Starting October 28, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will no longer accept paper checks or money orders for filing fees, requiring applicants to use electronic payments. Applicants will be required to use new Form G-1650, Authorization for ACH Transactions, to pay directly from a U.S. bank account, or Form G-1450 for credit or […]
Palmer Polaski Blog
On September 19, 2025, an Executive Order was issued announcing The Gold Card program, which allows individuals to pay a $1,000,000 gift to the Department of Commerce to establish eligibility for an immigrant visa; alternatively, a corporate entity can contribute $2,000,000 on an individual’s behalf. This monetary gift would constitute evidence of eligibility under existing […]
A popular way many skilled professionals seek immigrant visas is through EB-2 National Interest Waivers. This pathway allows applicants to self-petition and bypass labor certification (PERM), which is time-consuming and outside of the control of the beneficiary. Since FY2018, applications surged nearly 500%; however, approval rates dropped to 43% in FY2024. Pending cases also rose […]
The employment-based fourth preference (EB-4) backlog which began in earnest more than two years ago when the State Department reinterpreted how nationals from certain countries are to be counted against annual numerical quota limitations, continues with an estimated 180,000 applicants waiting for just under 10,000 visas allocated annually. Taken in its extreme, this means that […]
Employers are required to use the Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired and employed in the United States. Employers must maintain a copy of a completed Form I-9 for each employee for three years after their hire date, or one year after their employment is terminated, whichever is later. […]
In a sea of policy and enforcement changes over the first half of 2025, there are some comforting areas of continuity at USCIS worthy of highlighting. Processing times for most adjustment of status applications remain normal compared to historical trends, and naturalization applications continue to be decided extremely quickly (most offices adjudicate them in less […]
From enhanced vetting, sporadic SEVIS terminations (that were later reinstated), targeted visa revocations, ICE arrests, social media monitoring, crackdowns on activists, and temporary pausing of visa interviews (that were also reinstated), the Trump administration has shown great animosity to foreign students and scholars during its first months. These draconian policies harm the future of the […]
President Trump has claimed ramped up ICE enforcement activities, arrests, and removals since his inauguration. However, data from Syracuse University’s TRAC system show that daily arrests are only slightly (2%) up when compared to arrests under President Biden. Biden’s arrests were a result of thousands of apprehensions at the border while Trump’s are in the […]
On June 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that federal district courts could not issue nationwide injunctions to block executive actions. Even though lower courts directly addressed the birthright citizenship issue, the Court did not resolve the constitution interpretation of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in its opinion. The majority’s inaction will cause […]
Effective June 6, 2025, USCIS rescinded the policy of categorically considering deferred action for special immigrant juveniles with an approved Form I-360. While no longer automatically granted deferred action, SIJS applicants with approved I-360s still are eligible to apply for deferred action benefits with USCIS and the protections can be granted on a case-by-case basis; […]