July Visa Bulletin Brings Pain for India, a Bright Spot for EB-3 The July Visa Bulletin landed with a thud for Indian nationals in the employment-based categories. EB-2 India is now unavailable. EB-1 India retrogressed by two months. EB-5 Unreserved for India also went unavailable. If you're an Indian national waiting on an employment-based green card, the line just got longer or disappeared entirely. On the flip side, China saw gains across EB-1, EB-3, and EB-5. And EB-3 was the standout performer overall, advancing 4.5 months for China and two months for most other countries. Family-sponsored categories were mostly flat, with F1, F2B, and F4 inching forward. The PERM Takeaway: EB-2 India going unavailable is a seismic event for employers sponsoring Indian nationals, and it affects a massive share of the PERM filing population. If your employee's labor certification was filed under EB-2, they now have no visa number to move forward with. This is where strategic planning becomes critical. Employers should consult with counsel about whether EB-3 downgrading makes sense, given that EB-3 actually moved forward this month. Yes, it feels counterintuitive to file under a "lower" preference category, but a moving line beats a closed door. For new PERM cases, the prevailing wage level and job requirements you set today will determine which category your employee lands in tomorrow. Choose wisely. $100,000 H-1B Fee Lives On (For Now) The legal ping-pong over the administration's $100,000 H-1B filing fee continues. A federal judge temporarily paused a June 8 ruling that had struck down the fee, allowing USCIS to keep collecting it while the government seeks a longer stay from the appeals court. The administration has until June 18 to file its request. For now, employers filing H-1B petitions are still on the hook for the six-figure fee, but the outcome remains uncertain as the case works through the courts. The PERM Takeaway: Whether the $100,000 fee survives or not, the message to employers is the same: the cost of sponsoring foreign workers is trending in one direction, and it's not down. Companies that are on the fence about starting the PERM process should factor in the real possibility that H-1B costs remain at this elevated level permanently. A PERM filing that leads to a green card eliminates the need for future H-1B renewals and their associated fees. For employers paying $100,000 per H-1B petition, the math on PERM sponsorship as a long-term cost-saving strategy has never been more compelling. Run the numbers with your counsel and your CFO. State Department Cuts African Visa Processing Locations by More Than Half The State Department is planning to slash the number of U.S. embassies and consulates in Africa that process visa applications from nearly 50 down to just 20. Under the proposal, applicants in many countries would need to travel to designated regional hubs for their visa interviews, potentially adding significant cost and wait times. Consular sections in non-hub countries would stay open for limited services, including U.S. citizen assistance and certain diplomatic cases, but routine visa processing would be consolidated. The PERM Takeaway: For employers sponsoring workers from African countries, this consolidation could create serious logistical headaches during consular processing. If your sponsored employee needs to attend a visa interview at a U.S. consulate in Africa and their nearest processing location just moved to a different country, you're now looking at international travel costs, longer wait times for appointments, and added complexity in an already unpredictable process. Employers should identify which of their sponsored workers could be affected and start planning alternative processing strategies now. If adjustment of status within the U.S. is an option, this news makes that path look a lot more attractive than sending someone abroad to chase a shrinking number of consular appointments. World Cup Visa Guidance Drops, But Don't Expect a Free Pass The State Department released new FAQs explaining how the FIFA Priority Appointment Scheduling System (FIFA PASS) works for World Cup fans seeking B-1/B-2 visitor visas. Spouses and minor children may qualify for priority appointments, and the system helps secure interview slots faster. But the guidance makes clear that FIFA PASS doesn't guarantee approval, current travel restrictions remain in effect, and most applicants must apply from their country of nationality or residence. It's a faster line, not an open door. The PERM Takeaway: This one's less about PERM directly and more about the broader visa processing environment. When the State Department prioritizes World Cup visa appointments, it pulls consular resources away from other visa categories, including the employment-based visas your sponsored workers depend on. Employers with employees awaiting consular interviews for H-1B stamps, immigrant visas, or other work-related appointments should anticipate potential scheduling delays during the World Cup window. Plan interview timing strategically and avoid peak periods if possible. Consular bandwidth is a finite resource, and right now, soccer fans are competing for it. Stay sharp, stay compliant, and we'll see you next week.

