Legal Updates

SCOTUS Releases Decision in Birthright Citizenship Case

The SCOTUS birthright citizenship decision issued, on June 27, 2025, did NOT determine the constitutionality of President Trump’s Executive Order (EO). Instead, the ruling limited the ability of district court judges to grant universal (or nationwide) injunctions. According to the ruling, plaintiffs seeking a nationwide injunction of an unconstitutional order must undergo the burdensome process of establishing a nationwide class of similarly situated individuals.

As a reminder, the EO does not affect children already born in the U.S.

We will report updates in future newsletters as they unfold.

USCIS Website Provides Some Clarification on TPS-Related EADs for Venezuela

During recent litigation over the Administration’s termination of TPS status for Venezuela, employment authorization for affected individuals has been a source of ongoing confusion. Recent updates to the USCIS have brought some clarification:

TPS beneficiaries who received TPS-related employment authorization documents (EADs), Forms I-797, Notices of Action, and Forms I-94 issued with October 2, 2026, expiration dates on or before February 5, 2025, will maintain that status, and their documentation will remain valid during the course of the litigation. This includes TPS-related EADs with a “Card Expires” date of April 2, 2025, when combined with a Notice of Action indicating the Form I-765 renewal application was received on or before February 5, 2025, that automatically extends employment authorization and EADs for up to 540 days from the date on the face of their EADs. All TPS-related documentation with a validity date of October 2, 2026, received after February 5, 2025, is no longer valid and those individuals under the 2023 designation no longer have TPS.

Separately, TPS under the 2021 designation for Venezuela remains in effect through September 10, 2025.

Contact us with questions about work authorizations for Venezuelans in TPS status.

USCIS Issues Policy Alert on TN Classification

On June 4, 2025, USCIS issued policy guidance regarding certain eligibility requirements relating to the TN visa classification under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The guidance:

• Explains USCIS’s role in adjudicating petitions for TN nonimmigrant status, and applications to extend or change nonimmigrant status to TN nonimmigrants.
• Clarifies eligibility requirements, including employment, degree, and licensure requirements.
• Provides guidance for specific occupations, such as Engineer and Economist.
• Provides general guidance for the Scientific Technician/Technologist (ST/T) occupation and clarifies that individuals providing patient care do not qualify for the TN status.

Contact us with questions about TN status.

E-Verify Issues EAD Revocation Guidance for Employers

E-Verify had been notifying users, via Case Alerts, that one or more of its employees had an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that has been revoked by DHS. These Case Alerts will no longer be used; instead, employers are instructed to regularly generate the Status Change Report to identify E-Verify cases created with an EAD that is now revoked.

The chart below displays the dates when EADs were revoked by DHS along with the corresponding date when the data in the Status Change Report was updated.

Date Employee's EAD Was Revoked	Date Information Available in E-Verify Status Change Report
April 9 to June 13, 2025	June 20, 2025

E-Verify employers must use Form I-9, Supplement B, to immediately begin reverifying each current employee whose EAD the Status Change Report indicated was revoked.

Contact us with questions about E-Verify.

DOS Directs Consular Posts to Resume F, M, and J Visa Interviews Consistent with Enhanced Vetting

On June 18, 2025, the Department of State (“DOS”) announced enhanced vetting “including online presence, for all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications.” The press release goes on to state: “To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to ‘public.’” The press release appears to describe the guidance provided to the consular posts: 

• All F, M, or J visa applicants (new or renewal/returning) who are “otherwise eligible” will initially be refused under INA section 221(g) for further review. 
• Posts should employ a “case worker approach” in which the same consular officer should conduct both the interview and “a comprehensive and thorough vetting of each FMJ applicant who is otherwise eligible (i.e., overcomes 214(b)).”  
• The guidance emphasizes that there are no quotas or targets. “Rather, consular officers shall take the time necessary to satisfy themselves that visa applicants qualify for the visas they seek, and personnel involved in back-office processing shall take the time necessary to perform their tasks thoroughly.”  
• Consular officers are instructed to review the entire online presence of applicants, not just their social media profiles. 
• Consular officers are instructed that they may create social media accounts for vetting. Relevant findings are instructed to be documented with screenshots uploaded to the Consular Consolidated Database.  
• In a section titled “What am I looking for,” the cable instructs officers to “simply [look] for any potentially derogatory information,” including any information relating to ineligibility under 212(a) or 214(b), as well as “any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States; of advocacy for, aid or of support for designated foreign terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security; or of support for unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence.” The cable suggests that “even when inconsistencies do not point to an INA 212(a) ineligibility, they can call into question the applicant’s credibility.”

