IMMIGRATION UPDATE – May 11, 2026
HEADLINES
New ICE I-9 Inspection Policy Increases Risks for Employers – A new fact sheet indicates a change in policy that increases the risks for employers by reclassifying some former technical violations as substantive.
May Visa Bulletin Includes Advances in Various Immigrant Visa Categories, Possible Retrogression for India EB-5 Unreserved Category – The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for May notes that dates for filing and final action dates have been advanced across various immigrant visa categories, and that sufficient demand and increased number use by India in the EB-5 unreserved visa categories may make it necessary to retrogress the final action date or make the category unavailable.
USCIS Ordered to Resume Processing for Certain ‘Restricted’ Countries’ Applicants – On April 30, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts ordered the U.S. government to lift its blanket hold on certain U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services immigration applications for approximately 200 plaintiffs from specific countries.
Enhanced Security Vetting Causes Adjudications Pause, Coinciding with New RFE Trends – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has begun implementing enhanced security vetting procedures that are expected to delay certain pending immigration benefit adjudications. In addition, more types of petitions and applications will require fingerprint-based background checks.
USCIS Lifts Adjudication Hold for Foreign Physicians – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has quietly updated its enhanced screening and vetting policy to lift the adjudication hold for foreign national physicians. The update applies only to cases pending or filed with USCIS and does not affect visa applications processed abroad through the Department of State.
Cap Reached for Second Allocation of Returning Worker H-2B Visas for FY 2026 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 27,736 H-2B visas made available for the second allocation of returning workers for Fiscal Year 2026 with employment start dates from April 1 to April 30, 2026.
Work Authorization Revocation, Other Consequences Announced for Unpaid Asylum Fees Under DHS Interim Final Rule – Effective May 29, 2026, a Department of Homeland Security interim final rule will implement fees, requirements, and consequences for nonpayment of asylum-related fees under the H.R. 1 Reconciliation Act of 2025.
DOS Instructs Officers to Reject Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants Who Claim Fear of Returning to Home Countries; Appeals Court Rejects Trump Admin’s ‘Invasion’ Proclamation Banning Asylum Claims at Border – The Department of State has instructed officers at diplomatic and consular posts to ask two questions of nonimmigrant visa applicants and refuse visa issuance if an applicant answers “yes” to either of the questions. Also, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that President Trump’s Proclamation 10888 and related guidance are unlawful for banning asylum claims at the border.
DOL Proposes Rule Clarifying Joint Employer Status – The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a proposed rule that would address joint employer status under federal wage and hour laws.
Trump Gold Card: Amid Contradictory Statements, Just One Approved So Far – Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that just one Trump Gold Card has been approved so far, but that “there are hundreds in the queue that they are going through.”
Trump Admin Considers Sending Afghan Refugees in Camp Who Aided United States to DRC – According to reports, after halting a U.S. resettlement program for Afghan refugees who had aided the United States in various ways during the U.S. war against the Taliban, the Trump administration is considering sending up to 1,100 of those currently in Camp As Sayliyah, a former U.S. military base near Doha, Qatar, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and possibly other countries.
SAVE and E-Verify Release Updates on EADs Under TPS for Burma and Ethiopia, Superseding Earlier Notices – The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements and E-Verify programs recently updated guidance on Employment Authorization Document validity in light of court orders affecting Temporary Protected Status.
House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Extend Haitian TPS; Fate in Senate is Uncertain – Ten House Republicans and one independent voted for the bill in addition to all of the House Democrats.
DETAILS
New ICE I-9 Inspection Policy Increases Risks for Employers
A recent fact sheet, Form I-9 Inspection Under Immigration and Nationality Act § 274A, released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), indicates a change in policy that increases the risks for employers by reclassifying some former technical violations as substantive. Some of the reclassified errors now considered substantive, for example, include failure on the I-9 form to:
- Include employee’s date of birth or date of hire
- Include employee’s rehire date
- Date Section 1 or Section 2 Certification
- Use a Spanish-language form outside of Puerto Rico
- Include translator’s name, address, signature, or date
The fact sheet includes lists of additional violations considered substantive or technical, along with a flow chart outlining the I-9 inspection process and information on penalty calculations. The fact sheet notes that an employer may receive a monetary fine for all substantive violations and any uncorrected technical or procedural failures. Employers have 10 business days after the Notice of Inspection is issued to correct technical or procedural failures.
