President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration: "Optional Practical Training Continues to Serve America’s Needs”
On April 21, 2026, the President’s Alliance on Higher Education shared how the F-1 OPT and STEM OPT program continued to serve America’s needs in workforce development, economic expansion, global competitiveness, entrepreneurship, and higher education stability. Writer Zuzana C. Wootson highlights the following benefits of the OPT program:
Promotes the importance of experiential learning in higher education by providing students practical training experience directly related to their course of study;
Fills critical gaps in high-demand fields where there aren’t enough US workers immediately available, particularly in STEM occupations;
Financially supports American colleges and universities through international student tuition; and
Sustains US leadership in innovation: "by allowing U.S.-educated international graduates to apply their skills here, OPT helps keep research, technological development, and entrepreneurship within the United States. Former international students have founded roughly one in four billion-dollar startups, a testament to their outsized contribution to the U.S. innovation ecosystem.”
Read Wootson’s summary of the OPT program’s benefits here.
May 6 webinar on J-1 options for early career STEM researchers (from President’s Alliance on Higher Ed. & Immigration, Int’l Student Resource Center, and Cultural Vistas)
On May 6, 2026 at 1pm ET, the President’s Alliance on Higher Education, the International Student Resource Center, and Cultural Vistas will be hosting a webinar for foreign nationals on the J-1 Early Career STEM Research Initiative. The event description is as follows:
In the face of continuous challenges to other employment-based pathways, such as the H-1B, audience members will gain greater insight on this often under-utilized pathway for recruiting and retaining international talent in the United States. During the session, attendees will learn: - The benefits of participating in the J-1 Early Career STEM Research pathway for academic institutions, private companies, and scholars, - The process for using a U.S. Department of State designated sponsor, and - Additional resources for understanding possible immigration pathways available to students and graduates in temporary or precarious immigration statuses.
Register for the webinar here.
From The New York Times: “Trump’s Immigration Policy Sidelines Foreign Doctors Amid Shortage”
On April 4, 2026, The New York Times published an article highlighting how the Trump Administration’s recent 39-country travel ban is exacerbating the US’s current physician shortage. NYT reporter Miriam Jordan highlights that the 65,000 physician shortage is becoming worse because foreign physicians from travel ban countries are losing their work authorization while their employment extensions are left pending indefinitely with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). The Trump Administration states that citizens from these countries pose an increased security threat to the United States but has yet to substantively consider evidence from these foreign nationals to the contrary; instead, USCIS has left their cases unadjudicated, causing work and life disruptions for both the foreign nationals and their employers.
Foreign medical school graduates fill a critical gap in the US healthcare workforce. Jordan reports that the US is dependent upon foreign medical graduates to fill spots in American medical residency programs because domestic medical schools do not produce enough US graduates. In the upcoming academic year beginning July 1, 2026, there were 41,000 residency spots but only 32,000 US medical school graduates applied to fill them, leaving a 9,000 medical graduate gap. Foreign medical graduates fill these spots and then frequently accept post-residency positions in primary care and other high-shortage medical subspecialties. Foreign medical graduates also work in medically underserved areas at higher rates than US citizen physicians. It is therefore these high-shortage medical areas that are acutely experiencing the impact of the 39-country ban, as their physicians are losing their ability to work while their work extension applications languish with USCIS.
Read Jordan’s article from The New York Times here.
IDC Attorney Lindsay Nichols meets with congressional members in Washington, DC for American Immigration Lawyers Association’s National Day of Action
On April 16, 2026, Attorney Lindsay Nichols attended the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)’s National Day of Action in Washington, DC. AILA collectively met with over 300 congressional offices to advocate for AILA’s legislative priorities: reforming ICE and Border Patrol; accountable, fair, and lawful immigration enforcement; strengthening the economy and modernizing the legal immigration system; and strengthening communities through a pathway to permanent status for people who are undocumented or in limbo status. Read more about AILA’s legislative priorities here.
