IMMIGRATION UPDATE – January 20, 2026
HEADLINES
DOS Announces Temporary Pause on Certain Visas for Nationals of 75 Countries – The Department of State announced a temporary pause on the issuance of immigrant visas (green cards from overseas) for nationals of 75 countries, effective January 21, 2026.
DHS Terminates TPS Designation for Somalia – The Department of Homeland Security is terminating Somalia’s Temporary Protected Status designation, effective March 17, 2026.
DHS Reduces Wait Times for Certain Religious Workers Abroad – The Department of Homeland Security has issued an interim final rule, effective immediately, to eliminate the one-year foreign residence requirement and allow thousands of religious workers in R-1 status, who previously were required to remain outside the United States before returning, to resume their essential services.
Harvard Hits High for Foreign Student Enrollment Despite Battles with Trump Administration – Harvard University’s international student enrollment hit a high of 6,749 students in the fall of 2025, which is nearly 28 percent of the total number of students studying at Harvard and is the highest recorded share since at least 2002. The increase is due at least partly to graduate student enrollment; undergraduate international student enrollment nationwide declined in the fall 2025 term.
DHS to Raise Premium Processing Fees – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is raising premium processing fees effective March 1, 2026.
DOL, DHS Announce Additional 35,000 Visas to Supplement FY 2026 H-2B Cap – The agencies said they will focus these additional H-2B visas on U.S. businesses with seasonal or temporary workforce needs in “critical infrastructure sectors of the U.S. economy, such as seafood, forestry, hospitality and tourism, transportation, and manufacturing.”
DOS Adds Countries Subject to Visa Bonds and Expands Ports of Entry – All visa holders who have posted a visa bond must enter and exit the United States through designated ports of entry.
DHS Launches Sweeping Fraud Investigation in Minnesota – Operation PARRIS is part of a broader strategy to implement enhanced screening standards, the Department of Homeland Security said. It appears that all refugee approvals from January 21, 2021, to February 20, 2025 (approximately 233,000 cases) will be reviewed.
DETAILS
DOS Announces Temporary Pause on Certain Visas for Nationals of 75 Countries
On January 14, 2026, the Department of State (DOS) announced a temporary pause on the issuance of immigrant visas (green cards from overseas) for nationals of 75 countries, effective January 21, 2026. DOS said this pause is for the government to review how immigrant visa applicants are evaluated under the “public charge” rules. In announcing this review, the government has indicated it wants stricter standards to prevent new immigrants from receiving any public support.
This policy applies only to immigrant visas (green card processing through a U.S. embassy or consulate) for applicants who are:
- Nationals of one of the 75 countries identified by DOS, and
- Applying for an immigrant visa abroad (not adjustment of status in the United States).
The affected countries include Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
Applicants from these countries may attend their visa interviews, but their immigrant visas will not be issued for the time being, unless a limited exception applies. A dual national applying with a valid passport of a country that is not listed above is exempt from this pause. No immigrant visas have been revoked as part of this guidance.
DHS Terminates TPS Designation for Somalia
On January 13, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is terminating Somalia’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation, effective March 17, 2026.
DHS said it has automatically extended the validity of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) previously issued under the TPS designation of Somalia through March 17, 2026. As proof of continued work authorization through March 17, 2026, Somali TPS beneficiaries can show their EADs that have the notation A-12 or C-19 under Category and a “Card Expires” date of March 17, 2023, September 17, 2024, or March 17, 2026.
DHS said that Somali nationals who do not have a legal status other than TPS that would allow them to remain in the United States should use U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP Home mobile app to report their departure from the United States. The app includes a complimentary plane ticket, a $1,000 exit bonus, and “the opportunity for potential future legal immigration,” DHS said.
DHS Reduces Wait Times for Certain Religious Workers Abroad
On January 14, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has issued an interim final rule, effective immediately, to eliminate the one-year foreign residence requirement and allow thousands of religious workers in R-1 status, who had reached their maximum period of stay in the United States and were required to remain outside the United States before returning, to resume providing their services to “U.S. churches, mosques, synagogues, and other bona fide nonprofit religious organizations.”
DHS said the rule “significantly reduces this wait time, providing stability and minimizing disruptions for faith-based communities.” The agency said that the purpose of this change “is to promote stability and minimize disruptions to the vital services that R-1 religious workers provide to U.S. churches, mosques, synagogues, and other bona fide nonprofit religious organizations.”
The rule removes the requirement that R-1 religious workers reside outside the United States for one year when they reach the statutory five-year maximum period of stay. While R-1 religious workers are still required to depart the United States, the rule establishes that there is no longer a minimum period of time during which they must reside and be physically present outside the United States before seeking readmission in R-1 status.
Harvard Hits High for Foreign Student Enrollment Despite Battles With Trump Administration
According to reports, Harvard University’s international student enrollment hit a high of 6,749 students in the fall of 2025, which is nearly 28 percent of the total number of students studying at Harvard and is the highest recorded share since at least 2002. The increase is due at least partly to graduate student enrollment; undergraduate international student enrollment has been declining. This was despite the university’s battles with the Trump administration over funding cuts and vetting and admission of foreign students.