May Visa Bulletin Includes Advances in Various Immigrant Visa Categories, Possible Retrogression for India EB-5 Unreserved Category
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for May includes several updates:
- Immigrant visa issuance rates for people from certain countries have decreased. Consequently, to make visas available to prospective immigrants from other countries so they can use immigrant visa numbers that are available in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, dates for filing and final action dates have been advanced across various immigrant visa categories. The bulletin notes that retrogression may be necessary later in the fiscal year to keep issuances within annual limits.
- Sufficient demand and increased number use by India in the EB-5 unreserved visa categories may make it necessary to retrogress the final action date or make the category unavailable to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the FY 2026 annual limit.
USCIS Ordered to Resume Processing for Certain ‘Restricted’ Countries’ Applicants
On April 30, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts issued a significant ruling ordering the U.S. government to lift its blanket hold on certain U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) immigration applications for approximately 200 plaintiffs from specific countries. The court found that two key USCIS policies, which have been responsible for freezing cases for months, are likely unlawful. While this marks an important legal victory, the decision currently applies only to the individuals involved in the case. Thousands of other applicants remain subject to these policies.
The court found that:
- USCIS likely does not have the authority to freeze applications indefinitely based on nationality;
- Using nationality as a negative factor is likely inconsistent with immigration law;
- The government did not follow proper rulemaking procedures before implementing these policies; and
- Applicants suffered real and immediate harm, including:
- Loss of work authorization
- Disruption of lawful status
- Financial and personal hardship
The decision signals the type of relief other litigants may be able to pursue through similar lawsuits. The court held that:
- USCIS must resume processing applications for certain plaintiffs;
- USCIS must stop applying these policies to those individuals; and
- The court will determine whether additional plaintiffs are also entitled to relief.
The affected countries include Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo), Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, The Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Palestinian Authority (those using P.A.-issued documents), Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Enhanced Security Vetting Causes Adjudications Pause, Coinciding With New RFE Trends
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun implementing enhanced security vetting procedures that are expected to delay certain pending immigration benefit adjudications. In addition, more types of petitions and applications will require fingerprint-based background checks.
These changes follow Executive Order 14385, issued on February 6, 2026, which directs the Attorney General to provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with access to criminal history record information, maintained by the Department of Justice for DHS screening and vetting purposes, to the maximum extent permitted by law.
USCIS has not yet issued detailed public guidance explaining how the new process will be applied across all case types, but recent internal guidance and public reporting indicate that, effective April 27, 2026, USCIS began receiving enhanced criminal history record information for fingerprint-based background checks submitted through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) “Next Generation Identification (NGI)” system. According to reporting on the internal guidance, USCIS officers have been directed not to approve certain pending cases until the enhanced checks have been completed, and to resubmit fingerprint-based screenings for any application or petition where the FBI information was received before April 27, 2026.
The most immediate impact appears to be on pending applications and petitions that require fingerprint-based background checks. These commonly include adjustment of status, naturalization, asylum-related filings, and certain employment authorization applications. The new process has coincided with emerging trends in requests for evidence involving biometrics in certain employment-based matters.
USCIS Lifts Adjudication Hold for Foreign Physicians
According to reports, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has quietly updated its enhanced screening and vetting policy to lift the adjudication hold for foreign national physicians. The update applies only to cases pending or filed with USCIS and does not affect visa applications processed abroad through the Department of State.
Medical organizations lobbied for a national interest exemption from the hold, outlining the serious public health consequences and noting that 23% of licensed physicians in the United States are foreign-trained and 64% of foreign-trained physicians practice in medically underserved areas or health professional shortage areas. The prolonged adjudication hold has resulted in physicians losing their status or work authorization, thereby rendering them unable to provide much needed medical services to U.S. patients.
Other vetting measures remain in effect. Employers and physicians with pending cases should monitor their case status online for updates or requests for evidence and prepare for potential biometrics appointments or re-interviews.
