Haven blog
Updates, analysis, and editorial context when the rules keep moving.
This is the lighter editorial stream: policy updates, visa bulletin movement, founder perspective, and selected commentary on the moments that change how people plan.
48 articles across 8 topics
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Recent context from the editorial streamTrump’s new $100,000 H-1B fee: what it covers, what it does not, and why people are confused
The new fee announced on September 19, 2025 is large, but the scope matters. Here is what the White House, USCIS, Congress’s research arm, and AP reporting say it actually applies to.
USCIS Invalid Signature Rule: H-1B and EB Denials Start July 10
On May 11, 2026, USCIS published an interim final rule amending 8 CFR 103.2(a)(7) to allow denial - not just rejection - of H-1B, I-140, and other employment-based filings later found to lack a valid signature. The rule takes effect July 10, 2026. Here is what employers, attorneys, and applicants should do now.
June 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 India Retrogresses 10+ Months
The State Department's June 2026 Visa Bulletin delivers a sharp blow to Indian-born EB-2 applicants, pulling the Final Action Date back more than 10 months to September 1, 2013. EB-1 India also retrogresses 3.5 months. The bulletin warns that further retrogression — or full unavailability — may follow before the fiscal year ends.
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New H-1B Fee Rule Clears White House Review — What to Expect
A DHS proposal to change H-1B petition fees cleared OIRA review on August 20, signaling publication is imminent. The rule is separate from the $100,000 fee and adds to a growing list of H-1B cost changes in 2026. Here's what we know and what to watch for.
Texas Gov. Abbott Proposes Total H-1B Ban in Public Schools
Governor Greg Abbott announced legislation to ban all H-1B visa holders from Texas K-12 public schools, a first-of-its-kind state action that would affect 340+ teachers across nearly 50 districts. Here's what attorneys and affected workers need to know.
USCIS Backlog Hits 11.3M as EB-1A and EB-2 NIW Denial Rates Surge
New data shows the USCIS case backlog reached 11.3 million in Q1 FY2026, while denial rates for EB-1A extraordinary ability petitions doubled to 52.5% and EB-2 NIW denials climbed to 57.4%. Indian applicants are bearing a disproportionate share of the impact.
PERM Backlog Reduction Act: Bipartisan Bill Would Create 30-Day Premium Processing
A new bipartisan bill, H.R. 10051, would let employers pay $1,200 for 30-day PERM labor certification processing — down from the current average of 372 days. Here's what attorneys and applicants need to know.
USCIS Mandatory E-Filing Rule: Impact on H-1B and EB Petitions
An interim final rule published August 11, 2026 gives USCIS the authority to require electronic filing for immigration benefit requests — including H-1B petitions and I-140 employment-based green card applications. No forms are mandatory yet, but the framework is live and comment period closes October 13.
DHS Moves to Eliminate 60-Day Grace Period for H-1B and O-1 Workers
The Department of Homeland Security has sent a proposed rule to the White House for review that would eliminate the 60-day grace period H-1B, O-1, and other visa holders currently have after losing a job. If finalized, workers could face immediate loss of status upon termination.
USCIS Can Now Deny H-1B and Green Card Filings Without an RFE
USCIS reversed its Biden-era policy on August 5, 2026, restoring officers' discretion to deny immigration benefit requests — including H-1B petitions, O-1 petitions, and EB green card applications — without first issuing a Request for Evidence or Notice of Intent to Deny. The change is effective immediately for all pending and new filings.
DOJ Settles With OpenAI for $3.2M Over PERM Recruitment Discrimination
The Justice Department secured a $3.2 million settlement with OpenAI and subsidiary Statsig for discriminating against U.S. workers during PERM recruitment — the 13th such settlement under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative. Here's what employers sponsoring green cards need to know.
DHS Nears Final Rule Extending 9-11 Fee to H-1B and L-1 Renewals
The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to finalize a rule that would require certain employers to pay an additional $4,000 fee on every H-1B extension petition — not just new hires. With 72% of H-1B approvals going to continuing employment, the cost impact could be substantial.
USCIS Tightens H-1B to B-2 Switch, Closing a Layoff Safety Net
Immigration attorneys report a sharp increase in USCIS denials and Requests for Evidence on H-1B to B-2 change-of-status applications, effectively removing a critical bridge option for laid-off visa workers. Here is what changed, who is affected, and what alternatives remain.
