American Medical Association Urges DHS to Exempt Physicians from $100,000 H-1B visa fee
In a September 25, 2025, letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the American Medical Association and 53 medical societies urged DHS to exempt physicians from the new $100,000 payment requirement for certain H-1B petitions. The letter reasons that the United States relies heavily upon foreign physicians for healthcare, especially in Medically Underserved Areas and Health Professional Shortage Areas, which frequently overlap with rural areas. Many physicians working in these areas rely on the H-1B program to maintain their status and employment authorization, and the limited resources available to these communities makes it highly unlikely that that the communities can afford the $100,000 payment.
Read the AMA’s letter here.
The New York Times: International Student Arrivals to U.S. Drop Nearly 20% in 2025
An October 6, 2025 article from The New York Times reported that “the number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 19% this year compared to last year – the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.” The Times’s reporting is based on federal arrival records for international student visitors, and SEVIS data shows similar declines. The New York Times predicts that the decline is likely caused by a variety of factors, including visa delays, travel bans, increased student uncertainty in the US being a “welcoming or reliable option for study,” and less overall international student travel.
Read The New York Times article here.
District Court Rules that International Students Have the Same Free Speech Protections as American Citizens
On September 30, 2025, a U.S. district court in Massachusetts held that international students have the same free speech protections as American citizens and that the Trump Administration violated the rights of international students and faculty when it targeted them for arrest and deportation due to their pro-Palestinian political speech.
View the announcement from AILA and the court decision here.
American Immigration Council: Understanding ICE Raids at American Workplaces
Last month, the American Immigration Council (“AIC”) published a detailed fact sheet on understanding ICE raids at American workplaces. This factsheet includes a history of worksite raids, explains the agencies involved and the legal sources they use to conduct raids, reviews legal challenges to worksite raids, and summarizes the raids’ economic and humanitarian consequences.
View and download the AIC factsheet here.
Visa Bulletin Update
The Department of State publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin which operates as the “waiting list” for green cards (immigrant visas), with an individual’s Priority Date serving as their place in line. The Bulletin identifies all immigrant visa “preference” categories and indicates whether a backlog exists for that category. When a backlog exists, an individual in that category may not apply for a green card (or “adjust status”) until their Priority Date becomes “current.” A priority date is current when it is earlier than the date listed in the Visa Bulletin. The Bulletin lists family-based preference categories and employment-based preferences. Each of these areas is then further separated into two charts, Final Action Dates chart and the Dates for Filing chart. The Final Action Dates chart indicates whether an individual can expect USCIS to make a decision on their application soon, whereas the Dates for Filing chart, if USCIS chooses to use it that month, indicates whether an individual may file their adjustment application and receive the benefits associated with having a green card application pending with USCIS.
In November 2025, USCIS will be using the Dates for Filing chart for both employment- and family-based preference categories.
The EB-2 and EB-3 preference categories remain backlogged for all countries, and there are no changes from last month’s Visa Bulletin. See the November Visa Bulletin here.
If you have questions about planning, please schedule a consultation with one of the attorneys at Iandoli, Desai & Cronin (info@iandoli.com).
DHS Releases Interim Final Rule Removing Automatic Extension of EADs
On October 30, 2025, DHS released an Interim Final Rule that will eliminate the 540-day automatic extension of Employment Authorization Documents (“EADs”) for noncitizens in certain employment authorization categories who timely filed applications to extend their work authorization. This new rule does not affect EADS that were automatically extended prior to October 30, 2025. The rule also does not apply to F-1 STEM OPT students, as the automatic extension of STEM OPT-based employment authorization is based on a different regulation that is not altered by this Interim Final Rule.
DHS will accept comments on this Interim Final Rule until December 1, 2025. If you wish to comment, please go to the Federal Register website here.
Read the announcement from USCIS here.
E-Verify is Operational During the Government Shutdown
On October 9, 2025, USCIS announced that E-Verify was once again operational after being suspended due to the government shutdown. The E-Verify website states that employers should still use an employee’s actual hire date and not the date of data entry when entering a new hire into the E-Verify system. The E-Verify system will then prompt employers to enter a reason for a delay in entry, to which employers should select “E-Verify not available” from the drop-down menu. The E-Verify website confirms that entry delays caused by E-Verify's unavailability due to the government shutdown will not count towards the three business days employers usually have to enter new hires into E-Verify.
See the E-Verify announcement for more information.
Significant Update to $100,000 H-1B Payment Proclamation: October 20, 2025
As you may be aware from our previous alerts, on September 19, 2025, President Trump signed Presidential Proclamation 10973 “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” which became effective on September 21, 2025.
On October 20, 2025, USCIS published significant updates and guidance on its website regarding who the Proclamation applies to and how and when to make the payment. The guidance states that the Proclamation applies to:
beneficiaries who are outside the U.S. and do not have a valid H-1B visa at the time that their H-1B petition is approved;
beneficiaries of H-1B petitions filed after the Proclamation effective date that request consular notification, port of entry notification, or pre-flight inspection; and
beneficiaries of H-1B petitions filed after the Proclamation effective date who receive a denial for their request to change, amend, or extend their stay and must undergo consular processing to complete their H-1B process.
Importantly, USCIS’s October 20, 2025, update specifically provides that the Proclamation does not apply to:
Any previously issued or currently valid H-1B visas;
Any H-1B petition submitted prior to September 21, 2025;
Any H-1B petition submitted on or after September 21, 2025, that requests an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay for a foreign national inside the U.S. Furthermore, the update provides that a foreign national beneficiary of such a petition will not be subject to the payment if they then depart the U.S. and apply for an H-1B visa abroad based on that approved petition and/or seek reentry to the US on a current H-1B visa.
USCIS also provided the link for submitting the $100,000 payment and confirmed that the payment should be made via pay.gov prior to filing the H-1B petition with a USCIS Service Center.
Finally, USCIS’ website posting provided information on how employers can request an exception to the Proclamation. The update states that in “extraordinarily rare circumstances,” the Secretary of Homeland Security may exempt a petition from the payment if the petitioner can establish:
The H-1B worker presence in the U.S. is in the national interest,
No American worker is available to fill the role,
The H-1B worker does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the U.S., and
Requiring the petitioning employer to make the payment on the beneficiary’s behalf would significantly undermine the interests of the U.S.
Prior to filing the H-1B petition, petitioning employers must send a request and all supporting evidence to H1BExceptions@hq.dhs.gov. There is no further guidance on how long this request will take, or specific examples of the type of supporting evidence required.
We will continue to provide updates as we receive them.
Carry Proof of USCIS Registration At All Times
As of April 2025, all foreign nationals (including Permanent Residents) fourteen years old and older must register with USCIS and carry proof of their registration at all times. Most foreign nationals with valid immigration status were already registered as part of their visa and I-94 issuance process. The most common proof of registration includes I-94s (either printed from the CBP website or at the bottom of an I-797 Approval Notice), green cards, and EADs.
See our previous notification for more information.
U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston Upholds Birthright Citizenship
On October 3, 2025, The First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, MA upheld a lower district court decision that prevented President Trump from enforcing his Executive Order ending birthright citizenship for children of certain noncitizen parents. See our previous publication on the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order here. In short, birthright citizenship is explicitly written into the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution and cannot be rescinded without amending the Constitution.
President Trump continues to challenge injunctions against the Executive Order. In September, the Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to uphold his order, arguing, contrary to 127 years of established law and almost all legal experts, that constitutional birthright citizenship does not apply to the children of foreign nationals.
Read the ACLU’s press release on the First Circuit decision here.