Cap Reached for Second Allocation of Returning Worker H-2B Visas for FY 2026
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 29, 2026, that it has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 27,736 H-2B visas made available for the second allocation of returning workers for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 with employment start dates from April 1 to April 30, 2026, under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule. April 21, 2026, was the final receipt date for petitions requesting supplemental H-2B visas under the second allocation. The additional H-2B visas are intended to support U.S. businesses with seasonal or temporary workforce needs, including those in critical sectors of the U.S. economy, USCIS said.
On January 30, 2026, the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor jointly announced the FY 2026 temporary final rule, increasing the cap on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 64,716 additional visas. “These supplemental visas are available only to U.S. businesses that are suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all of the H-2B workers requested in their petition, as attested by the employer on a new attestation form,” USCIS noted.
Additional information on the FY 2026 supplemental visas is available on USCIS’s Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2026 page.
Work Authorization Revocation, Other Consequences Announced for Unpaid Asylum Fees Under DHS Interim Final Rule
Effective May 29, 2026, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) interim final rule published on April 29, 2026, will implement fees, requirements, and consequences for nonpayment of asylum-related fees under the H.R. 1 Reconciliation Act of 2025 (“One Big Beautiful Bill Act”).
On July 22, 2025, USCIS published a Federal Register notice implementing a filing fee for Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, and an Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) to be paid each calendar year an asylum application remains pending. The interim final rule establishes that if the AAF is not paid within 30 days of notification, USCIS will reject the applicant’s pending asylum application. If the applicant does not have legal status in the United States, USCIS will also initiate removal.
If USCIS rejects the asylum application, the following additional consequences will apply:
- USCIS will deny any pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, based on the asylum application; and
- Those who were approved to work based on the pending application will lose work authorization immediately.
The rule also implements additional requirements outlined in H.R. 1:
- Form I-589 filing fee: USCIS will now keep the filing fee for Form I-589 if the agency rejects the form as improperly filed.
- Temporary Protected Status (TPS) employment authorization: USCIS is updating regulations limiting the employment authorization period for those under TPS to one year or the remaining TPS designation period, whichever is shorter.
- Form I-102, Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document, filing fee: The rule establishes a minimum $24 fee to file Form I-102, in addition to other required fees.
The interim final rule is effective May 29, 2026. USCIS said it will reject any Form I-102 without the proper filing fee if it is postmarked on or after May 29, 2026. Additionally, USCIS will reject pending Form I-589 asylum applications for those who fail to pay the AAF effective May 29, 2026.
DHS will receive public comments submitted by June 29, 2026.
DOS Instructs Officers to Reject Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants Who Claim Fear of Returning to Home Countries; Appeals Court Rejects Trump Admin’s ‘Invasion’ Proclamation Banning Asylum Claims at Border
According to reports, the Department of State (DOS) has sent a cable to diplomatic and consular posts instructing officers to ask two questions of nonimmigrant visa applicants and to refuse visa issuance if an applicant answers “yes” to either of the questions:
- Have you experienced harm or mistreatment in your country of nationality or last habitual residence?
- Do you fear harm or mistreatment in returning to your country of nationality or permanent residence?
The questions are elements of asylum determinations. The cable states that “[a]n applicant’s fear of returning to his or her country of nationality or permanent residence calls into question an applicant’s intended purpose of travel and immigrant intent at the time of visa application.”
Also, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on April 24, 2026, that President Trump’s Proclamation 10888 and related guidance, which state that “the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion” and that, therefore, asylum claims at the border will be rejected, “are unlawful insofar as they circumvent Congress’s carefully crafted removal procedures and cast aside federal laws that afford individuals the opportunity to apply and be considered for a grant of asylum or withholding of removal.”
DOL Proposes Rule Clarifying Joint Employer Status
On April 22, 2026, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division announced publication of a proposed rule that would address joint employer status under federal wage and hour laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
In particular, the proposed rule would:
- Set forth distinct standards for determining joint employer status in “vertical” and “horizontal” scenarios.
- Advise that “horizontal joint employment” exists when separate employers are sufficiently associated with respect to the employment of the same employee, but that business relationships that have little to do with the employment of specific employees—such as sharing a vendor or being franchisees of the same franchisor—are alone insufficient to establish joint employment.