$100,000 H-1B Fee Blocked Again After First Circuit Denies Stay
The First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Trump administration's motion to stay a district court ruling that vacated the $100,000 H-1B fee. The fee is now blocked while the appeal proceeds, and USCIS is expected to issue updated filing guidance within days.
Meta Ordered to Justify AI-Driven Layoffs of H-1B Visa Holders
A federal judge in California has ordered Meta to explain why four company-sponsored visa holders were selected for termination in an alleged AI-driven layoff. The ruling recognizes that losing immigration status is an irreparable harm that money damages cannot fix — a legal distinction that could reshape how employers handle visa workers in mass layoffs.
August 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-1 India May Become Unavailable
The State Department's August 2026 Visa Bulletin warns that EB-1 India could become unavailable in the coming weeks as annual visa numbers near exhaustion. EB-2 India remains frozen, EB-3 India is unchanged at a 12-year backlog, and USCIS will use Final Action Dates for adjustment of status.
H-1B FY2027 Cap Reached: First Wage-Weighted Season, No Second Lottery
USCIS confirmed on July 17 that the 85,000-visa H-1B cap for FY2027 has been met — no second lottery will be held. This closes the first cap season under the wage-weighted selection system, which drove registrations down 38.5% and shifted selection sharply toward higher-paid positions.
New Public Charge Rule: What EB Green Card Applicants Must Know
DHS finalized a rule on July 16 rescinding the 2022 public charge regulation and restoring broader benefit screening for adjustment-of-status applicants. The rule takes effect September 18, 2026, and directly affects every EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 applicant filing Form I-485 — with a mandatory new edition of the form and expanded officer discretion to consider Medicaid, SNAP, and housing assistance.
Court Blocks Visa Denials for Content Moderation Researchers
Chief Judge Boasberg of the D.C. federal court stayed the State Department's policy of denying visas to noncitizens who work in content moderation, disinformation research, or trust and safety. The ruling directly affects H-1B and O-1 visa holders in these fields and raises broader questions about viewpoint-based visa adjudication.
Project Firewall: DOL Opens Nationwide H-1B and PERM Fraud Probe
The Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General announced a nationwide investigation into H-1B and PERM fraud on July 8, 2026, issuing dozens of subpoenas and targeting wage-kickback schemes, fraudulent applications, and worker exploitation. Here's what employers and visa holders need to know.
Computer Systems Analysts Now Job Zone 4: H-1B and PERM Impact
The Department of Labor reclassified Computer Systems Analysts from Job Zone 3 to Job Zone 4 in the latest O*NET update, strengthening H-1B specialty occupation arguments and potentially lowering PERM prevailing wage levels for one of immigration's most heavily used job titles.
Ohio Court Orders USCIS to Resume Green Card and EAD Processing Within 30 Days
A federal judge in Ohio ordered USCIS to restart adjudication of frozen green card and work permit applications, mandating 30-day EAD processing and joining a growing line of courts rejecting nationality-based processing freezes. Here's what employment-based applicants and attorneys need to know.
H-1B Reform: DHS Targets Cap Exemptions and Third-Party Rules
The Spring 2026 Unified Regulatory Agenda reveals DHS plans to tighten H-1B cap exemptions, impose new third-party placement requirements, and expand the 50-50 employer fee to extension petitions. Here is what employers and H-1B workers need to know.
Prevailing Wages Rise 3.3%: What H-1B and PERM Filers Need to Know
DOL's Wage Year 2026–27 data took effect July 1, raising prevailing wages in roughly 74% of occupations. Every new H-1B LCA and PERM filing must use the updated numbers — and under the wage-weighted lottery, even modest increases can shift selection odds.
DOL Plans First PERM Recruitment Overhaul Since 2004
The Department of Labor's latest regulatory agenda signals a sweeping modernization of the PERM labor market test — the first update to recruitment requirements in over two decades. Employers sponsoring EB-2 and EB-3 green cards should prepare for tighter recruitment mandates, new layoff safeguards, and digital-age hiring standards.