Lindsay joined her AILA New England colleagues in seven meetings with Massachusetts and Rhode Island congressional offices to discuss AILA’s priorities and to share how the current immigration climate is impacting clients, including the new $100,000 payment for certain H-1B petitions, Immigration Court changes, and USCIS processing delays. Four congressional members joined these meetings alongside their staffers: Senator Ed Markey (MA) and Congressmen Gabe Amo (RI-1), Jake Auchincloss (MA-4), and Seth Magaziner (RI-2).
IDC awarded 2026 Best Law Firms® National Tier 1 Ranking for immigration law!
Last month, Best Law Firms® awarded Iandoli Desai & Cronin PC a National Tier 1 ranking of best law firms in the United States for Immigration Law. Across all practice areas, Best Law Firms® gave 641 American law firms a National Tier 1 ranking. Rankings are determined by client and professional reference feedback, firmographic information, industry leader interviews, and feedback collected on individual lawyers.
View Iandoli Desai & Cronin PC’s Best Law Firms® ranking here.
U.S. District Court temporarily blocks Trump Administration from forcing colleges and universities to provide race-related admissions data
On April 3, 2026, a U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts temporarily barred the Trump Administration from forcing colleges and universities to provide race- and sex-related admissions data. In a lawsuit filed by public universities in 17 states, plaintiffs argued that the US Department of Education’s recent request for seven years of race- and sex-related student admissions data was impermissible due to the “rushed and chaotic manner” in which the Department made the request.
Read the preliminary injunction from the district court here and reporting on the lawsuit from Reuters here.
Partner Prasant Desai to present to International Interior Design Association on immigration changes impacting the design community
(Reposting from the International Interior Design Association New England): IIDA New England President Krista Easterly and BSA President Alison Nash will host a roundtable conversation at Sasaki’s Boston office exploring the current immigration landscape and impacts on the local design community. Prasant D. Desai, Esq., Immigration Lawyer from Iandoli Desai & Cronin P.C. will present an overview of recent changes that are affecting our business and professional communities within the current legal context of immigration. Gabriela Baierle, Associate Principal at Utile, BSA/AIA Board member, and volunteer for Immigrant Architects Collective and Betty Davidian, Director of Human Resources at Sasaki will contribute their perspectives.
Together, we’ll explore:
Implications for the pipeline of design professionals in our region
How firms and employees are navigating these challenges
Collecting community resources to share
We look forward to welcoming you for an open, in-person dialogue.
April 14, 2026
5:00 – 7:00 PM
Sasaki | Boston
Space is limited — click the link in our bio to register and secure your spot.
State Dept. updates list of countries subject to B-1/B-2 visa bond pilot program
On March 18, 2026, The State Department updated its list of countries subject to the B-1/B-2 visa bond pilot program. For background, the Trump Administration now requires that certain B-1/B-2 tourists post a bond of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 before entering the US. Starting on April 2, 2026, the following 12 countries will now also be subject to the bond program: Cambodia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Grenada, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, and Tunisia.
See the State Department press release here. For more information on the bond pilot program, see our previous post here.
Expanded visa vetting at consular interviews
On March 25, 2026, the State Department announced that several nonimmigrant visa categories will now be subject to expanded screening and vetting protocols. Starting on March 30, 2026, the following nonimmigrant visa categories will now undergo an online presence review during consular interviews, which will require applicants to set their social media profiles to public: A-3, C-3 (if a domestic worker), G-5, H-3, H-4 dependents of H-3, K-1, K-2, K-3, Q, R-1, R-2, S, T, U, H-1B, H-4, F, M, and J. Nonimmigrant applicants in the O-1, E-3, TN remain not subject this social media vetting policy.
Read the State Department announcement here.
CBP pre-clearance now available at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
On March 10, 2026, US DHS began allowing CBP preclearance operations at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in Toronto, Canada. Individuals boarding flights from Billy Bishop into the US will now complete US immigration and customs inspection in Toronto before flying into the US and arriving as domestic passengers.
For information on US preclearance at Billy Bishop, see the Canadian government’s website here and the Billy Bishop website here.