Federal Judge Unblocks Thousands of Frozen Green Card and Asylum Cases A federal judge just handed the administration a major defeat, blocking USCIS policies that had effectively frozen the processing of green cards, asylum applications, work permits, and naturalization requests. The freeze had stalled cases filed by immigrants from 39 countries covered by the administration's travel restrictions. The court ruled that USCIS lacked the authority to impose such broad pauses and failed to adequately justify them. Thousands of applications that have been sitting in limbo may now move forward, although the administration is expected to appeal. The PERM Takeaway: This is the biggest green-light signal PERM employers have gotten in months. If you have sponsored employees whose adjustment of status, EAD renewal, or green card applications were caught in the freeze, those cases may now be back in motion. But don't celebrate too long. An appeal is coming, and the window could narrow again fast. Employers should contact their immigration counsel immediately to check the status of every pending case affected by the pause. If applications need to be refiled, updated, or supplemented with new evidence, do it now while the court order is in effect. This is a window of opportunity, not a permanent fix. Treat it accordingly. Senate Approves $70 Billion for ICE and Border Patrol After months of political limbo following the DHS shutdown, the Senate approved a $70 billion funding package for ICE and Border Patrol early Friday morning. The bill funds enforcement operations through the end of Trump's term and now heads to the House. The debate got messy, tangled up with a controversial settlement fund tied to a Trump lawsuit, but lawmakers ultimately kept the immigration enforcement money separate. Democrats voted against the measure, arguing it lacked any guardrails on how enforcement dollars would be spent. The PERM Takeaway: Seventy billion dollars in enforcement funding isn't an abstraction. It's the engine behind more audits, more site visits, more I-9 inspections, and more DOL investigations. When enforcement agencies are fully funded and staffed, employers are more likely to feel the impact. For PERM filers, this means the compliance environment is about to get even more intense. Recruitment documentation, prevailing wage records, job postings, and employee files all need to be audit-ready at all times. The days of "we'll clean it up if they come asking" are gone. With $70 billion on the table, they will come asking. 58% of Green Cards Go to Immigrants Already in the U.S. New data from Pew Research confirms what the immigration industry has known for years: the majority of green cards are issued to people already living in the United States. Of the 1.36 million green cards granted in fiscal year 2024, about 58% went to immigrants who adjusted their status domestically, primarily through family relationships or employment-based visas. Adjustment of status, not consular processing abroad, is the dominant pathway to permanent residence. The PERM Takeaway: This data validates what PERM employers experience every day: the employees you're sponsoring are already here, already working, and already contributing. They're adjusting status from H-1B, L-1, or other work visas, not arriving fresh from abroad. That's precisely why the recent USCIS memo tightening adjustment of status scrutiny is such a gut punch. The government is making the most-used pathway harder at the exact moment when the data shows it's how the system actually works. Employers should use this research to reinforce the business case for sponsorship internally and to push back on narratives that portray employment-based immigration as something that happens "over there." It's happening in your office, right now. TPS Extended for Lebanon and El Salvador DHS has extended Temporary Protected Status for nationals of Lebanon and El Salvador. Lebanon's TPS was automatically extended for six months through November 27, 2026, after DHS cited evolving conditions that delayed its review. El Salvador's TPS remains in effect through September 9, 2026. In both cases, eligible individuals can continue living and working in the U.S., and certain work authorization documents have been automatically extended. The PERM Takeaway: Extensions are welcome, but they're Band-Aids on a structural problem. Every TPS extension kicks the can down the road without providing a permanent solution for workers who have been in the U.S. for years, sometimes decades. Employers who rely on TPS-holding employees should stop treating each extension as a resolution and start treating it as borrowed time. If you have Lebanese or Salvadoran TPS holders on your team, this extension is your window to explore whether PERM sponsorship or another employment-based pathway can convert temporary protection into permanent status. The next extension isn't guaranteed, and workforce planning built on six-month increments isn't a strategy. It's a gamble. Stay sharp, stay compliant, and we'll see you next week.

What if you could feel what it’s like to go through the H-1B visa process, the uncertainty, the waiting, the life decisions put on hold without ever filing a single form? That’s the premise behind one of the most creative and unexpected immigration projects to emerge in years: a video game called H1B.Life. In this episode of the Immigration Nerds podcast, host Lauren Clark, Managing Attorney at Erickson Immigration Group, sits down with Allison Yang a journalist, passionate gamer, and founder of Reality Reload, a U.S.-based game studio. To explore how a video game is doing something that articles, data reports, and policy briefs have struggled to achieve: making people actually feel the immigrant experience from the inside. For anyone on LinkedIn who works in HR, talent acquisition, global mobility, immigration law, or DEI or who simply manages international employees, this episode delivers a perspective you won’t find in any compliance manual. It’s raw, human, and deeply relevant to how we think about the people behind the petitions. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The H-1B Experience Is a System, And Games Are Built to Decode Systems Allison Yang’s path to building H1B.Life started where great stories often do, in a newsroom. As a journalist and editor, she received four to five pitches in a single year about the H-1B visa. Not just applicant stories, but an entire ecosystem: lawyers helping (or sometimes not helping) applicants, spouses navigating life in limbo, COVID-era status crises forcing people into creative visa transitions. What struck Yang was the realization that immigration, especially the H-1B process is fundamentally a system of rules, punishments, and rewards. And that’s exactly what a game is. Where a news article tells you someone’s story in the third person, a game puts you inside it. You become the player character. You make the decisions. You feel the consequences. