Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Department of State Shortens Validity of Temporary Visas for over 50 Countries

On July 17, 2025, NAFSA, a nonprofit policy advocate, released a report detailing the Department of State’s (DOS) recent actions to shorten temporary visa validity periods. DOS’s changes will affect multiple temporary visa types for nationals of over 50 countries.  

In most cases, DOS has shortened temporary visa validity to only 3 months and a single entry. In practice, this means applicants receiving a shortened visa must enter the US within 3 months of their visa issuance and will have to reapply for a visa before each entry to the US.

A full list of the more than 50 affected countries can be found in NAFSA’s report; the list includes Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ghana, Haiti, Iran, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

With some variations, affected visa types include B, F, H, J, M, O, and P visas.

F visas are utilized by international students in the US. The H-1B visa is open to employees filling US positions that require Bachelor’s degrees, which include healthcare occupations such as Medical Technologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and even Registered Nurses.

Although DOS did not make an announcement of its sweeping temporary visa limitations, individual visa validity periods by country are updated on the DOS’s visa reciprocity website. Speak with an MU attorney if you have questions about your visa validity.

Monday, July 21, 2025

FY 2026 H-1B Cap is Reached: USCIS Will Not Conduct Second Round of Lottery

USCIS announced in a News Alert that the FY 2026 H-1B cap has been reached as of July 2025. Because the cap has been reached, USCIS will not conduct a second round of H-1B cap lottery selections in 2025.

The FY 2026 H-1B cap has been reached because USCIS received enough H-1B petitions between April 1, 2025 and June 30, 2025 to meet the 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and 20,000 H-1B visa master’s cap. 

The case status for registrations that were not selected in the FY 2026 cap will be updated from “Submitted” to “Not Selected” in their https://my.uscis.gov/ account.

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

August 2025 Visa Bulletin: Slight Movement Forward for EB-3 India, Slight Retrogression for Others

The Department of State has just issued the August 2025 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these priority dates or earlier may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment:

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Table B: Dates for Filing

USCIS will continue to use the Table A Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings in August 2025. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

EB-3 India was the only category to progress forward in August 2025, with forward movement of 1 month.  

EB-2 All Other, EB-2 Mexico, and EB-2 Philippines all retrogressed 6 weeks.  

All remaining categories stayed steady and made no progress.

As August is the penultimate month of the fiscal year, slight retrogression is typical and not a cause for concern. September 2025’s visa bulletin is unlikely to make progress forward and may slow or even retrogress again before the start of the fiscal year in October.

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Webinar: Immigration Updates for the Healthcare Industry

MU will be hosting a FREE webinar on Thursday, July 10 at 3PM Eastern for our friends and clients.  Please join us! 

IMMIGRATION UPDATES AND THE STATE OF THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

Join us for an information-packed webinar designed for HR leaders, immigration professionals, and staffing companies navigating today’s complex immigration landscape.

In just half an hour, we’ll deliver critical updates and actionable strategies on:

  • 🚦 Green Card Processing Timelines & Prevailing Wage Determinations – how to stay ahead and avoid any delays in filing
  • 📈 RFE Rates & Trends under the Trump Administration – and how to minimize your risk
  • 💸 "Ability to Pay" Challenges – especially for staffing firms during retrogression, with proven solutions
  • 👩‍⚕️ H-1B Options for Registered Nurses – what you need to know now
  • 📰 Policy Shifts & Breaking News from Washington – decoded and explained
  • 🏛️ Legislative Outlook – what’s coming and how it could impact your workforce strategy

Reserve your spot today!