Forbes: EB-1A and NIW immigrant petition denial rates skyrocketed to 46% and 64%, respectively
On April 22, 2026, Forbes reported data from the National Foundation for American Policy showing that denial rates for the EB-1A Noncitizen of Extraordinary Ability and EB-2 National Interest Waiver (“NIW”) immigrant petitions have skyrocketed during the Trump Administration. From Quarter 4 of FY2024 to Quarter 4 of FY2025, denial rates rose from 25.6% to 46.6% for EB-1A petitions and from 38.8% to 64.3% for NIW petitions. These denial rates are in line with the Trump Administration’s other severe immigration policies and actions.
Iandoli Desai & Cronin wishes to emphasize that these denial rates are not indicative of a single foreign national’s chance of success with filing a self-sponsored immigrant visa petition. We encourage interested foreign nationals to speak with an experienced immigration lawyer to determine their eligibility for obtaining one of these visas and their general likelihood of success given the current immigration climate.
Read Forbes’ reporting on the denial rates here and the National Foundation for American Policy’s policy brief on the same here.
Visa Bulletin
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 (“FB-”) preference categories and employment-based (“EB-") preference categories. These categories are further separated into two charts: the 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 May 2026, USCIS will be using the Dates for Filing chart for both employment- and family-based preference categories.
There were no advancements in the Visa Bulletin for the EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4, or Other Worker categories. Priority Dates remain Current for individuals born in Mexico and All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed categories, which was an advancement of over two years in the April 2026 Visa Bulletin.
See the May 2026 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).
Cap season update
We are now in the middle of the H-1B petition filing period for beneficiaries who were selected in the FY2027 H-1B cap lottery at the end of March. Employers have until June 30, 2026 to file H-1B petitions for their employees who were selected in the lottery. If USCIS does not receive the maximum 85,000 H-1B cap petitions by June 30, 2026, then they may run a second lottery to fill the remaining spaces.
If you require assistance with filing an H-1B petition for a worker selected in the cap lottery, please contact us at info@iandoli.com to set up a consultation.
Interactive US immigration map from the American Immigration Council: “Map the Impact of Immigration – US Economic Data & Numbers”
Last month, the American Immigration Council published updates to its interactive map of the United Status with immigration data at the national, state, county, metropolitan area, and district levels. Users can click through the various levels to see the area’s number of immigrants, immigrant share of population, total immigrant taxes paid, immigrant spending power, and other data. The map also links to additional fact sheets each of the map’s levels. For example, you may view specific data on immigrants living in Massachusetts here, the Boston metropolitan area here, and the Worcester metropolitan area here.
View the immigration map here.
ICE reclassifies I-9 violations in revised Fact Sheet
Earlier this year, ICE revised the Form I-9 inspection fact sheet for determining the severity of certain I-9 violations. The updated fact sheet appears to reclassify several I-9 errors from being a technical or procedural violation (allowing for an opportunity to correct) to being a substantial violation (subject to immediate penalties from ICE). These changes put employers at a greater risk of incurring significant fines for violations that were previously considered technical or procedural.
Read the revised I-9 inspection fact sheet here.
Shorelight report: “Beyond the Interview: A Decade of Student Visa Denials and What Comes Next”
On April 6, 2026, Shorelight published a new report examining ten years of F-1 student visa data "to understand global trends in student visa denials, highlighting how shifting approval patterns are affecting international student mobility and access to US higher education.” The report shares two major findings:
Regardless of the current presidential administration, significant disparities in visa refusal rates persisted across regions and countries; and
Visa denial rates have not only increased, but they have also become more concentrated in certain countries and regions, such as Africa and South Asia.
Read Shorelight’s report here.
White House’s FY2027 Presidential Budget Request proposes steep cuts to international education programs
On April 3, 2026, the Trump Administration unveiled the FY2027 Presidential Budget Request. As reported by the Alliance for International Exchange, the budget request proposes steep cuts to the State Department’s international exchange programs, including a 68% cut to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. If enacted, these cuts would severely limit the benefits American students receive from studying abroad, including the Gilman Program for low-income students, the Fullbright Program, Young Leaders programs, and the International Visitor Leadership Program.
Read the Alliance for International Exchange’s analysis of the Trump Administration’s budget request here.
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.