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Visa Status as Social Currency One of the most striking moments in the episode is Yang’s description of attending a gathering of Chinese professionals in New York. As newcomers arrived, the first question wasn’t "What do you do?" it was "What visa are you on?" People exchanged status updates about their immigration cases the way others might discuss weekend plans. When someone asked Yang what she was "on," she thought they were joking. They weren’t. Yang observed that visa classifications H-1B, OPT, STEM extension, L-1 functioned like suits in a deck of cards. Each one carried different rules, different timelines, different risks. And everyone at that event was playing the same game, just holding different cards. When she shared this observation publicly at the event, the audience laughed, and then one person said something she’ll never forget: "Too true. Too bitter." “Whenever there’s a newcomer, they would say, “So what visa are you on?” I thought they were being funny. But then I realized they meant a visa type. It’s almost like asking, “How are you doing lately?”” — Allison Yang ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The Hidden Emotional Toll — Living Several Lives at Once Perhaps the most powerful section of the episode is Yang’s account of the interviews her team conducted with more than two dozen H-1B applicants and immigrants. The stories revealed a side of immigration that rarely makes it into policy discussions or compliance trainings: Applicants constantly feel they must prove they are the best, and half their life is perpetually pending. Their lives are tightly bound to their sponsoring employer. A merger, a bankruptcy, a leadership change can erase years of planning overnight. They live "several lives at once" always building Plan B, C, D, E, F, G. They put major life decisions on hold from buying a sofa to starting a relationship, because nothing feels certain enough to commit. They feel isolated from colleagues who care but simply don’t understand. As one interviewee put it: "It’s like telling a depression patient, ‘Don’t be sad.’" Some develop expensive or extreme hobbies not just for pleasure, but to have something in life that isn’t tied to their work visa. “It’s not that my company is evil or my coworkers are toxic. It’s just they don’t understand what I’m going through. And when they’re trying to cheer me up, it’s very like you’re talking to a depression patient saying, “Don’t be sad.”” — H-1B applicant, as shared by Allison Yang ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── How H1B.Life Actually Works And Why It Matters The game places you in the shoes of an immigrant arriving at a New York City airport. From that moment, every choice matters. Players manage a resource pool that includes money, information, social support, and physical and mental health all of which increase or decrease based on the decisions you make. Key game mechanics mirror real immigration realities: Resource Management: Hiring a good lawyer costs money. Skipping social connections saves time but costs support. Every trade-off has consequences just like real life. The Slot Machine: Even after doing everything right, outcomes are determined by a lottery mechanic because that’s exactly how the H-1B selection process works. You can’t outplay randomness. Multiple Protagonists: The updated version features three characters from different countries and at different stages a student, a programmer, and someone navigating the PERM process reflecting the diversity of the actual H-1B pipeline. Emotion Over Information: After player feedback at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, the team cut the text in half and added mechanics designed to make players feel the anxiety, hope, and uncertainty rather than just read about it. The response has been remarkable. Players who’ve been through the H-1B process say the game feels "too real." Players who haven’t say it’s "eye-opening." And international interest is growing teams in Germany and Australia have already approached Yang about adapting the game for their own immigration systems. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── News Nerd Update: What’s Happening Right Now in U.S. and Global Immigration Rob Taylor, Partner at Erickson Immigration Group, delivered key updates that every employer and immigration professional should have on their radar: H-1B Cap Confirmed — Clock Is Running: USCIS confirmed it received enough electronic registrations to meet the H-1B cap and lottery results have been released. A second selection round may occur in July or August. Selected petitions must be filed by June 30 preparation should be underway now. Birthright Citizenship Before the Supreme Court: On April 1, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case challenging the longstanding interpretation of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, stemming from a Trump-era executive order. A decision is expected by June — this is one of the most significant constitutional immigration cases in decades. May Visa Bulletin — Critical Filing Change: USCIS will use the Final Action chart for adjustment filings starting in May, switching from the Dates for Filing chart used in April. Anyone currently current under Dates for Filing should file before the end of April or risk losing eligibility. Middle East Conflict — Ongoing Travel Disruptions: The conflict continues to disrupt air travel and regional safety. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE are offering visa validity extensions and accommodations. Anyone with immigration status in the region should be monitoring conditions daily. EU Entry/Exit System Now Fully Operational: The EU’s digital entry/exit tracking system, implemented last October, is now fully live. Non-EU nationals are electronically tracked for the 90-out-of-180-day visit limit. Overstays can result in denial of entry or future restrictions no more relying on the honor system. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Quote Highlight A standout moment from the episode a statement that captures why this project matters far beyond gaming: “In the game, you are playing a player character, which is usually first-person perspective. And either you are called a Chinese name or Japanese name or Indian name, you are still you. And as a player character, you’re driven to win. To do that, you have to actually take the initiative to learn about the world around you. And for our game, it’s a simulation of the real world.” — Allison Yang, Founder, Reality Reload ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Why This Episode Is a Must-Listen This episode of Immigration Nerds is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand immigration not as a policy abstraction, but as a lived human experience. Allison Yang’s H1B.Life project represents something genuinely new: a medium that doesn’t just inform it immerses. It doesn’t just tell you about the anxiety of waiting for a lottery result; it makes you feel it. For HR professionals, hiring managers, and business leaders who employ international talent, this episode is a mirror. It asks a simple but uncomfortable question: do you actually understand what your sponsored employees are going through? Not the paperwork, the life. The decisions deferred, the relationships strained, the identity reduced to a visa classification. And for immigration attorneys, advocates, and anyone who works in this space, Yang’s work is a reminder that the most powerful tool for building empathy isn’t a legal brief or a data set it’s a story that puts you inside someone else’s shoes. H1B.Life does exactly that, and it’s coming this summer. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Call to Action Follow Allison Yang and Reality Reload to track the launch of H1B.Life this summer and consider how it might be used as an empathy-building tool within your organization. Share this episode with your HR, talent acquisition, and people leadership teams. The perspective it offers is one that compliance trainings miss entirely. Visit Erickson Immigration Group at eiglaw.com for the latest immigration news, employer guidance, and strategic support. If you or someone you know is navigating the H-1B process, remember: you’re not alone, and there are resources and communities that understand what you’re going through. Remember: If you believe immigration makes us all better, then this is the podcast for you.

