Iandoli Desai & Cronin hires Immigration Attorney Ghenwa Hakim
We are pleased to announce that we have added a 9th immigration attorney to our firm. Attorney Ghenwa Hakim joins IDC with 15 years of immigration experience both at Tufts University and in private practice. At Tufts, she was Director of International Affairs at the School of Medicine for over 9 years. She directed and developed an international business portfolio and was immigration legal casework director for the Medical School. Later, she became Associate Director for the wider Tufts University International Center, counsel to international students, faculty and staff and developed immigration policy and protocols for the University. While at Tufts, Ghenwa completed her Master of Public Health and taught courses as adjunct faculty on law and migration. In 2021, Ghenwa began work as an immigration attorney in private practice. She has extensive experience working with both individuals, institutions and private companies securing both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for scholars, scientists, medical doctors, and other professionals. Ghenwa is admitted to the Massachusetts and the New York State Bars. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Ghenwa was born in Lebanon and is a native Arabic speaker.
UPDATE to: Sept. 19, 2025-- Presidential Proclamation Restricting Entry of H-1B Nonimmigrants From Abroad
On September 19, 2025, the President of the United States issued a Proclamation restricting the entry of H-B nonimmigrants currently outside the U.S. The order became effective 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on Sunday, September 21, 2025.
On September 20, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection (CBP), both agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), issued memoranda stating the Proclamation “only applies prospectively”.
The USCIS memorandum provides that the “proclamation does not apply to aliens who: are the beneficiaries of petitions that were filed prior to [September 21, 2025], are the beneficiaries of currently approved petitions, or are in possession of validly issued H-1B non-immigrant visas.” To read the USCIS memorandum, see: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/memos/H1B_Proc_Memo_FINAL.pdf>>.
The CBP memorandum states that the entry restriction does not apply to persons who are the beneficiaries of H-1B petitions filed prior to September 21, 2025, or to persons in possession of a valid H-1B visa. CBP also states that the "Proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to and from the United States."
Based on USCIS and CBP memoranda, current H-1B status holders, persons in possession of a valid H-1B visa, and beneficiaries of petitions filed before September 21, 2025 are not affected by the Proclamation.
Although there are other potential exceptions to the entry ban and to the new $100,000 fee for H-1B petitions filed on and after September 21, 2025, no details have been offered by DHS or the White House on how or when these exceptions might be implemented.
To read the Presidential Proclamation, see: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/restriction-on-entry-of-certain-nonimmigrant-workers/
The enforceability of this Proclamation will be tested in Court.
We will follow up with updates as we receive them.
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.