Rules explained
34 articles, newest first.
Asylum Referral Without an Interview: The July 28 Rule, Who It Reaches, and Why the Written Application Is Now the Whole Case
Since July 28, 2026, an asylum officer may send an affirmative application straight to immigration court on the paper record alone. DHS estimates 130,000 referrals a year, most of them on the one-year deadline. What the rule strikes from the regulations, who is exposed, and how to file as if no one will ever ask you a question.
The $100,000 H-1B Payment No Longer Applies: How the Courts Got There, and What DHS Plans Next
Ten months after the proclamation, a federal court vacated the guidance implementing the $100,000 H-1B payment and the First Circuit refused to stay that ruling. As of July 24, 2026, the payment applies to no one. DHS says it disagrees, will comply, and intends to collect if the ruling is reversed. Where employers stand for the next cap season.
The D.C. Circuit Sides With Fast-Track Deportation: What the June 23 Ruling Changes, and What It Has Not Changed Yet
A divided appeals court has vacated the order that blocked nationwide expedited removal for ten months. The policy is not yet back in force, because the court's mandate has not issued. When it does, anyone inside the country who cannot prove two years of presence is exposed. The evidence to prepare, and the words to say.
Adjustment of Status as "Administrative Grace": The May 2026 Memo That Points Applicants Abroad
A USCIS memo dated May 21, 2026 tells officers to weigh the availability of consular processing against anyone applying for a green card from inside the United States, and to demand "unusual or even outstanding equities" from applicants with any adverse factor. Who is exposed, what it does not say, and why leaving to apply abroad can be worse than waiting.
Detention Without Bond: The Yajure Hurtado Rule, the Circuit Split, and What a Family Can Do
Since September 2025 the government's position has been that anyone who entered without inspection is ineligible for a bond hearing, however long they have lived here. Federal appeals courts are split down the middle on whether that is the law. Whether a detained person can ask a judge for release now depends on the state they are held in.
Advance Parole, Refugee Travel Documents and Reentry Permits in 2026: Which One, What It Costs, and Why Approval Is Not Admission
Every travel document for a non-citizen is requested on the same form and none of them guarantees you will be let back in. An update of this site's 2021 guide, with the 2026 fees, the processing times, and the travel ban that now decides who should not leave at all.
Family Petitions in 2026: Who Can Sponsor Whom, What It Costs, and How Long It Takes
The categories have not changed since this site first laid them out in 2021. The fees, the waiting lines and the scrutiny have. A current account of family-based immigration, from the citizen petitioning for a spouse to the asylee petitioning for a child.
Immigration Court in 2026: Checking Your Hearing, Missing One, and What Changed in the Courthouse
The immigration courts are carrying more than three million cases with a quarter fewer judges than a year ago, and since May 2025 the courthouse itself has become a place of arrest. How to check a hearing, what an in absentia order does, and how to undo one.
The One-Year Asylum Deadline in 2026: The Exceptions Still Recognized, and the Fees That Complicate Them
An asylum application must be filed within a year of your last arrival. The exceptions have not changed since this site first explained them in 2021. What has changed is everything around them: a filing fee, an annual fee, and an agency far readier to refer a late case to court.
Alien Registration and Form G-325R: Who Must Register, Who Already Has, and What It Costs You
A 1940 duty to register with the government, dormant for decades, has been enforced since April 11, 2025. Most people with any immigration paperwork are already registered without knowing it. The ones who are not face a decision with real consequences either way.
The Return of Neighborhood Investigations: What USCIS Is Now Asking Your Neighbors
A practice the immigration service abandoned around 1991 is back. Under an August 2025 memo, USCIS may investigate a naturalization applicant's residence and workplace for the five years before filing, and by January 2026 officers were visiting homes unannounced. What the law requires, and how to make the visit unnecessary.
Expedited Removal: The Fight Over Fast-Track Deportation, and How to Prove Two Years
In January 2025 DHS extended expedited removal to anyone inside the country who cannot prove two years of continuous presence. A federal court stayed the policy in August; the D.C. Circuit refused to lift the stay in November and heard the appeal in December. What the policy would do, what protects you, and what to carry.
The 2026 Fee Schedule: What the Inflation Adjustment Changes on January 1
H.R. 1 indexes its immigration fees to inflation every fiscal year. Three Federal Register notices in November 2025 set the 2026 amounts. Most rise by $5 to $20, a few stay flat, and a filing postmarked on or after January 1 without the new amount is rejected.
