TPS updates: El Salvador, Lebanon, and Yemen
El Salvador: On April 28, 2026, USCIS updated its TPS El Salvador webpage to indicate that Salvadorans with TPS that expired on March 9, 2025 have an automatic employment authorization extension through July 22, 2026. Per AILA, Salvadoran TPS holders and their employers should print or otherwise save this webpage as evidence of work permission for I-9 and other purposes.
Lebanon: On May 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published in the Federal Register that TPS holders from Lebanon would receive an automatic six-month extension of TPS protections. The Federal Register Notice states that the Secretary of Homeland Security had not decided whether to extend or terminate TPS for Lebanon because “rapidly unfolding events in Lebanon in March 2026 impacted the Department's ability to conduct a thorough review of prevailing country conditions for the Secretary's timely consideration and determination.” TPS for Lebanon is now set to expire on November 27, 2026. Read the USCIS press release here.
Yemen: On May 1, 2026, a federal district court in New York temporarily blocked TPS termination for Yemen. TPS for Yemenis was set to end on May 4, 2026, but the court order indefinitely postpones the termination. See the updated information available on the USCIS website here.
USCIS Policy Memo Attempts to Restrict and Reframe In-Country Green Card Applications as “Extraordinary Relief”
On May 21, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 (“Policy Memo”) that purports to severely restrict the availability of the Congressionally created Adjustment of Status (in-country green card application) (“AOS”) process by casting AOS as “extraordinary relief.”[1] For background, a noncitizen can apply for a green card either abroad at a U.S. consulate through the immigrant visa process or within the U.S. through the filing of an application to adjust status to permanent residency. The Policy Memo, cloaked as a reminder to USCIS officers, represents a departure from over 50 years of practice and ignores numerous statutory updates to the AOS process, some dating back to 1960, which makes clear that Congress views AOS and consular processing as neutral alternative methods to securing permanent residence status.
The Policy Memo claims, without citation, that “Congress expects aliens paroled into the United States or admitted into the United States as nonimmigrants to depart rather than pursue adjustment of status.” Based on the unsupported supposition that the statute prefers immigrant visa processing over AOS, USCIS now considers approval of an AOS application as an “extraordinary” act. Indeed, courts and immigration authorities have long held that there is nothing untoward or inherently dishonorable for a noncitizen to apply for adjustment of status if otherwise eligible. Brownell v. Carija, 254 F.2d 78 (DC Cir 1957). See also, Matter of Hosseinpour, 15 I&N Dec 191 (BIA 1975)
The Policy Memo is of questionable legality because it establishes new rules without following proper procedure, ignores long-established precedent guiding the exercise of discretion in the AOS process, and contravenes the detailed AOS statutory structure enacted by Congress. USCIS frames the Policy Memo as a restatement of law but the directive instructs officers to consider the very act of applying for AOS as an adverse factor--a new policy that has no basis in statute, regulations, or history. As courts have reminded the immigration service in the past, “[t]he mere fact that a statute gives the [agency] discretion as to whether to grant relief after application does not by itself give the [agency] the discretion to define eligibility for such relief.” Succar v. Ashcroft, 394 F.3d 8, 10 (1st Cir. 2005). Furthermore, the Policy Memo would likely fail even if USCIS followed the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"). The APA requires administrative agencies to pass regulations that are consistent with Congress’s intent, as evidenced by statutes and the congressional record. Contrary to USCIS’s assertions, the AOS statutory framework firmly establishes that Congress intended AOS to be generally available to nonimmigrants who are otherwise eligible to become permanent residents. In other words, AOS is not a “loophole” to allow noncitizens to evade consular processing but rather an established component of American immigration law that Congress carefully crafted and revised over several decades.[2]
USCIS’s news release announcing the Policy Memo further confuses matters by announcing that “[f]rom now on, [a noncitizen] who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances.” Nowhere in the Policy Memo does it provide that AOS would only be approved in extraordinary circumstances. Rather the memo juxtaposes AOS with what it believes is the ordinary process (consular processing).
Despite the Policy Memo’s legal shortcomings, the immigration bar does not yet know how USCIS officers will execute this new policy and what specific factors USCIS will use when determining whether someone meets the “extraordinary circumstances” standard set out in the press release. The new policy could force several hundred thousand nonimmigrants to apply for their green cards abroad annually, which would severely disrupt American families, key industries, and educational opportunities across the United States, in addition to the burden it places on noncitizen applicants. The policy would additionally exponentially strain the already-taxed immigrant visa processing backlog at our U.S. consulates.
In summary, the Policy Memo does not preclude individuals from filing for Adjustment of Status. However, applicants will likely face additional hurdles including Requests for Evidence on their applications. We have received early reports that USCIS field offices are enforcing the Policy Memo during adjustment of status interviews, which is typically the final step for applicants before their applications are approved or denied. It has been reported that USCIS officers have asked applicants questions such as -
Why did you apply for AOS instead of consular processing?
Are there any factors that would prevent you from pursuing consular processing?
Why did you decide not to return to your country when your period of authorized stay expired?
In the Policy Memo USCIS indicated that it may provide additional guidance on specific types of AOS applications and “discrete populations…to aid officers in identifying those applications that may or may not warrant this act of grace...”
We will provide updates on this Policy Memo as they become available.
