New report on the conditions of LGBTQ life in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Cuba
The Lewis & Clark Migration and Asylum Lab, an organization dedicated to informing immigration courts of the country conditions in Latin America, has just released the thematic bulletin, "Beyond Reform: Conditions of LGBTQ Life in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Cuba." The 107-page report highlights country conditions for LGBTQ+ individuals living in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Cuba.
Read the report here.
CBP requires airlines to list either “M” or “F” sex markers in information transmitted to CBP
In a July 8, 2025 Carrier Liaison Program Bulletin, CBP informed airlines that they must submit either “M” or “F” for sex markers on the pre-departure information they send to CBP, even if the traveler’s documentation has a third sex marker or no sex marker at all.
See the announcement here.
DHS memo delegates expedited removal authority to USCIS
In a memorandum dated May 2, 2025, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem delegated to the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) the authority to order the expedited removal of foreign nationals. This authority allows USCIS’s Director and their staff to deport foreign nationals without processing through an immigration court. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) was previously the only agency permitted to utilize expedited removal to quickly deport noncitizens.
Read the memorandum here.
USCIS announces new “good moral character evaluation standard” for Naturalization applicants
On August 15, 2025, released a policy memorandum, “Restoring a Rigorous, Holistic, and Comprehensive Good Moral Character Evaluation Standard for [Noncitizens] Applying for Naturalization.” This guidance directs USCIS adjudicators to focus more explicitly on positive evidence of good moral character in addition to the consideration of any negative evidence, such as a criminal history. USCIS states that its new approach to determining good moral character (a requirement for becoming a U.S. Citizen) “will empower USCIS officers to review the complete history of aliens seeking naturalization, where no regulatory or statutory bars exist, and require such aliens to present their full story, demonstrating how their life aligns with a pattern of behavior that is consistent with the current ethical standards and expectations of the community in which they reside.”
We expect that immigration advocates will challenge this new evaluation standard as being beyond USCIS’s authority to enforce and for being a violation of noncitizens’ due process rights.
Read the policy memorandum here.
USCIS resumes antiquated Neighborhood Investigation policy for naturalization applicants
In a policy memorandum dated August 22, 2025, USCIS announced that it will be resuming “neighborhood investigations” of naturalization applicants, a policy that has not been used since 1991. USCIS may now further investigate a naturalization applicant on an individualized, discretionary basis. The investigations may include requesting testimonial letters from an applicant’s neighbors, employers, coworkers, and business associates “who can provide substantiated information about the [applicant], including any of the requirements for naturalization.” USCIS states that proactively including such letters in an application “can assist USCIS in determining whether a waiver of a neighborhood investigation is appropriate in a particular case without a need to issue a Request for Evidence.”
Read the Policy Memorandum here.
USCIS to consider “anti-Americanism” in immigrant benefit requests
USCIS announced that it has updated its Policy Manual regarding the factors that an immigration officer can consider when exercising discretion on certain immigration benefit requests. These new factors include a noncitizen’s past requests for parole and “any involvement in anti-American or terrorist organizations” or “where evidence of antisemitic activity is present.” USCIS states that the update is intended to provide “additional guidance in circumstances where an alien has endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused the views of a terrorist organization or group, including aliens who support or promote anti-American ideologies or activities, antisemitic terrorism and antisemitic terrorist organizations, or who promote antisemitic ideologies.” These updates are effective immediately.
It is not clear what exactly is meant by “anti-American” or antisemitic activity, and specific guidance about how to interpret this has not yet been provided to adjudicators at USCIS. However, based on previous actions since the beginning of the second Trump Administration, it is likely that this move is intended to target noncitizens who have been exercising their First Amendment right to protest or to post commentary on social media platforms that the administration has deemed “antisemitic” or “supportive of a terrorist organization.”
Read the USCIS policy alert here.
Federal district court continues Haitian TPS until February 3, 2026
On July 1, 2025, a federal district court judge in New York ordered in a class action lawsuit that the current TPS designation for Haiti, which had previously been truncated to August 3, 2025, is once again authorized to run until February 3, 2026. USCIS could appeal the decision.
See the federal district court Order here and USCIS’s notice about the Order here.
State Department reduces new visa validity periods for several countries
This summer, the State Department reduced the validity period and number of permitted entries of nonimmigrant visas for several countries without updating the “What’s New” announcement section on its website. The Immigration and Nationality Act requires these parameters to be set based on visa reciprocity (what benefits U.S. citizens and businesses receive as travelers to the country at issue). As of July 2025, The National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (“NAFSA”) published that visa reciprocity had been changed for the B, F, H, J, M, and O nonimmigrant visa categories for the countries noted here. Many countries have had visa reciprocity severely restricted to having visas be valid for only three months and only a single U.S. entry.
See NAFSA’s findings here.
State Department proposes new rule for diversity visa lottery
On August 5, 2025, the State Department proposed a new rule for the diversity visa lottery program intended to increase vetting and combat fraud. Under the proposed rule, program petitioners will be required to provide valid, unexpired passport information and a scan of the biographic and signature pages uploaded to the electronic entry form, or otherwise indicate that they are exempt from this requirement. The proposed rule would also update language in the diversity visa lottery regulation 22 C.F.R. § 42 to simplify guidance for consular officers, replace the word “gender" with “sex” in compliance with Executive Order 14168, and replace “age” with “date of birth” to more accurately reflect the information that the State Department collects and maintains during the immigrant visa process.
The public has until September 19, 2025, to submit comments on the proposed rule. After the comment period closes, the State Department must read and respond to comments before publishing a final rule implementing the new requirements.
See the proposed rule here.
State Department announces 12-month tourist/business visa bond pilot program
On August 5, 2025, the State Department announced a 12-month visa bond pilot program where noncitizens applying for a B-1 or B-2 business or pleasure visa from certain countries may be required to post a bond of up to $15,000 as a condition of receiving their visa, as determined by the consular officer. Noncitizens potentially subject to the program are those who are citizens of countries that the State Department has identified as having high visa overstay rates where the State Department has deemed screening and vetting information to be insufficient. The program also applies to noncitizens who obtained their home country citizenship through investment instead of a residency requirement.
The Trump Administration previously enacted a similar program in 2020 where citizens of the following countries were potentially required to post bond: Afghanistan, Angola, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Liberia, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Critics have pointed out that the bond could place the B-1/B-2 visa out of reach for many noncitizens hoping to visit the US.
See the Federal Register Notice announcing the program here.