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.
28 articles across 7 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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6 articles in USCIS update
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6 articles
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.
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.
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.
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.