From August 15, 2025, USCIS will use only the stricter “Final Action Dates” chart to decide a child’s age under the Child Status Protection Act. This change replaces the “Dates for Filing” chart and will cause more young immigrants to lose child status after turning 21. Applications filed earlier remain under old rules.

The Trump administration is preparing changes to the H-1B visa program to prioritize higher-paid foreign workers over others. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the program should support, not replace, the U.S. workforce. The administration also plans to make the U.S. citizenship test more difficult, arguing the current version is too easy. Both changes are part of a broader push to tighten immigration requirements.

The U.S. has proposed a new rule requiring Diversity Visa applicants to upload a scan of a valid, unexpired passport when entering the 2026 lottery. The scan must include the photo and signature page. Exceptions will be rare. Entries without a passport scan would be disqualified. Officials say the move will help reduce fraud. The public has 45 days to comment, and if approved, the rule will take effect this fall.

A new pilot program will require some business and tourist visa applicants to pay a refundable bond of up to $15,000 before entering the U.S. The rule targets travelers from countries with high visa overstay rates, starting with Malawi and Zambia. Bonds will be returned only if visitors leave on time. Critics warn the program could block low-income travelers, affect family visits, and add costs for businesses.

Starting August 1, USCIS officers can deny family-based green card petitions without asking for missing documents or giving applicants a warning. The change puts undocumented applicants and those without legal help at greater risk of denial and even deportation. Immigration lawyers say petitions must now be complete, accurate, and well-documented from the start, as applicants may not get another chance to fix mistakes.

The Carnegie Corporation of New York has released its 2025 Great Immigrants, Great Americans list, recognizing 20 immigrants for their outstanding contributions to the United States. This year’s honorees include public health advocate Sandra Leisa Lindsay, business leader Michele Kang, tech entrepreneur Tope Awotona, Nobel Prize winner Moungi Bawendi, and composer Tania León. The list highlights achievements across fields like science, health, business, and the arts.

USCIS has announced new fees for certain immigration benefit requests, effective July 22, 2025, based on the H.R. 1 law. The changes include a $50 fee for asylum applications and a $600 fee for employment-based petitions. These fees cannot be waived or reduced. Forms postmarked after August 21 without the required payment will be rejected.

A new Gallup poll shows that 79 percent of Americans now see immigration as a good thing, marking the highest level of support in 25 years. Support has grown across political groups as well, including Republicans and independents. The number of Republicans who want less immigration has dropped from 88 percent to 48 percent. Most Americans now support giving undocumented immigrants a chance to become citizens. These findings challenge Trump’s tough deportation agenda.

The U.S. State Department has released the August 2025 Visa Bulletin, showing the latest green card wait times. Most family-based categories remained unchanged, but the F-2A category advanced by one month for all countries, while the F-4 sibling category moved ahead by three months and three weeks for China and “All Other Areas.” In the employment-based categories, EB-2 dates slipped by one month and two weeks, EB-3 for India moved forward one month, and EB-5 saw major progress for India and China.

USCIS data reveals that processing times for green card renewals and replacements (Form I-90) have skyrocketed nearly 1,000% in just one quarter. From January to March 2025, the median wait time jumped from under a month to over eight months, as application volumes and backlogs surged. Over 356,000 cases remained pending at the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2025 (Q2 FY2025). USCIS now estimates 80% of green card replacements could take over a year to process. The delays come amid broader immigration backlogs and the Trump administration’s stepped-up enforcement efforts, leaving many lawful permanent residents in limbo while waiting for proof of legal status.

A recent jobs report highlights a growing risk to U.S. economic growth from declining immigration and labor force participation. Though unemployment remains low, over 735,000 foreign-born workers have left the workforce since January. Experts, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, blame restrictive immigration policies — mass deportations, parole terminations, and refugee bans — for the slowdown. Sectors like healthcare face severe staffing shortages as work authorizations disappear. Research also challenges the idea that cutting immigrant labor boosts wages, showing wage growth has slowed in industries once reliant on immigrant workers.

DOL Acting Assistant Secretary issued Training and Employment Guidance Letter 10-23, Change 2, directing the public workforce development system to update all policies and procedures to ensure all Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program participants have valid U.S. work authorization.