- Adopt a four-factor analysis for use in every case of potential vertical joint employment, examining whether the potential joint employer: (1) hires or fires the employee; (2) supervises and controls the employee’s work schedule or conditions of employment to a substantial degree; (3) determines the employee’s rate and method of payment; and (4) maintains the employee’s employment records.
- Explain that additional factors may be relevant in assessing vertical joint employment, but that a unanimous finding on the four factors in either direction would establish a “substantial likelihood” regarding whether an individual or entity is a joint employer with another.
- Advise that “reserved control” may be considered but is less indicative of vertical joint employment than exercised control.
- Exclude the consideration of factors that are relevant only in assessing whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor, such as whether the employee (1) is in a job that otherwise requires special skill, initiative, judgment, or foresight; (2) has the opportunity for profit or loss based on his or her managerial skill; and (3) invests in equipment or materials required for work or the employment of helpers.
- Exclude the relevance of certain general business models and business practices when determining joint employment.
- Provide examples illustrating how the proposed analysis would apply in certain factual circumstances.
DOL encourages interested parties to submit comments on the proposal by June 22, 2026.
Trump Gold Card: Amid Contradictory Statements, Just One Approved So Far
On April 23, 2026, at a hearing before the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that just one Trump Gold Card, under an executive order issued in September 2025, has been approved so far, but that “there are hundreds in the queue that they are going through.”
According to its website, the Trump Gold Card allows an individual to immigrate into the United States by paying $1 million, plus a nonrefundable $15,000 processing fee. A corporation can pay $2 million per employee plus a 1 percent annual maintenance fee. In December 2025, when the card was launched, Mr. Lutnick said that $1.3 billion in Gold Cards had been sold in just a few days. Previously, he said on the “All-In Podcast” on March 20, 2025, that “yesterday, I sold a thousand” of the cards before the program officially launched. At a cabinet meeting last year, Mr. Lutnick predicted that $1 trillion would be raised under the program.
The Trump Gold Card website also mentions a future Trump Platinum Card, which would allow an individual to pay $5 million (plus a $15,000 processing fee) to spend up to 270 days in the United States without being subject to U.S. taxes on any non-U.S. income.
It is unclear how the proceeds from the cards will be spent. At the hearing, Mr. Lutnick said, “That will be determined by the administration, and its terms are for the betterment of the United States of America.”
Trump Admin Considers Sending Afghan Refugees in Camp Who Aided United States to DRC
According to reports, after halting a U.S. resettlement program for Afghan refugees who had aided the United States in various ways during the U.S. war against the Taliban, the Trump administration is considering sending up to 1,100 of those currently in Camp As-Sayliyah, a former U.S. military base near Doha, Qatar, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and possibly other countries instead of allowing them into the United States. The refugees were evacuated to that camp from Afghanistan after the U.S. troop withdrawal in 2021. Most had been approved for resettlement in the United States after extensive screening. More than 190,000 other Afghan allies have been resettled in the United States.
“This is insane,” Shawn VanDiver, president of San Diego-based advocacy group AfghanEvac, told NBC News. He said that “you do not solve the world’s number one refugee crisis by dumping it into the world’s number two.”
SAVE and E-Verify Release Updates on EADs Under TPS for Burma and Ethiopia, Superseding Earlier Notices
The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) and E-Verify programs, under U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), recently updated guidance on Employment Authorization Document (EAD) validity in light of court orders affecting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for several countries, superseding earlier notices on the terminations of TPS for those countries.
Previously, SAVE and E-Verify issued notices for South Sudan, Somalia, Haiti, and Syria. New notices, issued April 13, 2026, are for Burma (SAVE; E-Verify) and Ethiopia (SAVE; E-Verify).
Affected TPS beneficiaries generally remain in valid status, and their EADs remain valid, subject to the applicable court orders and country-specific guidance on the relevant USCIS TPS pages.
House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Extend Haitian TPS; Fate in Senate is Uncertain
On April 16, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1689, a bipartisan bill, by 224 to 204. The bill would extend Haitian Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for three more years for an estimated 350,000 Haitians in the United States. Ten House Republicans and one independent voted for the bill in addition to all of the House Democrats.
The future of the bill looks less certain in the Senate, where it will head next.
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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. The 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.
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.