The End of the Automatic Work Permit Extension: File Early or Stop Working
Since October 30, 2025, filing a work permit renewal no longer extends the expiring card. The 540-day bridge that kept hundreds of thousands of people employed while USCIS caught up is gone. Who is affected, the timing, and what to do.
The $100,000 H-1B Payment: Who Pays, Who Is Exempt, and Where the Lawsuits Stand
Proclamation 10973 attached a $100,000 payment to new H-1B petitions for workers outside the United States. The USCIS guidance of October 20 narrowed it considerably. A precise account of the trigger, the exemptions, and the two lawsuits.
Good Moral Character, Redefined: How USCIS Now Evaluates Naturalization Applicants
An August 2025 policy memo replaced the checklist approach to good moral character with a "holistic" review of the whole person, reaching conduct outside the statutory period and technically legal behavior. What officers now weigh, and how to prepare.
The 2025 Civics Test: 128 Questions, 20 Asked, 12 to Pass
USCIS has reinstated the harder 2020 version of the naturalization civics test for anyone filing Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025. What changed, who is affected, and the exemptions that survive.
The New USCIS Fees Under H.R. 1: What Asylum Applicants and Parolees Now Pay
Since July 22, 2025, asylum, work permits, TPS and Special Immigrant Juvenile filings carry a second, non-waivable fee on top of the usual USCIS charge. Here is the full schedule, who pays, and what happens if you don't.
What are the Broadstrokes of Biden’s Immigration Policy?
As President of the United States, Joe Biden has made immigration reform a top priority of his administration.
What are the steps to going from illegal immigrant to green card?
There are several steps that an individual who is living in the United States without legal immigration status (also known as an “undocumented immigrant”) may be able to take in order to obtain a green card, which is a document that allows a person to live and work in the United States permanently.
What is the legal argument for granting asylum for immigrants to the US?
Asylum is a form of protection that is granted to individuals who have fled their home country due to persecution, fear of violence, or other serious harm.
Can Mexican Immigrants to the US apply for Asylum?
Yes, Mexican nationals can apply for asylum in the United States.
What are the differences between Obama, Trump, and Biden’s immigration policies?
The immigration policies of the United States have undergone significant changes under the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.
What is Title 42?
Title 42 is a previously little-known section of US health law that allows the US government to temporarily block noncitizens from entering the US “when doing so is required in the interest of public health.” During the…
Title 42 Lifting Blocked
Federal judge District Judge Robert R. Summerhays, a Trump appointee in Lafayette, Louisiana blocked the Biden administration from lifting a public health order that immigration officers have used to quickly expel migrants at the southwest border, including asylum-seekers.
Will the Remain in Mexico Policy Be Reinstated?
On August 24, 2021, the Supreme Court virtually reinstated the Trump-era Migrants Protection Protocols Program (MPP), or, as it more commonly called, “Remain in Mexico policy”, which made asylum seekers from Central America to…
Central American Minors (CAM) Program Explained
The Central American Minors Program (also known as CAM) was created to allow eligible minors from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (the Northern Triangle countries) to join their parents or other close relatives who live in the United States with legal status.
Advance Parole, Refugee Travel Document, and Reentry Permit
An individual, who is not a US citizen, may be required to obtain additional documents prior to travel abroad, even if the individual has a lawful resident card (green card).
Remain in Mexico Policy Explained (May 2021 update)
In January 2019, in attempts to reduce the number of foreign nationals exploiting the U.S. immigration system and to discourage false asylum claims, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced a new policy called…
DAPA Ruling Explained
DAPA, or Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents allows certain eligible categories of illegal aliens, namely parents of Americans, to apply for a temporary deportation deferral and for a three-year employment authorization.
DACA Ruling Explained
BACKGROUND On June 15, 2012, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation initiating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA, allowing undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, to legally stay and work in the country.
Extraordinary Abilities for Non-Immigrant Visa
If an individual possesses extraordinary abilities, then they may qualify for the 0-1 non-immigrant visa. Extraordinary abilities are defined as having above average skills in the arts, athletics, business, education, or sciences.
New Rules for Asylum Seekers for Employment Authorization
Asylum seekers face new rules to apply for an Employment Authorization Document since August 25, 2020.
The Public Charge Rule
The simple explanation of the Public Charge Rule is that immigrants who have a chance of becoming a public charge, or in other words, having the state take care of them because they are unable to take care of themselves, are excluded or denied from entry into the United States.