H-1B Renewals Near Record in FY2026 as Registrations Plummet
USCIS data shows 273,026 H-1B continuing-employment petitions approved in the first nine months of FY2026 — approaching last year's record of 291,542 with a full quarter remaining. Meanwhile, new cap-subject registrations have fallen roughly 38% year over year. What the divergence means for employers, attorneys, and H-1B holders.
DHS Alien Registration Rule: What H-1B Holders Need to Know
DHS published a Final Rule on June 29, 2026, codifying the online alien registration requirement that has been in place since April 2025. H-1B holders are confirmed exempt — but dependent children who turn 14 must register within 30 days. Here is what the rule changes, who it affects, and what you should do now.
Sonderling Nominated as DOL Secretary: H-1B and PERM Impact
President Trump announced on June 29 that he will nominate Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling to lead the Department of Labor permanently. For employers sponsoring H-1B workers and pursuing PERM labor certifications, the nomination signals continuity at an agency that controls prevailing wages, processing backlogs, and wage enforcement.
Texas Is Building a State-Level H-1B Enforcement Machine
Governor Abbott, AG Paxton, and the Texas legislature have launched parallel investigations into H-1B fraud — targeting ghost offices, freezing state agency sponsorships, and studying employer use of the visa program. States cannot administer immigration law directly, but Texas is using consumer-protection statutes to pressure employers in ways that could reshape H-1B compliance nationwide.
After Dorcas: the benefits hold is gone, but EB cases are still stalled
Three weeks after a federal court vacated the USCIS benefits hold for nationals of 39 countries, USCIS says the old policies are no longer in effect. Attorneys, however, are not yet seeing long-stuck employment-based cases move. Employers and applicants should treat the ruling as leverage, not as proof that processing has restarted.
July 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 India is unavailable, EB-1 moves backward
The July 2026 Visa Bulletin shuts EB-2 India for the rest of FY 2026 and moves EB-1 India back by two months. Pending I-485s are not dead, but approvals are blocked until visa numbers return.
EB-2 NIW Approval Rate Climbs to 42.6% in Q1 FY2026
USCIS data released June 15 shows EB-2 National Interest Waiver approvals rising to 42.6% in Q1 FY2026, up from 35.7% in Q4 FY2025. That is a real improvement, not a return to the easy-approval era. Petitioners still need narrow proposed endeavors and evidence of measurable U.S. impact.
July 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-1 India Retrogresses Further
The July 2026 Visa Bulletin moves EB-1 India back two months to October 15, 2022 and warns that the category could become unavailable before the fiscal year ends. EB-2 India remains closed, while EB-3 makes limited forward movement.
$100,000 H-1B Fee Back in Effect After Court Stays Vacatur
On June 12, 2026, the Massachusetts judge who had struck down the $100,000 H-1B fee four days earlier paused his own ruling. The fee is back in effect while the government seeks relief from the First Circuit, putting employers in a narrow filing window before the June 30 cap deadline.
USCIS drops Mukherji appeal, leaving the EB-1A final merits test exposed
USCIS withdrew its Eighth Circuit appeal in Mukherji v. Miller, leaving in place a district court ruling that the agency adopted the EB-1A 'final merits determination' without required APA rulemaking. That helps denied petitioners in litigation, but it does not mean USCIS has stopped using the framework.
Federal Court Vacates $100,000 H-1B Fee as Unlawful Tax
A Massachusetts federal judge struck down the Trump administration's $100,000 H-1B supplemental fee on June 8, 2026, calling it an unconstitutional tax imposed without congressional authorization. The ruling matters immediately for FY2027 H-1B cap petitions due by June 30.
New H-1B bill would end the green card path and cut the visa to two years
Rep. Chip Roy introduced the American White-Collar Worker Jobs Act on June 4, 2026. It would eliminate the H-1B-to-green-card pathway, cut H-1B duration from six years to two, and require a 75th-percentile wage floor. The bill is unlikely to pass as written, but its provisions show where restrictionist policy is heading.
Federal Court Vacates USCIS Benefits Hold for 39 Countries
A Rhode Island federal court vacated four USCIS policies that had frozen benefit adjudications for nationals of 39 travel ban countries since late 2025. The ruling could restart pending I-485, EAD, advance parole, and green card processing, but a government appeal is expected.
