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On Friday, June 5th 2026, a federal judge in Rhode Island, Judge McConnell, issued a decision officially ruling unlawful four recent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policies.
Most importantly, this includes the USCIS adjudication hold. This hold had paused the processing of immigration applications—such as green cards, work permits (including OPT and STEM OPT), and asylum—for...
Updated 10/20/2025: USCIS has updated its web page on H-1B Specialty Occupations to include updated information on the Presidential Proclamation on Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers. Some notable confirmations include:
The proclamation "does not prevent any holder of a current H-1B visa, or any alien beneficiary following petition approval, from traveling in and out of the United States." In other words, international employees with a current...
On October 1, 2025, a federal government shutdown began, due to Congress failing to pass legislation to fund the government for the new fiscal year (FY 2026). A U.S. government shutdown can have a range of impacts on international students, scholars, and employees at UC Berkeley, primarily by disrupting the operations of key federal agencies responsible for immigration. The severity of the impact generally depends on the duration of the shutdown, as well as how those agencies are funded. Some of these impacts may include the following:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that ends the practice of automatically extending the validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for aliens who timely file a renewal application in certain eligibility categories, effective on October 30, 2025. For renewal EAD applications (Form I-765) filed on or after October 30, 2025, the current up-to 540-day automatic extension...
On December 2, 2025 USCIS issued a new Policy Memorandum: Hold and Review of all Pending Asylum Applications and all USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from High-Risk Countries.
Effective immediately, the memorandum directs U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to:
Place a hold on all Forms I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal), regardless of the alien’s country of...
On January 1, 2026, USCIS issued an additional Policy Memorandum: Hold and Review of USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from Additional High-Risk Countries to include the additional countries listed in the December 16th, 2025 Expanded travel ban (...
