The most consequential change in legal immigration is receiving remarkably little attention. It is not a single executive order, policy memorandum, court decision, or rulemaking. It is the gradual transformation of legal immigration from a system built around discrete petitions or applications into one built around permanent records, continuous vetting, and expanding discretion.
For decades
On May 21, 2026 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a startling memorandum (“Adjustment of Status is a Matter of Discretion and Administrative Grace, and an Extraordinary Relief that Permits Applicants to Dispense with the Ordinary Consular Visa Process”).
As the memo’s title boldly proclaims, USCIS doubles down on its contention that adjustment of status
[Blogger’s note: The H-1B Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)(” Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions”) closed for comments October 27, 2025. More than 9,000 have been submitted with additional comments possible on the lottery registration form until November 24, 2025. On varying and at times overlapping or contrary
From time to time, I’m lucky to be invited to wax philosophical and legal on a wide range of U.S. immigration topics dear to my heart.
I had that good fortune twice recently.
One involved an extended conversation of about 40 minutes with Theresa Cardinal Brown, Senior Advisor on Immigration/Border Security at the Bipartisan
Although the pace of President Trump’s Executive Orders (EOs) targeting border enforcement has slowed since Inauguration Day, the repercussions of these and more recent EOs on legal immigration have grown.
This article will outline and assess recent efforts by federal immigration officials in the Department of State (DOS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and component
[Blogger’s Note: This post, coauthored by my colleague, Amanda Adamczenko, and me, presents a “win-win-win” opportunity — a rara avis in the current climate. For the sake of all law-abiding immigration stakeholders, let’s hope that it gains traction.]
With an array of executive orders (EOs), President Trump has affirmed his commitment to controlling immigration
On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued 26 Executive Orders and additional actions focused on immigration enforcement, with significant impacts on legal, employment-based immigration. The directives include stricter vetting processes, potential delays in visa processing, and heightened scrutiny for foreign workers, especially those from countries facing visa bans. This vetting process will involve not only
The upcoming political transition to Republican control of the White House and Congress will no doubt bring significant changes to U.S. immigration policy and prompt an immediate call to action for mobility leaders.
Immigration policy changes historically occur swiftly after inauguration. Incoming administrations often use the first 100 days of a new presidency to take
The voters have spoken. President-elect Donald Trump is heading back to the White House and majority GOP-control in the Senate has been secured (but House control remains uncertain). Mobility professionals should therefore take immediate proactive measures in the runup to January 20. The steps suggested below, we believe, will demonstrate to the company’s leaders and
We’ve seen this movie before.
Scene 1: The President issues a proclamation in reliance on his authority to restrict the entry of certain noncitizens under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 212(f) so long as he asserts that allowing them in would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
Scene 2: