Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

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). 

Congress was unable to avert the first government shutdown in six years as the clock struck midnight last night raising questions from companies and individuals about the impact on US immigration operations.

As we approach the H-1B cap season for fiscal year 2026, it is crucial for employers and prospective H-1B candidates to stay informed about the registration process, important deadlines, and recent changes.

UPDATE – Phase 3 of Stage 1 will begin on August 1, 2022 and include pending I-140 petitions in the EB-1C Multinational Executive/Manager category that were filed with USCIS on or before July 1, 2021 and pending I-140 petitions in the EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) category that were filed with USCIS on or before August 1, 2021. 

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Stage 1 of USCIS’s previously announced Premium Processing Expansion program is set to begin on June 1, 2022. Stage 1 will focus on I-140 petitions and will be rolled out in phases, with only long-pending cases eligible to upgrade to premium processing in the coming months.