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USCIS Increases EB-5 Investor Visa Fees, Doubling Costs for Regional Center Petitions

USCIS Increases EB-5 Investor Visa Fees, Doubling Costs for Regional Center Petitions

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalized a rule significantly increasing government filing fees for EB-5 investor petitions, effective November 30. Form I-526E, used by regional center investors, will now cost $7,850, a substantial rise from its previous $3,675. Standalone investors filing Form I-526 will pay $7,615. These increases apply to any filing postmarked on or after the effective date. Overall, fees across existing EB-5 forms will see a weighted average increase of 70.7%. The new fee structure includes a $75 technology fee, authorized by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), to fund the agency's filing systems. Mona Shah of Mona Shah & Associates suggests that while the increase is significant, it is unlikely to deter families seeking a green card through this program, advising those ready to file to do so before November 30 to avoid the higher costs. This fee adjustment follows a previous attempt in April 2024 that was stayed by a federal court due to the absence of a pr...

60 Organizations Urge DHS to End Green Card Freeze as Refugees Face Medicaid Loss

60 Organizations Urge DHS to End Green Card Freeze as Refugees Face Medicaid Loss

Church World Service (CWS) and Refugee Council USA, alongside 58 other organizations, have issued a joint letter calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end the freeze on green card processing for refugees. This appeal comes as a deadline approaches, which will result in many refugees losing their Medicaid eligibility. In July 2025, Congress passed H.R. 1, legislation that mandates the termination of Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP eligibility for refugees and other humanitarian entrants who do not possess green cards. Concurrently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has maintained an adjudication pause on over 100,000 refugee green card applications. This combination of policies is creating a situation where tens of thousands of refugees, many of whom applied for green cards months or even years ago, will lose crucial health coverage, potentially leading to severe consequences, especially for those relying on Medicaid for life-sustaining care. The organizations also criticize t...

Congresswoman Shontel Brown Introduces Legislation to Address Nationwide Veterinarian Shortage

Congresswoman Shontel Brown Introduces Legislation to Address Nationwide Veterinarian Shortage

Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11), Vice Ranking Member on the House Committee on Agriculture, has introduced the VET CARE Act. This legislation aims to establish a competitive federal grant program through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support work-based learning initiatives. These programs are designed to expose high school-aged students to veterinary medicine. The VET CARE Act authorizes the USDA to provide grants to various entities, including schools, 4-H or FFA organizations, veterinary clinics and hospitals, and animal health offices. The goal is to create, develop, or expand programs that offer practical experience in veterinary medicine. This initiative comes in response to a significant nationwide veterinarian shortage, with the USDA identifying shortages in 46 states in 2025. A report from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Farm Journal Foundation indicated that Ohio alone faces a projected shortage of 60...

Proposed H-1D Visa Aims to Address U.S. Direct Care Worker Shortage for Aging Population

Proposed H-1D Visa Aims to Address U.S. Direct Care Worker Shortage for Aging Population

Tara Watson of the Brookings Institution has proposed the creation of a new temporary employment-based visa, the H-1D, specifically for direct care workers. This visa aims to address the growing shortage of direct care professionals in the United States, a need exacerbated by the rapidly aging population. The H-1D visa would be available to immigrants with at least two years of direct care experience, including those already residing in the U.S. and new immigrants. Structured similarly to the H-1B visa, it would offer an initial three-year term with renewal options and would be dual-intent, allowing for the possibility of applying for legal permanent residence after six years. Dependents would also be included. The proposal includes safeguards against exploitation, support for training and professional development, and an initial annual allocation of 65,000 visas, projected to meet about 35% of the needed growth in the direct care workforce over a decade. A commission would periodically review the numerica...

Congresswomen Rivas and Escobar Lead Call for ICE to Restore Detainee Locator System Transparency

Congresswomen Rivas and Escobar Lead Call for ICE to Restore Detainee Locator System Transparency

Congresswomen Luz Rivas (CA-29) and Veronica Escobar (TX-16), along with 45 other congressional colleagues, have urged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director David Venturella to reinstate full transparency in the Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS). This demand follows reports from the Associated Press and The Washington Post indicating that ICE began removing individuals with final orders of removal from the ODLS on September 15, 2026, without public announcement or communication to detainees' families or legal representatives. The congressional members argue that this policy change impedes access to legal representation and conceals the whereabouts of individuals in federal custody, making it difficult for attorneys to track clients and for families to locate loved ones. They are calling for the immediate rescission of this policy and the restoration of all location information for detainees.

Attorneys General Oppose DHS Rule Fast-Tracking Asylum Seekers into Removal Proceedings

Attorneys General Oppose DHS Rule Fast-Tracking Asylum Seekers into Removal Proceedings

A coalition of 21 attorneys general, including Attorney General Jay Jones and Attorney General William Tong, has submitted a comment letter opposing a new interim final rule (IFR) by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This rule would allow U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to refer affirmative asylum applications directly to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), bypassing an asylum officer interview. This means applicants would be placed directly into adversarial removal proceedings in immigration court, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement prosecutor argues against their claim. The DHS estimates this rule could affect approximately 130,000 future asylum applicants annually and impact up to 444,000 cases already in the EOIR's asylum backlog. The attorneys general argue that this IFR violates federal law and is particularly detrimental to unaccompanied children, who are legally entitled to a non-adversarial adjudicatory process under the Trafficking Victims...

