Immigration news and expert analysis

From J-1 Exchange Visitor to Green Card: EB-2 NIW Approved for a Medical Researcher and His Wife

A medical researcher who came to the United States as a J-1 exchange visitor, and his wife, became permanent residents on July 18, 2026. His EB-2 National Interest Waiver set his priority date; once it was current, we filed both green card applications while the couple was still in J status, after confirming the two-year home-residency rule did not apply. Both were approved the same day, about nine months after filing.

The 2027 Diversity Visa Lottery Is Back: What the Court Ordered, and What to Do Before Registration Opens

A U.S. federal court has ordered the administration to restart the 2027 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery. Registration is expected to open by October 29, with applications to begin by November 1. The order was issued on October 14, but applicants are still waiting for official details from the State Department. The window may be short and the dates are not yet official, so here is what has been reported, what hasn't been confirmed, who can enter, and how to avoid the scams and mistakes that cost people their entries every year.

[No Action Required:] Hasan Legal Is Now Clarvo Legal

Hasan Legal PC now operates under a new name: Clarvo Legal. It’s the same firm, the same team and the same commitment to every client, with a name that reflects how we work today: a modern, technology-driven immigration law firm serving professionals, investors, businesses and families around the world. Your case, retainer agreement and deadlines are not affected, and there’s nothing you need to do. Our phone numbers and offices stay the same, and emails to your usual @hasan-legal.com contacts will still reach us. Read what’s changing, what stays the same, and why we chose the name Clarvo Leg…

The EB-5 Fee Rule Is Final: Dates, Forms, and What to Check Before You File

USCIS announced on September 29, 2026 that it is updating the filing fees for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, with the new fees designed to take effect on November 30, 2026. The reported increases are steep: the regional center investor petition, Form I-526E, is reported to more than double. The rule finalizes a proposal DHS published a year ago. Here is what USCIS says it is doing and why, which numbers have been reported, what we can't yet confirm, and what investors planning a filing should check now.

EB-5 Fees Are Going Up on November 30 — What's Changing, and Why USCIS Says It's Necessary

USCIS announced on September 29, 2026 that it is updating the filing fees for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, with the new fees designed to take effect on November 30, 2026. The reported increases are steep: the regional center investor petition, Form I-526E, is reported to more than double. The rule finalizes a proposal DHS published a year ago. Here is what USCIS says it is doing and why, which numbers have been reported, what we can't yet confirm, and what investors planning a filing should check now.

The Visa Landscape for Employers, October 2026: What's Changed, What's Proposed, and What to Plan For

Employers who hire internationally are dealing with more moving parts at once than at any point in recent memory: an oversubscribed H-1B cap, six-figure fee proposals, shorter response windows, new forms, and consular processing in flux. Most of it is still proposed rather than in effect, and holding on to that distinction is the single most useful habit right now. This is a status report, not a forecast. For each development we say what it is, whether it is in effect, who it touches, and what a sensible employer does about it, with links to our fuller coverage.

DHS Proposes a $70,000 Fee Tied to OPT — What We Know, and What We Don't Yet

DHS has proposed a $70,000 fee tied to Optional Practical Training. As reported, a school would have to pay the fee before recommending a student for OPT, though it could pass the cost on to the student or to the employer. The reporting also says the proposal does not change current work authorization. That is close to everything confirmed so far. Here is what the proposal would do, what hasn't been published or reported yet, why it matters to F-1 students and the employers who hire them, and what to do while the details are still unknown.

K-1 Fiancé Visas by the Numbers — and the New Rules Waiting at the Green Card Step

The K-1 fiancé visa is a small program with a large emotional footprint: about 19,800 were issued in fiscal year 2023, roughly 0.1% of all nonimmigrant visas. The most detailed recent public data shows a program still below its pre-pandemic peak, with petition approvals climbing and wait times falling. But the visa is only the first half of the journey. After the wedding comes the green card application, and that step now runs on a new Form I-485, a new Form I-864, and a broader public charge standard. Here's the data, and what it means for couples filing today.

The H-1B by the Numbers: A FY2022 Snapshot, and What's Changed Since

The H-1B is the largest guest-worker visa program in the United States and the most important channel for high-skilled immigration. The most detailed recent public snapshot of who actually receives it comes from fiscal year 2022 — and it shows a program with high approval rates, a heavy concentration in computer-related jobs, and salaries well above the national norm. It's also a snapshot of a very different era. Fees, lottery odds, and the safety net around H-1B status have all been in motion since, so we've put the 2022 figures side by side with where things stand today.

Bangladesh Is One of the Top Five Countries Filing EB-2 NIW Petitions — Here's What the Data Actually Shows

USCIS received 66,276 EB-2 NIW petitions in fiscal year 2025. China, India, Iran, Nigeria, and Bangladesh accounted for well over half of them. Bangladesh alone filed 2,621 petitions with 878 approvals — about 4% of the national total, and a trend tied directly to how little Bangladesh invests in domestic research and how fast its students are enrolling at U.S. universities. Here's what's actually driving these numbers, what the data says about approval odds, and what it means for how you should build your own petition.