USCIS Tightens the Screws on Adjustment of Status A new USCIS policy memo is sending ripple effects through the immigration bar. The guidance reminds officers that adjustment of status, applying for a green card from within the U.S. is a discretionary benefit, not an entitlement, and directs them to more carefully weigh positive and negative factors before approving applications. Translation: more scrutiny, more Requests for Evidence, and longer wait times. The memo doesn't change the law or eliminate adjustment of status outright, but immigration attorneys are already bracing for a noticeable shift in how cases are adjudicated. Some applicants may even be pushed toward consular processing abroad instead. Learn more about what this might mean for employers and families. The PERM Takeaway: This is a direct hit to the final stage of the PERM-to-green-card pipeline. Employers who have invested months (or years) in labor certification and I-140 approval now face a rockier adjustment of status process at the finish line. More RFEs mean more attorney hours, more documentation, and more time your sponsored employee is stuck in limbo. Employers should work with counsel to front-load adjustment applications with comprehensive supporting evidence don't submit the minimum and hope for the best. And given the increased unpredictability, it's worth having a serious conversation about whether adjustment of status or consular processing is the smarter path for each individual case. The days of defaulting to one approach are over. H-1B Lottery Data Confirms It: Higher Wages Win The numbers are in from the first H-1B cap season under the new wage-weighted selection system, and the results are exactly what critics and supporters alike predicted. According to Boundless data from the FY2027 season, Level III positions were selected at a 68% rate and Level IV at 64%, while entry-level Level I roles came in at just 40%. The system is doing what it was designed to do prioritizing higher-paid positions, but for employers hiring early-career foreign talent, the math just got significantly harder. The PERM Takeaway: If you're sponsoring workers for H-1B visas as a precursor to PERM, this data reshapes your entire workforce planning strategy. Entry-level positions are now a coin flip at best in the lottery, which means employers need to think earlier about alternative visa pathways or consider whether to start the PERM process on a different visa status altogether. For companies that can offer higher wages, the lottery odds are solidly in your favor, but that also means the competition for mid-to-senior level foreign talent is about to intensify. Either way, the PERM recruitment strategy and prevailing wage analysis need to account for this new reality. If you're building a sponsorship pipeline, build it with the lottery math baked in. India EB-1 and EB-2 Retrogress in June Visa Bulletin The June 2026 Visa Bulletin delivered bad news for Indian nationals in the EB-1 and EB-2 categories, both moved backward. Meanwhile, India EB-3 and China EB-3 inched forward slightly, offering a small consolation to applicants in those backlogs. Family-based categories were mostly flat, with modest F-2B progress and slight F-4 retrogression. For employment-based applicants already in the U.S., USCIS is directing them to the Final Action Dates chart, while family-based filers should reference the Dates for Filing chart. The PERM Takeaway: Retrogression in EB-1 and EB-2 India means longer waits between PERM approval and green card issuance potentially years longer. Employers sponsoring Indian nationals need to set realistic expectations with their employees and plan for extended H-1B maintenance, including timely extensions and consistent compliance with the terms of the original labor certification. This is also the moment to evaluate whether EB-3 downgrading makes strategic sense for certain cases, given that EB-3 India actually moved forward. It's counterintuitive, but sometimes a "lower" category with a moving line beats a "higher" one that's going backward. Work with counsel to run the numbers. DHS Drops $25 Million on Iris Scanning — Biometric Enforcement Gets Personal The Department of Homeland Security just invested $25 million in iris-scanning technology from BI2 Technologies, adding more than 1,500 scanners and access to a growing database of stored iris data. DHS says the tech helps ICE accurately identify individuals during enforcement operations. Privacy advocates and immigration attorneys see it differently, calling it an expansion of biometric surveillance with limited oversight and unanswered questions about data storage, retention, and access. The PERM Takeaway: Biometric expansion is part of a larger trend: the government is building a more sophisticated enforcement infrastructure, and it's not limited to border operations. Sponsored employees who interact with any immigration touchpoint USCIS appointments, airport reentry, even routine check-ins are now generating more data points that feed into this system. For PERM employers, the practical takeaway is straightforward: make sure your employees' immigration records are consistent and up to date across every filing and every agency. In a world where AI cross-references and iris scans are standard tools, any discrepancy between what's on file at DOL, USCIS, and DHS becomes a bigger liability than it was a year ago. Administration Floats Killing International Flights in Sanctuary Cities In what might be the most dramatic policy trial balloon of the year, the Trump administration is reportedly considering a plan to halt the processing of international flights at airports in certain sanctuary cities. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the administration is "drawing up plans" in response to local jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. No formal policy exists yet, and serious questions remain about whether the government has the legal authority to follow through. But if enacted, the proposal could disrupt international travel operations in some of the country's busiest airports. The PERM Takeaway: If this moves from concept to policy, the ripple effects for employers would be enormous. Major sanctuary cities ,think New York, San Francisco, Chicago are also major business hubs where sponsored employees regularly travel internationally for work, visa stamping, and consular appointments. Losing international flight processing at those airports would force rerouting through other cities, adding cost, time, and logistical headaches to every trip. Even as a floated idea, it's a signal that employers should have contingency plans for travel disruptions. Know which airports your sponsored employees use, understand the consular processing geography, and have backup routing plans ready. In this environment, the unthinkable keeps becoming thinkable.

