Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the January 2025 Visa Bulletin.
In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of January.
USCIS Adjustment of Status
For employment-based and family-sponsored preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of December.
What will Trump’s immigration policies look like during his second term? In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick breaks down what families need to know before he takes office.
You will learn all about the upcoming changes that may impact family-based immigration, and how his policies may slow down the processing of immigrant visas at U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad.
This information is based on the Trump administration’s campaign promises, and actions taken during his first term in office. While we do not know for certain what is to come, applicants should expect a departure from the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
Overview
Looking back on President Trump’s first term in office, his administration issued far-reaching executive actions on immigration. From Muslim travel bans to an overhaul of the public charge rule, the immigration process became much more restrictive.
Many of these executive actions and policy changes may be reinstated during his first 100 days in office, causing more headaches for family-based immigrants.
Here are some of the changes that may be expected from the Trump administration.
Return of the Public Charge Rule for Green Card and Immigrant Visa Applicants
To obtain a green card or immigrant visa, applicants must demonstrate that they are not likely to become a “public charge” on the U.S. government. A person who is likely to depend on government assistance for their basic needs is deemed a “public charge.”
In 2019, the Trump administration expanded the criteria used by USCIS and Consular officials to determine whether an immigrant is likely to become a public charge. Under Trump’s public charge rule, the use of public benefits (such as food stamps, Medicaid, and Section 8 housing assistance) were factors that were considered in public charge determinations, making it more difficult for immigrants receiving these benefits to obtain a green card.
The Trump administration also required USCIS and Consular officers to weigh several factors when making a public charge determination, including the applicant’s age, health, family status, assets, resources, financial status, education, and skills.
Proof of Personal Financial Resources
To make matters worse, Trump’s public charge rule also required green card applicants to show proof of personal financial resources.
President Trump will soon return to the White House, bringing with him many changes in the world of immigration.
In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares the ways in which the Trump administration will impact the processing at visas U.S. Consulates and Embassies worldwide, including immigrant and non-immigrant visas.
This video also covers the latest updates regarding the operational capacity of U.S. Consular posts and Embassies as of November 2024.
If you are currently waiting in line for a visa interview at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad, you won’t want to miss this video.
Overview
President Trump will settle into the White House on January 20, 2024, bringing with him new appointments to cabinet level positions. His pick for Secretary of State is likely to be the Republican Marco Rubio, a known conservative who supports legal immigration and a crackdown on illegal immigration.
Nonimmigrant visa applicants may face new restrictions when applying at U.S. Consulates and Embassies. During the previous Trump administration, work visa applicants were under much heavier scrutiny than ever before. H-1B, O-1, L-1, and J visa applicants found it much more difficult to obtain approvals both at the USCIS and Consular level.
These challenges existed even for applicants seeking extensions of their work visa.
To avoid being subject to greater scrutiny, applicants should file their cases as soon as possible. If premium processing service is available for your petition, take advantage of it.
The aftermath of the presidential election has sent shockwaves throughout the immigrant community.
In just 70 days, Donald Trump is set to become the next President of the United States. That means that major changes are coming to immigration law and policy.
In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what Trump’s victory means for immigration, including his promise to execute mass deportations throughout the United States, as well as other controversial immigration policies that he is expected to implement when he takes office on January 20, 2025.
Want to know more? Just keep on watching
Overview
Mass Deportations
Throughout his campaign, Trump has called for mass deportations nationwide which he has said will be the “largest deportation effort in American history. “
It is said that his advisors are discussing whether they can declare a “national emergency,” to allow the government to call upon military officials to detain and remove undocumented migrant gang members from the United States. His campaign has also suggested ending sanctuary cities to remove suspected criminals, including drug dealers and cartel members from the population.
His promises also include hiring thousands of border patrol agents to secure the southern border to deter illegal immigration.
Trump’s Top Five Policies Targeting Immigration Law
The following are the top 5 areas where Trump’s policies will have the greatest impact in the lives of immigrants in the United States.
Immigrants should understand the potential challenges they could face under the Trump administration and consult with an experienced immigration attorney to create a plan of action in the months ahead. It is important to do so as soon as possible, because sensitive cases may call for immediate action before Trump is inaugurated.
#1 Asylum Restrictions
During Trump’s presidency in 2017, his administration was responsible for implementing widespread asylum restrictions. It is likely that his administration will re-implement many of his previous immigration policies, which limit asylum applications.
His policies are also likely to restrict asylum applications at the border, as they did during his first term in office.
Examples of Asylum Restrictions:
In 2020, the Trump administration published 7 final rules in the Federal Register to:
If you are applying for an immigrant visa for a family member, you will encounter the National Visa Center during your immigration process. The National Visa Center is a branch of the Department of State responsible for managing the processing of immigrant visa applications.
Once USCIS has approved your immigrant petition, your case is transferred to the National Visa Center to collect additional documentation from you, before your case can be scheduled for a visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains why there have been delays in immigrant visa processing due to challenges faced by the National Visa Center.
Overview
What are some of the problems causing delays in visa processing?
Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) Technical Errors
The Department of State uses an online application for immigrant visa applicants to submit required fees, forms, and documents to the National Visa Center (NVC) for review.
This tool is called the Consular Electronic Application Center, or CEAC which requires you to enter your case number and invoice ID number to login in to the platform.
After logging in the platform will instruct you regarding the steps you need to take to complete pre-processing of your case. This includes 1) paying your fees, 2) completing the DS-260 Immigrant Visa Electronic Application, and 3) uploading the required documentation.
Unfortunately, users commonly experience errors while using the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) platform. This includes problems with uploading documents.
