Rajiv S. Khanna, US Immigration attorney, provides free immigration help by hosting a free community conference call for US immigration-related questions every Thursday. You can post questions for the call if you are a member of our US Immigration forums. Membership is immediate and lifelong. Walk-ins are also permitted.
Release Date
01/14/2026
New rule eliminates one-year foreign residency requirement for thousands of religious workers abroad
Number 11
Volume XI
Washington, D.C
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS FOR PREFERENCE IMMIGRANT VISAS
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during February for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.
Release Date
01/09/2026
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is publishing a final rule that will increase USCIS fees for premium processing to reflect the amount of inflation from June 2023 through June 2025.
Although precise dates and processes for this year are not yet clear, we recommend planning and initiating the H-1B lottery registration now to ensure it is ready to submit when registrations open in March 2026.
Rajiv S. Khanna, US Immigration attorney, provides free immigration help by hosting a free community conference call for US immigration-related questions every Thursday. You can post questions for the call if you are a member of our US Immigration forums. Membership is immediate and lifelong. Walk-ins are also permitted.
Published by: Financial Express - January 8, 2026
https://www.financialexpress.com/business/investing-abroad-my-h-1b-approved-but-stuck-in-a-34-month-queue-attorney-shares-legal-fixes-for-missing-form-i-824-4100306/
Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
08/21/2025 09:29 AM EDT
Edition Date: 08/21/25. Starting March 5, 2026, USCIS will accept only the 08/21/25 edition. Until then, you can also use the 01/20/25 edition. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.
For more information, please visit the Forms Updates page.
Release Date
12/23/2025
WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security is amending regulations governing the H-1B work visa selection process to prioritize the allocation of visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens to better protect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities for American workers. The new rule replaces the random lottery for selecting visa recipients with a process that gives greater weight to those with higher skills.
USCIS recently updated the following form:
Form G-1055, Fee Schedule
01/01/2026 09:54 AM EST
Edition Date: 01/01/26. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page of Form G-1055, Fee Schedule.
For more information, please visit the Forms Updates page.