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

Atlas is heading to San Diego. Find us in the exhibit hall at AILAAC26, June 17–20. Whether you're a law firm streamlining your PERM advertising process or an employer navigating DOL compliance for the first time, we're there to talk through it. No fluff, no guesswork. We've built our entire business around one thing: getting PERM Labor Certification advertising right. Compliant. Cost-effective. Handled with care. Stop by, meet the team, and see why firms across the country trust Atlas as their go-to PERM advertising partner. 📍 AILA Annual Conference | June 17–20, 2026 | San Diego, CA 🔗 https://www.aila.org/ac26

Cloudera's PERM Program Slapped With a 180-Day Suspension This is the headline every employer sponsoring foreign workers should read twice. On May 12, the Department of Labor announced an enforcement action against AI company Cloudera, suspending all PERM application processing for the company for 180 days. The reason? Irregularities in the recruitment process. Making it worse, the Department of Justice has filed a parallel lawsuit alleging Cloudera violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by discriminating against American workers in favor of foreign labor. That's not a slap on the wrist that's a full-blown case study in what happens when PERM compliance falls apart. The PERM Takeaway: This is the cautionary tale the entire PERM ecosystem has been waiting for. A 180-day suspension doesn't just freeze your pipeline, it signals to every current and prospective sponsored employee that your company's immigration program is broken. The DOL isn't just auditing anymore; they're shutting programs down. Employers need to treat PERM recruitment as a legal process, not a checkbox exercise. That means genuine good-faith recruitment, properly documented advertising, and airtight records proving every U.S. worker who applied was given fair consideration. If your recruitment ads are designed to attract no one, the DOL will eventually notice. Work with your PERM ad agency and counsel to stress-test every filing before it goes out the door, because the cost of cutting corners just became six months of silence from the DOL and a federal lawsuit. State Department Puts All 53 Mexican Consulates Under Review The U.S. Department of State has launched a review of every Mexican consulate operating in the United States, all 53 of them. The stated goal is to align consular operations with Trump administration priorities, but the implication is clear: some consulates may be closed. Mexico maintains the largest consular network in the country, providing legal support, document processing, and identity verification services to millions of Mexican nationals. Shutting down even a handful of these offices would disrupt access to critical documents for a massive segment of the U.S. workforce. The PERM Takeaway: Mexican consulates aren't just passport offices, they're where millions of workers obtain the identity documents that employers rely on during the hiring and sponsorship process. If consulates close or reduce operations, expect delays in document procurement that could ripple into PERM timelines. Employers with Mexican-national employees in the sponsorship pipeline should encourage them to renew passports, secure apostilled documents, and gather any consular records they may need now, while all 53 offices are still open. Proactive document preparation today prevents a scramble six months from now. EU Slashes Red Tape for Cross-Border Business Travel In a rare piece of good news, the European Parliament and EU Council reached a provisional agreement to eliminate the A1 certificate requirement for short-term, cross-border business travel within the EU Single Market. The A1 form, a social security coordination document has long been a bureaucratic headache for companies sending employees across EU borders for brief assignments. The deal, announced April 27, is expected to be ratified in the coming months and should significantly reduce the administrative burden on multinational employers operating in Europe. The PERM Takeaway: While this doesn't directly affect U.S. PERM filings, it's a useful benchmark for what streamlined immigration policy can look like. The EU is actively reducing friction for employers moving talent across borders meanwhile, the U.S. system is adding layers of scrutiny, suspensions, and background checks. For multinational employers running parallel sponsorship programs in the U.S. and Europe, the contrast is stark. It also reinforces a strategic point: companies with global mobility programs should be evaluating where it's easiest to place talent, because the U.S. isn't winning that race right now. Venezuela Launches E-Visa Platform, Cutting Processing From Weeks to Days Venezuela has rolled out a new electronic visa system for U.S. nationals applying for business or tourist visas. The entire process application, approval, and issuance now happens online, eliminating the previous requirement to appear in person at a Venezuelan consulate. Processing times are expected to drop from six weeks to as few as 15 days, with approved visas delivered electronically via email. The PERM Takeaway: Another international comparison that highlights the gap. Venezuela not exactly known for bureaucratic efficiency just digitized its visa process and cut timelines by 75%. Meanwhile, U.S. employers are still navigating paper-heavy PERM recruitment requirements, snail-paced DOL processing, and a system that treats digital modernization like a foreign concept. The broader lesson for PERM employers: advocate for process improvements wherever you can, but don't hold your breath. In the meantime, lean on your ad agency and counsel to maximize efficiency within the system as it exists today. Stay sharp, stay compliant, and we'll see you next week.