According to Bloomberg Law, foreign graduate student enrollment at U.S. universities declined by 1.4% in the fall 2025 term. The number of foreign students across the U.S. dropped by close to 5,000 even as the overall number of students grew by 1%, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Harvard’s share of students from India (545) dropped by about 31 percent in the fall of 2025. The largest group of international students at Harvard are Chinese.
DHS to Raise Premium Processing Fees
On January 9, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security announced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is raising premium processing fees effective March 1, 2026. The last day to FedEx cases for filing with the existing fee will be Thursday, February 26, 2026. See the new fee schedule.
DOL, DHS Announce Additional 35,000 Visas to Supplement FY 2026 H-2B Cap
The Departments of Labor (DOL) and Homeland Security (DHS) said they will make an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, on top of the congressionally mandated 66,000 H-2B visas that are available each fiscal year.
The agencies said they will focus these additional H-2B visas on U.S. businesses with seasonal or temporary workforce needs in “critical infrastructure sectors of the U.S. economy, such as seafood, forestry, hospitality and tourism, transportation, and manufacturing.” DOL and DHS said they plan to release these additional H-2B visas, including any eligibility criteria and filing requirements, “in the coming weeks through a temporary final rule published in the Federal Register.”
DOS Adds Countries Subject to Visa Bonds and Expands Ports of Entry
The Department of State (DOS) has identified nationals from a list of countries as needing visa bonds. Any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries, who is found otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 visa, must post a bond for either $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. The amount is determined at the time of the visa interview.
All visa holders who have posted a visa bond must enter and exit the United States through one of the designated ports of entry listed below. Failure to do so might lead to a denied entry or a departure that is not properly recorded, DOS said. The earliest date on which a visa holder who posted a visa bond may enter or exit at each port of entry is in parentheses. Additional designated ports of entry will be added on a rolling basis:
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) (August 20, 2025)
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) (August 20, 2025)
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) (August 20, 2025)
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) (January 1, 2026)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) (January 1, 2026)
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) (January 1, 2026)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) (January 1, 2026)
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) (January 1, 2026)
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) (January 1, 2026)
The applicant must also submit a Form I-352 with the Department of Homeland Security. Applicants must agree to the terms of the bond through the Department of the Treasury’s online payment platform Pay.gov. This requirement applies regardless of place of application, DOS said.
Applicants should submit Form I-352 to post a bond only after a consular officer directs them to do so. Applicants will receive a direct payment link through Pay.gov. They must not use any third-party website for posting the bond, according to DOS.
DHS Launches Sweeping Fraud Investigation in Minnesota
On January 9, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they have launched Operation PARRIS (Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening) in Minnesota, “a sweeping initiative reexamining thousands of refugee cases through new background checks and intensive verification of refugee claims.”
The initial focus is on Minnesota’s 5,600 refugees who have not yet received green cards. DHS said that USCIS’s newly established vetting center is leading Operation PARRIS, with adjudicators conducting background checks, reinterviews, and merit reviews of refugee claims.
Begun in mid-December and now referring cases to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Operation PARRIS is part of a broader strategy to implement enhanced screening standards, DHS said. It appears that all refugee approvals from January 21, 2021, to February 20, 2025 (approximately 233,000 cases) will be reviewed.
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PUBLICATIONS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST
Know your rights. A number of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (English and Spanish), the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., the National Immigrant Justice Center, and the Asian Law Caucus, have published resources highlighting immigrants’ rights in the United States, including “know your rights” information and what documents they may want to carry when traveling inside the United States. ACLU of Northern California has also released Know Your Rights: U.S. Airports and Ports of Entry.
See also Information for Employers — “What to Do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace” : NELP_EmployerGuide_Eng_2025_Final-.pdf. Note the important distinction between administrative and judicial warrants, and a public lobby versus private areas of a business.
IMMIGRATION AGENCY INFORMATION/PROCESSING TIMES
U.S. Customs and Border Protection:
Accessing I-94 Information: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home
Department of Labor:
PERM and Prevailing Wage Processing Times: https://flag.dol.gov/processingtimes
State Department:
Visa Appointment Wait Times: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas.html
Monthly Immigrant Visa Bulletin: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:
Processing Times: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/
Case Status Online: https://egov.uscis.gov/
GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENTS
E-Verify webinars: E-Verify has added a webinar with a focus on acceptable documents for Form I-9 verification, and has updated its calendar of webinars.
SAVE webinars: Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) has updated its calendar of webinars.
Immigration agency X (formerly Twitter) accounts:
- EOIR: @DOJ_EOIR
- ICE: @ICEgov
- Study in the States: @StudyinStates
- USCIS: @USCIS
Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers: ABIL is available on X (formerly Twitter): @ABILImmigration
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This information was prepared in collaboration with ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, comprised of twenty U.S. immigration lawyers who head some of the top immigration practices in the country. Larrabee Albi Coker LLP is an active member of ABIL.
Legal Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not substitute for legal advice based on the circumstances of a specific matter.