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[1]U.S. Citizenship & Immigr. Serv., PM-602-0199, Adjustment of Status is a Matter of Discretion and Administrative Grace, and an Extraordinary Relief that Permits Applicants to Dispense with the Ordinary Consular Visa Process (2026).
[2] Except for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, DHS statistics show that since fiscal year 2016 roughly the same number of individuals receive green cards through the AOS process as through consular processing.
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 (“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 June 2026, USCIS will be using the Dates for Filing chart for family-based preference categories and the Final Action Dates chart for employment-based categories.
This month, there were notable retrogressions for the EB-1 India and EB-2 India Final Action Date categories, and slight advancements in the EB-3 and Other Workers categories for India and China. These changes were as follows:
EB-1: India retrogressed 3.5 months (no other changes)
EB-2: India retrogressed 10.5 months (no other changes)
EB-3:
China: advanced 1.5 months
India: advanced 1 month
All Other: no change
Other Workers:
China: advanced 2 months
India: advanced 1 month
See the June 2026 Visa Bulletin here.
AILA Client Flyer: Employment Authorization Documents—What You Need to Know
On May 13, 2026, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) published a client flyer "Employment Authorization Documents: What You Need to Know” to help employers understand some of the basics of employment authorization. The flyer explains what DHS considers to be “work;” when an EAD is and isn’t needed; and EAD processing times, validity periods, and renewals.
Download a copy of the flyer here.
J-1 options for STEM graduates not selected in the H-1B cap lottery
STEM graduates who were not selected in the H-1B cap lottery this year might be eligible for a J-1 visitor exchange program if they are working in research, observation, or consultations connected to research projects for esteemed institutions, including corporate research facilities. To be eligible, applicants must have a bachelor’s degree or higher and have a background in research, academia, science, or similar experience. Programs can range from three months to five years, and not all programs are subject to the two-year home residency requirement.
For more information on J-1 programs for STEM graduates, visit the American Immigration Council website here.
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.
Update on the Department of Health and Human Services’ adjudicatory pause on J-1 physician waivers
IDC has received anecdotal reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) has resumed adjudications for J-1 physician waiver applications filed at the beginning of the federal government’s fiscal year in October 2025. For several months earlier this year, HHS had not been processing J-1 waiver applications for foreign national physicians seeking to transition into healthcare roles in underserved communities at the end of their medical residency or fellowship programs. The pause was imposing significant concerns for hospitals, health centers, and the medical research industry because it was becoming increasingly likely that J-1 physicians could not directly transition from their J-1 program to H-1B status and would have to return to their home countries while their cases were completed, causing work flow disruptions and subjecting the physicians to President Trump’s new $100,000 fee for H-1B workers that require consular processing. For more information on the pause, see reporting from the Kaiser Family Foundationhere.
Colleagues in other offices have shared that some of the J-1 waiver applications they filed in early 2026 are now being adjudicated, which is a six-month processing timeline that used to only take 1-3 weeks. However, many of these applications are still at risk of not being completed by the end of the physicians’ J-1 programs, as the waivers must now be processed by the State Department before USCIS also processes and makes a final determination on the J-1 waiver.
D/S Elimination Final Rule still under review at OMB
As of June 1, 2026, the much anticipated Final Rule entitled “Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media” remains under review at the Office of Management and Budget. We will provide updates on the Final Rule as we receive them.
Federal district courts disagree on whether college students with TPS and DACA qualify for in-state tuition
At least two federal district courts have come to conflicting conclusions as to whether college students with TPS and DACA qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice sued seven states challenging their in-state tuition laws and regulations that make state residents with TPS and DACA eligible for in-state tuition. Read our previous post on these lawsuits here. Federal district courts have since published opinions on the matter that conflict with each other. For example, in March 2026 a federal district court in Kentucky adopted a joint consent decree between the Trump Administration and the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. The consent decree declared that Kentucky’s in-state tuition policy for students with DACA and TPS conflicted with federal law and therefore violated the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. However, that same month a federal district court in Minnesota dismissed a lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s “Dream Act” tuition provisions for undocumented students.
The Department of Justice has appealed the Minnesota federal district court decision to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and a Latino civil rights group is planning to appeal the Kentucky federal court decision to the Sixth Circuit. It is possible that both circuit courts could also come to opposite conclusions on whether undocumented students are eligible for in-state tuition, and a circuit split like this would provide the Supreme Court with a strong incentive to consider the issue.
Senate Judiciary Democrats formally request investigations in Trump Administration’s indefinite processing holds on previously approved green card and naturalization applications
On April 22, 2026, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee formally requested an independent investigation from the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) into the Trump Administration’s pause on numerous immigration case types. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats wrote,
“The Trump Administration has summarily halted most immigrant benefits processing for immigration applicants from 39 countries, stopped visa processing for immigrant visa applicants from 75 countries, and ended most refugee and asylum processing. At the same time, the Administration has threatened to conduct a so-called “re-review” of individuals from 39 countries approved for any immigration benefit under the Biden Administration—including those who have since become U.S. citizens—and refugees and asylum seekers.
The Administration has provided little explanation for the basis for these sweeping changes, leaving immigrants and their families, employers, and communities completely lost as to how to comply with immigration laws, maintain status, and avoid arbitrary immigration enforcement.”
Read the press release from the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats here and their letter to the GAO here.