Immigration Rules Tracker

Appellate Procedures for the Board of Immigration Appeals

This interim final rule ("IFR") amends Department of Justice ("Department" or "DOJ") regulations to streamline administrative appellate review by the Board of Immigration Appeals ("Board" or "BIA") of decisions by Immigration Judges by making review of such decisions on the merits discretionary, by setting appropriate times for briefing in cases that are reviewed on the merits, and by streamlining other aspects of the appellate process to ensure timely adjudications and avoid...

Exercise of Time-Limited Authority To Increase the Fiscal Year 2026 Numerical Limitation for the H-2B Temporary Nonagricultural Worker Program

The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, is exercising time-limited Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 authority to issue up to, but not more than, an additional 64,716 visas for the fiscal year. All of these supplemental visas will be available only to those American businesses that are suffering or will suffer impending irreparable harm, i.e., those facing permanent and severe financial loss, as attested by the employer. These supplemental visas w...

Who this affects: U.S. employers filing H-1B petitions

Extension of Import Restrictions Imposed on Categories of Archaeological Material of Italy

This document amends U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect an extension of import restrictions on certain categories of archaeological material of the Italian Republic (Italy), which were originally imposed in Treasury Decision 01-06. The CBP regulations are being amended to reflect this extension through January 12, 2031.

Extension of Import Restrictions on Categories of Archaeological and Ethnological Material From Morocco

This document amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect an extension of import restrictions on certain categories of archaeological and ethnological material from the Kingdom of Morocco (Morocco), which were originally imposed by CBP Decision 21-02. The CBP regulations are being amended to reflect this extension through January 14, 2031.

Extension of Import Restrictions on Archaeological Material of Costa Rica

This document amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect an extension of import restrictions on certain archaeological material from the Republic of Costa Rica, which were originally imposed by CBP Decision 21-06. The CBP regulations are being amended to reflect this extension through January 15, 2031.

Adjustment to Premium Processing Fees

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is increasing premium processing fees charged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to reflect the amount of inflation from June 2023 through June 2025 according to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.

Who this affects: Naturalization applicants

Electronic Refunds

This document amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect that, subject to limited exceptions, CBP will issue all refunds electronically. This document explains the process required to receive electronic refunds and the process to receive paper checks in those rare instances where the recipient meets the criteria for a waiver.

Security Bars and Processing; Confirmation of Effective Date; Partial Withdrawal

In December 2020, DHS and DOJ (collectively, "the Departments") issued a final rule that clarified when an alien who poses a public health risk is ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal and revised their credible fear screening regulations. After multiple delays, the rule is scheduled to take effect on December 31, 2025. However, since December 2020, the Departments have further amended their regulations, complicating the codification of the 2020 rule. In this final...

Who this affects: Asylum seekers and refugees

Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending its regulations governing the process by which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects H-1B registrations for unique beneficiaries for filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions (or H-1B petitions for any year in which the registration requirement is suspended). Through this rule, DHS is implementing a weighted selection process that will generally favor the allocation of H-1B visas to higher-skilled and h...

Who this affects: H-1B specialty workers · U.S. employers filing H-1B petitions

Enhanced Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS)

To address ongoing aviation security threats, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is amending its regulations pertaining to the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) program to require the transmission of additional data elements. The ACAS program enhances the security of flights carrying cargo into the United States by requiring the transmission of certain air cargo data and performing targeted risk assessments based on the transmitted data prior to an aircraft's departure...

Automation of CBP Form I-418 for Vessels

This rule adopts as final, without change, interim amendments to title 8 and title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2021, that require commercial vessel operators to electronically submit the data elements of Form I- 418 to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in lieu of submitting a paper form. This electronic submission streamlines vessel arrival and departure processes by eliminating redundant data submissions, sim...

Technical Amendment to List of User Fee Airports: Addition of Five Airports, Removal of One Airport

This document amends CBP regulations by revising the list of user fee airports. This technical amendment reflects the designation of user fee status for five additional airports: City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Santa Maria Public Airport District in Santa Maria, California; Tallahassee International Airport in Tallahassee, Florida; Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida; and Hillsboro Airport in Hillsboro, Oregon. This doc...

Collection and Use of Biometrics by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to amend its regulations governing biometrics use and collection. DHS proposes to require submission of biometrics by any individual, regardless of age, filing or associated with an immigration benefit request, other request, or collection of information, unless exempted; expand biometrics collection authority upon alien arrest; define "biometrics;" codify reuse requirements; codify and expand DNA testing, use and storag...

Who this affects: U.S. employers filing H-1B petitions · Naturalization applicants

Facilitating Earlier Filing of Certain Electronically Submitted H-2A Petitions

This final rule amends DHS regulations to modify the timing of when USCIS must receive a valid temporary labor certification when an H-2A petitioner electronically files a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker requesting unnamed beneficiaries.

Who this affects: U.S. employers filing H-1B petitions

Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States

The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is issuing this interim final rule (IFR) to amend its regulations governing the certification of agricultural labor or services to be performed by temporary foreign workers in H-2A nonimmigrant status (H-2A workers). Specifically, the Department is revising the methodology for determining the hourly Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for non-range occupations by using wage data reported for each U.S. state and territory by the Depart...