August 3, 2026 – Riccio & Associates PLLC is pleased to announce that Abigail Foster has joined the firm as an Associate Attorney. Abigail is a 2025 graduate of New England Law/Boston, where she received her J.D. as part of the Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Honors Program. She brings a number of years of business … Read more
DHS has issued a final rule that will create complex challenges for many F (student), J (exchange visitor), and I (foreign media representative) nonimmigrants. Most significantly, the rule eliminates the admission of F, J, and I visa holders for “Duration of Status” or “D/S.” Under longstanding policy, these nonimmigrants were historically admitted for Duration of … Read more
On Friday, May 22, 2026, USCIS abruptly issued a memo directing USCIS officers to treat adjustment of status (applying for a green card from within the U.S. via an I-485 Application) as a “matter of discretion and administrative grace,” not as an automatic entitlement. The guidance indicates that, with limited exceptions, individuals pursuing lawful permanent … Read more
On January 14, 2026, the U.S. State Department announced that, effective January 21, 2026, there will be an indefinite pause on all visa issuances to immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, … Read more
On December 29, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Final Rule making regulatory changes to the H-1B visa selection process. The Final Rule is expected to take effect with the upcoming lottery registration season (FY2027), which is expected to begin in March 2026. At this time, USCIS has not issued instructions … Read more
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a policy memo mandating new policy changes that will significantly impact the processing of various immigration applications, including pausing processing for various benefits requests and ordering the re-review and potential re-processing of previously approved applications.Who Is Affected? Individuals from 19 “High-Risk” Countries: Some restrictions apply to … Read more
As of December 15, 2025 Department of State announced it will expand the requirement that an online presence review be conducted for all H-1B applicants and their dependents, in addition to the students and exchange visitors already subject to this review. To assist with this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), as … Read more
Oct 30 – USCIS published an interim final rule that is expected to be published today that will eliminate the maximum 540-day automatic extension of certain EADs for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025. The Dept. of Homeland Security states that the change in policy is intended to enhance screening and vetting … Read more
USCIS has recently issued the following clarifications regarding the Proclamation, Restrictions on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers: Who is NOT subject to the $100,000 fee: · The Proclamation does not apply to any previously issued and currently valid H-1B visas, or any H-1B petitions submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, … Read more
As Congress was unable to pass a FY 2026 appropriations bill or a temporary stopgap measure to extend federal funding beyond September 30, the federal government is officially shut down as of October 1, 2025. All but “essential” personnel are furloughed. The following is an overview of how the immigration-related agencies are expected to operate … Read more