When trying to upload documents to CEAC, users who see an “Invalid Image Detected” error must save the completed document as a PDF and re-upload it.
Immigrant Visa Processing Delays
Due to these technical errors, the National Visa Center has been experiencing immigrant visa processing delays. These issues have pushed back immigrant visa processing because the National Visa Center has been unable to promptly receive, and review required documentation.
Other common situations causing delays include submitting incomplete documentation or documentation that is missing required information.
Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss this blog post covering the release of the November 2024 Visa Bulletin.
In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of November.
USCIS Adjustment of Status
For employment-based and family-sponsored preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of November.
If you are interested in applying for the Diversity Visa Lottery program now is the perfect time. Online registration for fiscal year 2026 is now open until Tuesday November 5th at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time.
In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains everything you need to know about your eligibility for the Diversity Visa lottery, how to apply, and useful tips for how to maximize your chances at selection.
Want to know more? Just keep on watching
Overview
What is the Diversity Visa Lottery program?
Every year, the U.S. government makes available up to 55,000 immigrant visas as part of its Diversity Visa Lottery program (also known as the green card lottery). This program is meant to offer green cards to individuals who are from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States to promote diversity.
To participate in the program, you must meet the DV lottery requirements and submit a free online registration during the registration period running from now until Tuesday November 5th at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time.
Winners for the DV lottery for FY 2026 are expected to be announced starting May 3, 2025, through September 30, 2026. Participants can check whether they have been selected on the DOS Website by selecting DV Entrant Status Check.
Entrant Status Check is the ONLY means used by the Department of State to notify selectees of their selection. The Department of State will not mail notification letters or notify selectees by email.
DO NOT BE SCAMMED: There is NO FEE to complete the online registration.
Who is Not Eligible?
Not every country is eligible to participate in the Diversity Visa lottery. For instance, countries like Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Mainland China, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, Vietnam, etc. are NOT eligible to participate.
Have you applied for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa and received a notice of 221(g) administrative processing after your Consular visa interview? If so, then you won’t want to miss this important video explaining what administrative processing is all about and what you can expect during this process.
Overview
What is 221(g) Administrative Processing?
A visa refusal under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) means that an applicant has not established eligibility for their visa to the satisfaction of the Consular officer.
Administrative processing is not a denial. It simply means that your visa has been temporarily refused by the Consular officer, because further review is needed before your visa can be approved. While a 221(g) refusal means that you are not eligible for a visa at this time, it is not the end of the road.
In fact, the majority of cases placed in administrative processing are released from administrative processing and are approved within 60 days of the visa interview. Often, a Consular officer may simply be waiting for the results of the applicant’s background check before they can provide clearance for the visa to be issued.
But for other more complicated cases, including those where concerns relating to fraud, criminal history, or national security concerns are involved, it can take several years before a case can be resolved. The timing of administrative processing will therefore depend on your individual circumstances and other complications rooted in your immigration history.
How do I know if I have been placed in 221(g) Administrative Processing?
Applicants who are placed in 221(g) administrative processing following their visa interview will typically receive a 221(g) notice from the Consular officer at the conclusion of the interview. The notice will indicate that further review is necessary before a final decision can be made, and in some circumstances the notice may request for an applicant to provide additional information or documentation such as travel history.
If you are applying for an employment-based immigrant visa, you won’t want to miss this important update regarding visa availability. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses some new information released in the Department of State’s September Visa Bulletin which impacts most employment-based preference categories.
Want to know more? Just keep on watching
Overview
Recently, the U.S. Department of State published a new update in its September Visa Bulletin, which warns applicants that due to a steady increase in demand for employment-based visas in fiscal year 2024, the annual numerical limits have been reached for all employment-based preference categories.
As a result, no further immigrant visas or green cards will be issued for the remainder of the fiscal year which ends on September 30, 2024. This means that if your case is currently waiting for interview scheduling with USCIS or the National Visa Center, no further action will be taken on your case until the new fiscal year begins and new final action cutoff dates are issued.
However, the good news is that the new fiscal year will begin on October 1st and a new allocation of visas has been made for the month of October. The October Visa Bulletin was released several weeks ago and has shown great progress.
For the month of October, the Final Action Date for EB-1 Worldwide remains current; EB-3 Worldwide will advance by nearly 2 years to November 15, 2022; and EB-5 Worldwide will remain current. The Final Action Date for EB-5 India will also make significant advancement of 13 months to January 1, 2022, and China will advance by 7 months to July 15, 2016.
Unfortunately, EB-3 China’s Final Action date will retrogress by 5 months to April 1, 2020, and in the Dates for Filing Chart, EB-3 China will retrogress by 7.5 months to November 15, 2020, and EB-5 China will retrogress by 3 months to October 1, 2016.
For more information about the October Visa Bulletin’s advancements, please click here.
Are you waiting for your priority date to become current on the visa bulletin? Then you won’t want to miss this blog post covering the release of the October 2024 visa bulletin.
In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of October.
USCIS Adjustment of Status
For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of October.
For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of October.
The Final Action date for China EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers will retrogress by five months, to April 1, 2020. The Date for Filing will retrogress by almost 8 months, to November 15, 2020.
The Final Action date for EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers Worldwide will advance by almost two years, to November 15, 2022. The Date for Filing will advance by one month, to March 1, 2023.
The Final Action date for China EB-5 Unreserved will advance by seven months, to July 15, 2016. The Date for Filing will retrogress by three months, to October 1, 2016.
The India EB-5 Unreserved Final Action date will advance by more than one year, to January 1, 2022. The Date for Filing will remain at April 1, 2022.
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