Contact us with questions about student visas and enhanced vetting.

Trump Administration Implements Travel Ban Effecting 19 Countries

On June 4, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. The EO imposes travel restrictions, stopping short of a full ban, on citizens of seven additional countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela; individuals from those countries cannot come to the U.S. permanently or get a tourist or student visa. The EO went into effect on Monday, June 9, 2025, and applies only to those outside the U.S. on that day. No immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued before June 9 will be revoked pursuant to the EO. 

The ban does not apply to:

• Permanent Residents (presumably including immigrant visa holders already admitted to the U.S.);
• Dual nationals of a non-listed country (as long as the unaffected passport is presented);
• Those with the following visas: A-1, A-2, C-2, C-3, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5, or NATO-6;
• Athletes and coaches in the World Cup, the Olympics, or major sporting event;
• Immediate relative immigrant visas (IR-1/CR-1, IR-2/CR-2, IR-5) “with clear and convincing evidence of identity and family relationship (e.g., DNA);”
• Adoptions (IR-3, IR-4, IH-3, IH-4);
• Afghan Special Immigrant Visas;
• Special Immigrant Visas for U.S. Government employees;
• Immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran;
• Individuals granted asylum;
• Refugees admitted to the U.S.; and
• Individuals granted withholding of removal under the CAT.

The EO does include a national interest exception. The Department of State (DOS) has stated: 

Applicants seeking a national interest exception must first apply for a visa before the Department can make a determination. We anticipate that national interest exceptions will be very rare. The Department will make a determination regarding a national interest exception on a case-by-case basis if the applicant is first found eligible for the visa. The travel must advance a U.S. national interest. Routine purposes of travel, including visiting family members in the United States, routine business travel, employment, or study in the United States, will typically not be considered to be advancing a U.S. national interest.

There is no application for a national interest exception. The consular officer will consider that during the interview.

Contact us with questions about the travel ban.

SCOTUS Termination of CHNV Parole Programs Impacts C11 EADs

On Friday, May 30, SCOTUS granted the Trump administration’s request to pause the April 15, 2025, order issued by the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, temporarily halting the administration’s termination of the CHNV Parole Programs. This order effectively froze the District Court’s ruling until all appeals are exhausted. Procedurally, there is no longer a stay in place preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from terminating CHNV Parole Programs, including work authorization (C11 Employment Authorization Documents or EADs).

Organizations employing CHNV parolees should evaluate how to update I-9 records and confirm these individuals’ continued eligibility to work in the United States. 

Contact us with questions about the end of C11 EADs.

DHS Terminates Temporary Protected Status for Haiti

On June 27, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, effective September 2, 2025. Immigration advocates sued and, on July 1, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her statutory authority when she attempted to shorten Haiti’s TPS designation by six months. The court held that the TPS statute sets forth a mechanism for review and termination, which DHS failed to follow. The court restored Haiti’s TPS designation through February 3, 2026. It is likely that the government will appeal the Court’s decision.

Contact us with questions about alternative immigration options for Haitian employees.

USCIS Provides Data on FY 2026 H-1B Cap Process

During the registration period for the FY 2026 H-1B cap, USCIS reported a significant decrease in the total number of H-1B registrations submitted compared to FY 2025. USCIS provided the following highlights on the FY 2026 numbers:

• The number of unique employers this year for FY 2026 (approximately 57,600) was comparable to the number last year for FY 2025 (approximately 52,700).
• The number of eligible unique beneficiaries this year for FY 2026 (approximately 339,000) was significantly lower than the number last year for FY 2025 (approximately 442,000).
• The number of eligible registrations was also dramatically lower for FY 2026 (343,981) compared with FY 2025 (470,342) — a 26.9% reduction.

Contact us with questions about H-1B status.