46,000 Extra EB Green Cards in FY2026: How Spillover Works
The State Department set the FY2026 employment-based visa pool at approximately 186,000 — about 46,000 above the 140,000 statutory floor. Here is how the family-to-EB spillover mechanism works, who actually benefits, and why FY2027 could bring an even larger boost.
EB-2 NIW Denial Rate Hits 64% in Q4 FY2025: What Changed
USCIS quarterly data shows the EB-2 National Interest Waiver denial rate surged to 64.3% in Q4 FY2025, up from roughly 4% three years earlier. A January 2025 policy update, a near-tripling in filing volume, and stricter adjudication are reshaping the NIW landscape.
H-1B Wage-Weighted Lottery: First FY2027 Selection Data Emerges
The first real-world data from the new H-1B wage-weighted lottery is in. Higher-paid positions were selected at significantly higher rates, and total registrations dropped 38% year-over-year. Here's what the numbers mean for employers and applicants.
11 Legal Grounds for Challenging USCIS Memo PM-602-0199 in Court
Immigration attorneys are building a federal court case against USCIS's adjustment-of-status memo. Here are the 11 legal arguments that make PM-602-0199 vulnerable — and what employment-based applicants should do while litigation takes shape.
EB-2 India Visa Limit Reached: No Green Cards Until October 2026
The State Department announced that India has exhausted its entire EB-2 allocation for FY 2026. All green card approvals and consular immigrant visa issuances for EB-2 India are frozen through September 30, 2026. Here is what applicants, NIW petitioners, and employers need to know.
USCIS Memo PM-602-0199: AOS Is Now 'Extraordinary Relief'
USCIS issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 on May 21, 2026, directing officers to treat adjustment of status as an 'extraordinary act of administrative grace' and apply heightened discretionary scrutiny to every I-485. The memo applies immediately to all pending and future applications — including employment-based cases — with no grandfathering. Here is what H-1B, O-1, and EB green card applicants need to know.
USCIS Lifts Adjudication Hold for Foreign Physicians
USCIS has quietly exempted foreign physicians from its blanket adjudication hold, which had frozen immigration benefit requests for nationals of dozens of countries since January 2026. The agency updated its website around May 9–13, 2026 — with no formal press release — and DHS confirmed that physician applications will continue to be processed. Enhanced vetting remains, but cases are moving again.
DOL Suspends Cloudera PERM Cases; DOJ Sues Over Sham Recruitment
The Department of Labor suspended all of Cloudera's pending PERM labor certification applications for 180 days, while the DOJ filed a civil complaint alleging the company used a nonfunctional email address to block U.S. workers from applying for at least seven high-paying tech roles. Every employer running a PERM process should take notice.
June 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 India Retrogresses 10+ Months
The State Department's June 2026 Visa Bulletin delivers a sharp blow to Indian-born EB-2 applicants, pulling the Final Action Date back more than 10 months to September 1, 2013. EB-1 India also retrogresses 3.5 months. The bulletin warns that further retrogression — or full unavailability — may follow before the fiscal year ends.
May 2026 EB Visa Bulletin: USCIS Shifts to Final Action Dates
USCIS is using Final Action Dates — not the Dates for Filing chart — for all employment-based categories in May 2026, the first such shift in over six months. No EB priority dates moved forward. Here is what changed, who lost filing eligibility, and what to watch for in June.
USCIS Invalid Signature Rule: H-1B and EB Denials Start July 10
On May 11, 2026, USCIS published an interim final rule amending 8 CFR 103.2(a)(7) to allow denial - not just rejection - of H-1B, I-140, and other employment-based filings later found to lack a valid signature. The rule takes effect July 10, 2026. Here is what employers, attorneys, and applicants should do now.
DOL H-1B and PERM Wage Rule: Comment Period Closes May 26
The Department of Labor's March 2026 proposal would raise prevailing wage levels for H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM filings to higher OEWS percentiles. Public comments close May 26, 2026. Here is what employers, attorneys, and applicants should be doing now.
Trump’s new $100,000 H-1B fee: what it covers, what it does not, and why people are confused
The new fee announced on September 19, 2025 is large, but the scope matters. Here is what the White House, USCIS, Congress’s research arm, and AP reporting say it actually applies to.