based agency, has stated the increase in fees was required to avoid a DHS projected deficit of $1 billion per year. Some fees will decrease, but others will increase dramatically – such as a more than 80% increase for citizenship applications. Other larger percentage increases include popular business-related petitions:

  • 51% increase for TN and E petitions to $695
  • 75% increase for L petitions to $805
  • 53% increase for O petitions to $705
  • 34% increase for I-765 Employment Authorization Documents to $550 (excluding DACA)

Employers whose workforce is comprised of at least 50% H-1B or L-1 workers will see even bigger increases. Already paying an additional $4,000 for a new H-1B visa and an additional $4,500 for a new L-1 visa, those companies will be required to pay the additional fees for renewals as well. It is reported that this alone will bring in $200 million per year in fees to USCIS.

Employers filing H-2A and H-2B petitions for temporary, seasonal agricultural and non-agricultural workers also will see an increase, from $460 to $850 (85%) and $715 (55%), respectively. This comes despite the Administration’s recognition of the essential nature of workers involved in the food supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic national emergency.

The USCIS Premium Processing fee, which brought in $2.39 billion in fees to USCIS between 2014 and 2019, will not increase, but the processing time has changed from 15 calendar days to 15 business days, up from two weeks to three weeks.

Comments on the new rule include a suggestion that USCIS increase its own efficiency instead of “charging more and providing less service.” Others noted the Administration’s own policy failings created the need for increased fees, citing the following as areas of concern:

  • Frivolous Requests for Evidence
  • “Extreme vetting”
  • Long suspensions of premium processing
  • Unnecessary in-person interviews
  • Increased denaturalization efforts
  • Litigation of improperly denied applications

In addition, commentators complained of the negative impact the increased fees would have on potential immigrants, the businesses that need to employ them, and the economy. To these and other comments submitted, DHS responded that it understands immigrants make significant contributions to the United States economy, but this final rule is not intended to impede or limit naturalization or legal immigration. Other commentators suggest the Administration’s policies have already impeded immigration and fee increases are not likely to help alleviate that.

USCIS also plans to publish updated forms before the new fees go into effect, including a new Form I-129 and a new Form I-765.

If you have any questions about the new fees or the new forms, please reach out to your Jackson Lewis attorney.