Trump’s Executive Order limits birthright citizenship to children born to mothers who are unlawfully present in the United States or in lawful temporary status (such as H-1B, F-1, L-1, E-2, etc.) unless the father is a US citizen or lawful permanent resident.  This has a crushing impact on Indians who often must be in H-1/H-4 status for a decade or more. The good news is that United States District Judge John C. Coughenour for the Western District of Washington, entered a temporary restraining order prohibiting Trump from implementing the blatantly unconstitutional Executive Order.  We will post updates as they occur.  The restraining order issued by Judge Coughenour will certainly be appealed by the Department of Justice.  The Executive Order would apply to babies born after February 19, 2025.

H-1B Visas

For many years, H-1B visas have been a political hot potato throughout many administrations.  Trump 1.0 attempted to eliminate H-4 spouse work permits and was stopped by the Courts.  The Biden administration attempted to expedite H-4 work permits for eligible H-4s (principal H-1B must have approved I-140) by permitting bundling the H-1B/H-4 and H-4 EAD applications so that all applications were processed at about the same time.  Prior to bundling, H-4 work permits were taking months and sometimes more than a year to be adjudicated, resulting in employers losing valuable workers while the EAD applications were pending. We can expect further restrictions on H-1Bs to be attempted by the new Administration.  As you know a battle is ongoing within the Administration regarding the position on H-1B.

Prepare Now for Fiscal Year 2026 H-1B Cap Season

In March 2025, USCIS will open the annual registration period H-1B cap subject visas.  The annual H-1B numerical quota is 85,000 per year: 65,000 for those with bachelor’s or equivalent degrees, and an additional 20,000 for applicants with a U.S. master’s degree or higher.  Some tips for employers and H-1B candidates:

1. Employers should identify those they wish to sponsor for H-1B status as early as possible, including current employees on student OPT or STEM OPT status who want to move to H-1B status.
2. In December 2024, USCIS liberalized the rules to permit beneficiary-owned businesses to file for H-1B visas in some cases. Note these H-1B petitions will be initially approved for a maximum of 18 months, with one extension for 18 months.  Other H-1B petitions are filed for three years in most cases.
3. The H-1B registration fee has increased from $10.00 to $215.00.
4. In December 2024, the cap gap period for H-1B lottery applicants was liberalized to avoid gaps in status for those on F-1 OPT or F-1 STEM OPT work permits.  Historically, those selected in the H-1B lottery cannot begin work until October 1 of the year for which they are selected.  Cap gap allowed H-1B beneficiaries selected in the lottery to continue working from the end date of their OPT EAD card until October 1, thereby preventing a gap in their work authorization. However, if the H-1B petition was not approved by October 1, such beneficiaries would be left without work authorization until their H-1B was approved. The new rule extends cap gap work authorization until April 1 of the following year, thereby allowing beneficiaries to continue working in the event of excessive USCIS delays in adjudicating their H-1B petition.

Note that many employers may be exempt from the H-1B cap through one of the many exceptions as are J-1 physicians with interested government agency waivers.

Please contact Corey@wcslaw.com to schedule an appointment with Attorney Jan Pederson to discuss H-1B petitions and workarounds if not selected in the lottery.

All Categorial Parole Programs Terminated for Several Countries

As of January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order terminating all categorical humanitarian parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.  Note that is it not yet terminated for Ukrainians.

Also, this order does not effect persons with I-512 advance parole or those noncitizens being processed for Significant Public Benefit Parole in coordination with law enforcement agencies.

Trump Announces Recission of TPS for Venezuelans

On January 28, 2025, DHS vacated the January 17, 2025 TPS extension under which President Biden granted Venezuelan citizens TPS until October 2, 2026 . This means no TPS extensions or EAD work permit extensions for Venezuelans will be granted beyond  September 10, 2025.  It is expected that those who have Venezuelan TPS and EADs can complete their current TPS and EAD time periods.  Please feel free to contact Corey@wcslaw.com to schedule an appointment with Jan Pederson to discuss your situation.

5th Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Against DACA

On Jan. 17, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision finding the DACA Final Rule to be unlawful. However, the Court left the stay in place that allowed for current DACA recipients to renew their grant of DACA and related work authorization. As such, USCIS continues to accept and process DACA renewal requests and accompanying applications for employment authorization under the DACA Final Rule. USCIS will continue to accept initial requests but will not process initial DACA requests at this time. Unfortunately, the long-term status of DACA remains unknown. In the meantime, we encourage all eligible DACA recipients to continue applying for renewals as necessary. DACA and undocumented college graduates interested in moving into a non-immigrant work visa should contact our office for a consultation.

TRAVEL WARNING FOR ALL NONCITIZENS

During this period of uncertainty, we strongly advise clients against traveling abroad given the daily flood of President Trump Executive Orders.  On Monday, this week, the American Embassy in Bogota cancelled visa interviews for Colombian citizens.  It is not known when processing of visas for Colombia Citizens will resume.  We will update you as we receive accurate information.  Unofficial government sources advise travel bans will be issued soon.