USCIS Hits Pause on Approvals While "Enhanced" Background Checks Ramp Up Starting April 27, USCIS officers have been told to hold off on approving immigration cases until expanded background checks clear. The new directive pulls in broader criminal history data from the FBI, covering green card and naturalization applications alike. If your fingerprints on file are older than a certain threshold, expect to resubmit them, adding yet another step to an already sluggish process. No one's being denied outright, but no one's getting approved on the usual timeline either. The entire system just got a speed bump, and there's no telling how long it lasts. The PERM Takeaway: This is a downstream bottleneck that PERM employers need to plan around. If your sponsored employee has a labor certification approved and is moving toward adjustment of status or consular processing, these expanded checks could stretch their timeline significantly. Employers should prepare for longer gaps between PERM approval and green card issuance, which means extending H-1B status, maintaining compliant job conditions, and keeping employees informed so they don't jump ship during the wait. Build the delay into your workforce planning now, not after it surprises you. New Visa Interview Questions Are an Asylum Trap, And They Apply to Work Visas The State Department has quietly rolled out new guidance requiring consular officers to ask every nonimmigrant visa applicant whether they've experienced harm or fear returning home. That includes tourist visas, student visas, and yes work visas like the H-1B. Answer "yes" and you risk a refusal. Decline to answer and you risk a refusal. The questions are asked verbally during the interview and logged by the officer. It's a no-win setup that turns a routine visa stamp into a potential minefield. The PERM Takeaway: This one hits close to home for any employer sending a sponsored worker to a consular interview. An H-1B holder returning abroad for visa stamping could now face denial over a question that has nothing to do with their job, their qualifications, or their employer's petition. Companies need to brief their foreign workers on this change before they travel. Work with immigration counsel to prepare employees for these questions and consider whether consular processing is still the right strategy or whether adjustment of status, where available, is the safer bet. One wrong answer at a consulate window could derail years of sponsorship investment. 76-Day DHS Shutdown Ends, But ICE and CBP Are Still Unfunded The lights are back on at the Department of Homeland Security after a 76-day partial government shutdown, the longest DHS closure in history. President Trump signed a spending bill restoring funding for core functions, but here's the catch: ICE and significant parts of CBP were deliberately excluded. The shutdown triggered by a standoff over enforcement reform demands, disrupted airport operations and created chaos across the immigration system. Lawmakers are now floating a separate bill that could funnel up to $70 billion to ICE and CBP, but nothing is finalized. The PERM Takeaway: A DHS shutdown doesn't just affect border enforcement, it ripples through every corner of the immigration system. Processing delays, staffing gaps, and administrative backlogs all compound when agencies run on fumes for two and a half months. For PERM employers, the fallout means potential delays in labor certification processing, slower DOL responses, and USCIS adjudication slowdowns that may linger well after funding is restored. And with ICE still unfunded and a massive spending bill on the table, expect continued instability. Employers in the middle of sponsorship cases should document all timeline impacts and stay in close contact with counsel to navigate any procedural disruptions. Canada Opens a Back Door, And Americans Are Walking Through It Canada has expanded its citizenship-by-descent rules to allow anyone with a Canadian-born ancestor, even a great-grandparent or further back to apply for citizenship. The policy change, effective since December 2025, followed a court ruling that struck down generational limits. Early demand is surging, particularly among Americans exploring a Plan B. But it's not automatic: applicants must prove lineage through official records, often requiring deep archival research. The move comes as Canada tightens other immigration pathways, creating an interesting contrast, closing the front door while opening a side entrance. The PERM Takeaway: This isn't a direct PERM issue, but it's a talent retention signal employers can't ignore. When skilled workers start exploring citizenship in other countries, it means they're hedging their bets on the U.S. immigration system. If your sponsored employees are looking north, that's a sign your retention strategy needs reinforcing. Accelerate PERM timelines where possible, communicate clearly about case progress, and make sure your employees feel like their sponsorship is a priority not a bureaucratic afterthought. In a tightening global talent market, the countries (and employers) that move fastest win. Stay sharp, stay compliant, and we'll see you next week.

