Business Immigration Insights

The State Department announced that as of December 15, 2025, applicants for H-1B and H-4 (dependent) visas at US consular posts will undergo advanced screening of their online presence.  This expanded screening is already in place for those applying for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas as of June 2025.  

On December 2, 2025, in response to the shooting of 2 national guardsman in Washington, DC by an Afghan national, USCIS issued a national security policy memo suspending the adjudication of petitions and applications for immigration-related benefits for those from 19 “high-risk” countries, as well as re-reviewing previously-approved benefits for individuals from those countries (Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela).