Navigating the National Interest Waiver in 2025: Rising Filings, Lower Approvals, and Stricter Scrutiny. The National Interest Waiver (NIW) has long offered a valuable pathway for highly skilled professionals to obtain permanent residence in the United States without employer sponsorship. But recent USCIS trends reveal that the NIW landscape is changing rapidly and not necessarily in favor of...
On July 3, 2025 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, President Trump unveiled a proposed new form of sponsorship for agricultural workers. If enacted, this could reshape how U.S. employers access foreign labor, especially in agriculture. Now, what is the H-2A Visa? The H-2A program allows U.S. agricultural employers to hire foreign seasonal or temporary workers when there aren’t enough U.S. workers...
On April 11, 2025, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) issued new guidance allowing immigration judges to pretermit—or deny without a hearing—asylum applications that are legally insufficient on their face. This policy emphasizes that judges have discretion to assess whether an asylum application merits a full hearing, particularly when no factual disputes exist that would affect...
On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14159, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enforce existing registration obligations under Section 262 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. § 1302). This executive order prioritizes civil and criminal enforcement of noncompliance with these...