Palmer Polaski Blog

The H-1B visa program is the largest employment immigration option in the United States with an estimated 730,000 current foreign nationals working under the program. Every year, hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals register for the H-1B lottery hoping to receive one of the 85,000 congressionally allocated visas. On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued […]

On October 6, 2025, USCIS officers were granted enforcement powers, including the authority to carry firearms, execute warrants, make arrests, and investigate civil and criminal violations of immigration law. This marks a departure from USCIS’s longstanding role as a nonenforcement adjudicatory agency. Since this change in policy, more individuals with unexecuted removal orders are arrested […]

On Dec. 30, 2025, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to end Temporary Protected Status benefits that had been granted for hundreds of South Sudanese nationals living in the United States. The ruling is a temporary victory for immigrant advocates and a setback for the Trump administration’s broader effort to curtail the humanitarian […]

The immigration court system, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), is currently facing a backlog of millions of cases to be heard by a limited number of immigration judges. In response, the Trump Administration has made changes that could make it harder for people to win their asylum cases. In the past, it was […]

For years, most people held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention could ask an immigration judge for a bond hearing. A bond is money paid to the government to allow someone to be released from detention while their immigration case continues. However, there were always several narrow exceptions — mainly people with certain criminal […]

In a proclamation issued by President Trump and effective September 21, 2025, a new fee of $100,000 will be imposed on H-1B petitions. The fee was announced with virtually no notice and has caused significant confusion about who exactly will be required to pay it. As of yet, it appears no one has had to […]

Shortly after the Trump Administration eliminated the requirement for temporary immigration judges to possess knowledge of immigration law, the Department of Defense authorized the use of 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges. This move comes after more than 130 immigration judges have been fired, taken an early retirement offer, or have been […]

There have been a lot of recent changes for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders with announcements from the current administration and ongoing litigation that can be hard to keep up with. In general, TPS status protects individuals from deportation while a TPS designation is in place for their country. The status also allows individuals to […]

The Start Department has introduced a new visa bond program under a Temporary Final Rule. The rule will require some noncitizens applying under certain visa categories to provide a refundable bond. The goal of the bond program is to ensure compliance with the visa terms and departure from the United States at the end of […]

The Department of State recently announced stricter rules for visa interviews that will significantly impact both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications. Prior to this announcement, any U.S. consulate was able to issue visas to foreign nationals. With limited exception, this allowed foreign nationals seeking a visa to attend interviews at the consulate of their choice, […]