In 2026, the U.S. naturalization (citizenship) test is undergoing its most significant overhaul in years. The changes are designed to modernize how civics knowledge is evaluated, expand language access, and update study materials to reflect how applicants learn today. Immigrants planning to apply for U.S. citizenship should understand how the test format is evolving, what subject areas may expand, and how to prepare effectively under the new framework. While some regulatory details may continue to be finalized into early 2026, USCIS has made clear that the direction of the changes emphasizes broader civic understanding, digital learning tools, and a more comprehensive evaluation process. Applicants who begin preparing now will be better positioned to succeed once the updated test is fully implemented. What Is Changing in the Citizenship Test for 2026 The citizenship test has traditionally followed a familiar structure, but several elements are being revised. These updates affect what applicants study, how they prepare, and how the test is administered during the naturalization interview. Overview of Key Changes Test Element Pre-2026 Version 2026 Version (Proposed / Expected) Civics Questions 100 possible questions Expanded pool, potentially up to 250 topics Language Requirement English speaking, reading, and writing Continued English requirement with expanded support options Study Materials Static list of 100 Q&A Digital, interactive study resources Passing Standard Correctly answer 6 of 10 questions Expected to remain around 60%, applied to a broader question pool While the passing score itself may not change dramatically, the scope of material applicants are expected to understand is broader. This means preparation strategies must adapt. Expanded Civics Topics in the New Test One of the most notable aspects of the 2026 update is the expansion of civics subject matter. Rather than focusing narrowly on memorization, the revised test aims to assess a deeper understanding of how U.S. democracy functions today. Expanded civics topics may include modern federal government structure and responsibilities, the roles of state and local governments, civic participation in a digital age, and a wider range of U.S. history covering additional time periods and social developments. Applicants should expect questions that connect historical principles to present-day governance, reinforcing the idea that citizenship involves ongoing civic engagement rather than rote knowledge alone. Study Resources and Preparation Costs USCIS is placing greater emphasis on accessible, modern study tools. Many official resources remain free, while optional supplemental resources may involve modest costs depending on how applicants choose to prepare. Resource Type Description Typical Cost USCIS Official Study Guide Online and downloadable materials Free USCIS Citizenship App Interactive practice questions Free Third-Party Apps Supplemental quizzes and lessons $5–$50 Citizenship Classes Community or nonprofit courses $0–$300 Private Tutors One-on-one instruction $30–$100 per hour Applicants are not required to pay for preparation resources, but structured study plans and guided practice can be helpful for those who want additional support. Updated Naturalization Process With the New Test The overall naturalization process remains familiar, but applicants should expect the testing portion to reflect the updated content and format. The process begins with submitting Form N-400, ensuring eligibility requirements such as residency, physical presence, and good moral character are met. After filing, applicants receive an interview notice and attend a naturalization interview with a USCIS officer. During the interview, applicants complete the updated civics test along with the English speaking, reading, and writing components. Once the interview is complete, USCIS issues a decision. Approved applicants are then scheduled for an oath ceremony, where they officially become U.S. citizens. How Applicants Should Prepare Now Preparing early is especially important during periods of transition. Applicants should download the most current USCIS study materials, even if the final version of the test is still being phased in. Familiarity with both traditional civics topics and newer subject areas provides a strong foundation. Joining community-based study groups or citizenship classes can help reinforce learning, particularly for applicants who benefit from structured instruction. Practicing with mock tests and interactive tools can also reduce anxiety and improve test performance. Staying informed through official USCIS updates is critical, as final guidance may clarify exactly how expanded question pools and language options are implemented. 2026 Citizenship Test FAQs What is changing in the U.S. citizenship test in 2026? The 2026 citizenship test update expands the civics question pool, modernizes study materials, and emphasizes broader civic understanding while maintaining core English language requirements. Will the passing score for the citizenship test change? The passing score is expected to remain around 60 percent, but it may be applied to a broader range of civics topics, making preparation more comprehensive. Do applicants need to use paid study resources to pass the test? Paid resources are not required. USCIS provides free study guides and tools, though some applicants choose supplemental resources for additional practice. Are language requirements becoming stricter? The English language requirement remains in place, but USCIS is expanding support options and learning tools to help applicants prepare more effectively. When should applicants start preparing for the new test? Applicants should begin preparing as early as possible, especially if planning to file in late 2025 or 2026, to ensure familiarity with both existing and updated test materials. Who will be required to take the updated 2026 citizenship test? Applicants whose naturalization interviews are scheduled after the updated test is implemented will generally be required to take the new version, regardless of when they submitted their application. Will older applicants or long-term residents still qualify for exemptions? Age- and residency-based exemptions remain available for qualifying applicants, including modified testing requirements or exemptions from the English portion of the exam. What happens if an applicant does not pass the citizenship test on the first attempt? Applicants who do not pass the test on their first attempt are typically given a second opportunity to retake the failed portion within a specified time frame.