Senator John Hoeven Expresses Optimism for Farm Bill Passage During Lame Duck Session

Senator John Hoeven Expresses Optimism for Farm Bill Passage During Lame Duck Session

Senator John Hoeven has indicated his belief that the farm bill will be passed during the upcoming lame duck session of Congress. This statement suggests an expectation of legislative action on agricultural policy before the end of the current congressional term. The farm bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation that is typically reauthorized every five years, covering a wide range of programs related to agriculture, food, and rural development. These programs include commodity price supports, conservation initiatives, crop insurance, and food assistance programs. Hoeven's optimism comes as various stakeholders in the agricultural sector await clarity on the future of these critical policies. The lame duck session refers to the period between the election and the new Congress taking office, during which outgoing legislators may still vote on significant bills.

Representative Zoe Lofgren Co-Introduces DEFEND IP Act Targeting Foreign Pirate Sites, Exempting VPNs

Representative Zoe Lofgren Co-Introduces DEFEND IP Act Targeting Foreign Pirate Sites, Exempting VPNs

Representative Zoe Lofgren, alongside Senator Thom Tillis, has co-introduced the Deterring Extraterritorial Foreign Exploitation of Networks Damaging Intellectual Property (DEFEND IP) Act. This bicameral bill aims to empower copyright holders to compel intermediaries to block foreign pirate sites. The legislation merges previous drafts into a single proposal. Notably, the DEFEND IP Act explicitly exempts Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) from its scope, a significant departure from a competing proposal, the American Copyright Protection Act (ACPA), which had included VPNs. Under the DEFEND IP Act, court-ordered blocking would apply to broadband providers with at least 50,000 subscribers and public DNS resolvers generating over $100 million in annual revenue. The bill outlines a two-step legal process: first, a federal court must classify a website as a 'foreign digital piracy site,' and then rightsholders can request a blocking order if it is deemed 'technically feasible and effective.'

U.S. Representative Mfume Introduces Bill to Rejoin World Health Organization and Address Ebola Outbreak

U.S. Representative Mfume Introduces Bill to Rejoin World Health Organization and Address Ebola Outbreak

U.S. Representative Kweisi Mfume (Democrat-MD-7th District) has introduced H.R.10345, a new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, which mandates the United States to rejoin the World Health Organization (WHO). The legislation, introduced on September 10, 2026, during the 119th Congress's regular session, aims to bolster the U.S. response to global infectious disease threats through renewed participation in the WHO. The bill specifically addresses the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Central and Eastern Africa, highlighting the rapid spread of the 2026 outbreak and the necessity for a robust public health response to prevent a crisis similar to the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak. The bill requires the President, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to reestablish U.S. membership in the WHO within 30 days of its enactment and to cooperate with the organization to combat the current outbreak. Additionally, it authorizes appropriations for restoring U.S. contributions to the WHO and supporting internatio...

Explainer-What is red-dyed diesel and can it help lower prices, as Trump wants?

Explainer-What is red-dyed diesel and can it help lower prices, as Trump wants?

By Nicole Jao NEW YORK, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The White House is considering regulatory relief that would expand sales of red-dyed diesel, a tax-exempt fuel typically used for farming, as prices surge following supply disruptions linked to the US conflict with Iran, Ukrainian strikes on Russian

Rep. Ayanna Pressley Co-Sponsors Bill to Abolish ICE Amid Rising Deaths in Custody

Rep. Ayanna Pressley Co-Sponsors Bill to Abolish ICE Amid Rising Deaths in Custody

Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) is among 13 House Democrats who have co-sponsored the 'Melt ICE Act,' a bill introduced by Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Illinois) aimed at dismantling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The legislation seeks to end the Department of Homeland Security’s authority to surveil and jail immigrants and redirect enforcement funding towards federal housing and healthcare programs. This push comes in response to a significant increase in deaths within ICE custody, with at least 53 fatalities reported since President Trump's return to office, making the past fiscal year the deadliest in the agency’s history. Additionally, there have been reports of federal immigration agents shooting and killing individuals, including two unarmed fathers in their vehicles and a man fatally struck by a semi-truck while fleeing agents. Advocates argue that ICE's tactics are leading to civil rights violations and causing widespread fear among immigrant communities.

U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany Voted Against Five House Resolutions to End Iran Hostilities

U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany Voted Against Five House Resolutions to End Iran Hostilities

U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany, a Republican candidate for governor, voted against five House resolutions aimed at directing President Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran. These votes occurred on March 5 (House Concurrent Resolution 38), April 16 (House Concurrent Resolution 40), May 14 (House Concurrent Resolution 75), June 3 (House Concurrent Resolution 86), and July 23 (House Concurrent Resolution 89). Despite these votes, Tiffany stated in a May 14 podcast that it was time to 'wrap up' the conflict in Iran. He later clarified on September 22 that his 'no' votes were based on his belief that the president already possessed the authority to exit the war, rendering the resolutions unnecessary. Tiffany was not present for a September 15 war resolution vote, as he was involved in an emergency plane landing incident.