What You Missed In Immigration: Banks, Signatures & 82 New Judges

USCIS Cracks Down on Signatures, And There's No Fix If You Get It Wrong

Starting July 10, USCIS will reject or deny any immigration application with a typed, stamped, forged, or digitally pasted signature. No corrections. No second chances. No refund on your filing fee. The interim final rule, published May 11, applies to all immigration benefit requests meaning every petition, every application, every form that crosses a USCIS desk. In a system where a single filing can cost thousands of dollars in fees alone, one wrong signature now means starting over from scratch and paying again.

The PERM Takeaway: This has immediate implications for every employer filing PERM-related paperwork. ETA Form 9089, I-140 petitions, adjustment of status applications every document in the sponsorship chain now carries a signature landmine. Employers and their attorneys need to establish ironclad signing protocols before July 10. That means wet signatures or properly executed electronic signatures on every filing, with internal quality checks before anything goes out the door. And here's the part that stings: if a filing gets rejected for a signature deficiency, you don't just lose time you lose fees, you potentially lose priority dates, and you risk blowing recruitment timelines that took months to build. Talk to your counsel and your PERM ad agency now about updating every step of the filing workflow.

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Banks Told to Screen for Immigration Status, What Employers Need to Know

President Trump signed an executive order on May 19 directing banks and financial institutions to screen customers for immigration status. The order instructs regulators to flag signs that individuals without legal status are opening accounts or obtaining loans. An earlier draft went further, requiring banks to collect citizenship information from every customer, but that provision was dropped. The Treasury Department will issue risk guidance to financial institutions in the coming months.

The PERM Takeaway: On its face, this isn't a PERM issue. But zoom out and the picture changes. When the government starts enlisting the financial system as an immigration enforcement tool, it creates a chilling effect that reaches into the workplace. Sponsored employees who are in valid status but navigating complex immigration timelines, pending adjustments, EAD renewals, visa transitions could face unexpected friction at their bank. For employers, the concern is retention: if your sponsored workers start feeling like every institution is questioning their right to be here, they're more likely to disengage, relocate, or abandon the process altogether. Employers should proactively communicate with sponsored employees about their valid work authorization and ensure they have documentation readily available to address any financial institution inquiries.

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DOJ Swears In 82 Immigration Judges in Largest Class Ever

The Department of Justice just swore in 82 new immigration judges 77 permanent and five temporary military lawyers making it the largest single class in agency history. The total active judge count now sits near 700, and the DOJ reports hiring 153 permanent judges in fiscal year 2026 alone. The court backlog, while still massive, has dipped below 3.53 million cases. More judges means more hearings, more decisions, and theoretically, faster resolution of the cases clogging the system.

The PERM Takeaway: More judges on the bench means the immigration court system is processing cases faster and that cuts both ways. For employers with sponsored workers who have pending removal proceedings or immigration court matters running in parallel with their employment-based cases, faster adjudication could mean quicker resolution or quicker problems. The broader signal is that the administration is investing heavily in enforcement infrastructure, not just rhetoric. Companies should ensure their sponsored employees' cases are clean, well-documented, and fully aligned with their PERM filings. Any inconsistency between what's on file with the DOL, USCIS, and the courts is a vulnerability that a faster-moving system will expose sooner.

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USCIS Kills Remote Attorney Representation at Interviews

As of May 18, attorneys must appear in person at USCIS field offices for immigration interviews — no more calling in from a different city or state. The policy applies to standard immigration interviews as well as affirmative asylum and NACARA 203 interviews at asylum offices. For applicants whose attorneys are located far from the nearest field office, this means either arranging local counsel or budgeting for significant travel.

The PERM Takeaway: This policy doesn't directly affect the PERM labor certification stage, but it hits hard during adjustment of status interviews the final stretch of the green card process for many sponsored employees. If your employee's immigration attorney is based in a different city than their USCIS field office, you're now looking at travel costs, scheduling headaches, and potentially hiring local co-counsel for a single interview. Employers who cover attorney fees as part of their sponsorship packages should budget for this change. More importantly, it's another reason to work with immigration firms that have a national presence or strong local referral networks. The last thing you want is a green card interview delayed because your attorney can't physically be in the room.

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Stay sharp, stay compliant, and we'll see you next week.