ICE Rewrites the Rulebook on I-9 Audits, And It's Going to Cost You ICE just made I-9 mistakes a lot more expensive. A new policy update reclassifies more paperwork errors as "substantive," which means they can trigger fines on the spot, no grace period, no second chance. Penalties range from $288 to $2,861 per form, and for employers with large workforces, that math gets ugly fast. You still get three business days to respond to a Notice of Inspection, but once the audit starts, the window to fix errors has essentially slammed shut. The message from ICE is clear: get your house in order before they come knocking. The PERM Takeaway: I-9 compliance and PERM compliance live under the same roof. If your I-9 files are sloppy, it signals broader documentation problems, and that's exactly the kind of red flag that invites deeper scrutiny into your hiring and sponsorship practices. Employers running PERM cases should treat this as a wake-up call to audit all workforce immigration documentation, not just I-9s. Clean files protect your sponsored employees and your bottom line. If you haven't done an internal I-9 audit in the last 12 months, you're overdue. Trump Administration Policies Threaten to Shrink Legal Immigration Pipeline A new analysis from the Migration Policy Institute paints a stark picture: the current administration is squeezing legal immigration from every angle. Expanded travel bans, visa processing pauses, stricter vetting protocols, and a proposed $100,000 H-1B fee are already having measurable effects. Student visa issuances have dropped sharply, family-based green cards are declining, and projections suggest legal immigration could fall by hundreds of thousands in 2026 alone. This isn't speculation, the early data is already confirming the trend. The PERM Takeaway: For employers who depend on foreign talent, the pipeline is narrowing in real time. Higher H-1B costs, slower processing, and tighter scrutiny mean that sponsoring workers is becoming more expensive and more competitive. Companies that have been putting off PERM filings or treating sponsorship as a "someday" conversation need to accelerate their timelines. The employers who move now locking in labor certifications while the process is still accessible will be the ones with a workforce advantage when the dust settles. Waiting is no longer a strategy. May Visa Bulletin: Family Categories Advance, Employment-Based Stays Frozen The May 2026 Visa Bulletin brought good news for family-based applicants and a whole lot of nothing for employment-based categories. F-1 jumped forward roughly seven months, F-2B advanced, and F-4 saw modest movement. F-2A remains current for all countries. On the employment side? EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 are all stuck in place. EB-3 Other Workers inched forward slightly, and EB-5 China saw a marginal gain. If you're waiting on an employment-based green card, you're still waiting. The PERM Takeaway: Frozen employment-based categories mean longer timelines from labor certification to green card, which means employers need to plan further ahead than ever. If your PERM case is approved but your employee's priority date is backlogged, you're in a holding pattern that could stretch for years. Start the PERM process early, file strategically, and make sure your recruitment ads and documentation are bulletproof so you don't lose time to preventable denials. Every month saved on the front end matters when the back end isn't moving. TPS Holders Pump $29 Billion Into the U.S. Economy A new report puts a hard number on what TPS holders contribute: $29 billion annually, including nearly $8 billion in taxes. That's from roughly 1.3 million people who are deeply embedded in American communities and workforces. The timing of the report is no accident the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear a case on the administration's efforts to strip protections from certain TPS groups. The economic data makes a compelling case for keeping these workers in place, but whether the courts agree remains an open question. The PERM Takeaway: TPS holders aren't a footnote in the labor market, they're a $29 billion economic engine. For employers who rely on TPS workers, this report is ammunition, but it's not insurance. With the Supreme Court poised to weigh in, the future of TPS remains uncertain. Smart employers aren't waiting for a ruling. They're identifying TPS-dependent employees now and exploring whether PERM sponsorship or other employment-based pathways can provide a permanent solution. Protecting your workforce means planning beyond the next court date. New Citizenship Test Raises the Bar for Applicants USCIS has rolled out a tougher version of the naturalization civics test, expanding the question pool to 128 and raising the passing threshold. Applicants are now asked up to 20 questions and must get at least 12 right up from the previous 10-question, six-correct format. The new test applies to anyone who filed Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025. It's a meaningful jump in difficulty, and applicants who haven't prepared for the updated format may find themselves caught off guard. The PERM Takeaway: While the citizenship test doesn't directly affect the PERM process, it's another signal that the entire immigration system is tightening standards at every level. For employers sponsoring workers on the path from labor certification to green card to eventual citizenship, it's worth flagging these changes to your employees. A well-informed sponsored worker is a more confident one, and confidence in the process helps with retention. Consider pointing employees toward updated study resources as part of your broader support for their immigration journey. Stay sharp, stay compliant, and we'll see you next week.