DHS extends its ‘mass influx’ finding for 180 days
DHS renewed its mass influx finding for 180 days and asked all 50 states for help. It files no forms and changes no application; here is what it does.
Desk
Immigration & Visas
The monthly Visa Bulletin with movement tables, USCIS processing times, H-1B rules, fees and proclamations, green-card priority dates and travel advisories.
The Visa Bulletin and which chart USCIS accepts each month sit at the center of this desk, with the October 2026 Visa Bulletin page updated the day State posts it, and a new DHS rule lets USCIS refer some asylum cases without an interview. USCIS processing times covers every form and office, a State Department proposal would let Americans abroad renew a passport online, and travel advisories lists every Level 3 and Level 4 destination with the date it was issued.
Browse by topic: Visa Bulletin · USCIS
Sources we read: State Department Visa Bulletin · USCIS · DHS and DOS rules in the Federal Register · White House presidential actions. RSS feed.
Trackers
State Department travel advisories trackerVerified Sep 29 · weekly
I-485 processing times by field officeVerified Sep 6 · monthly
N-400 processing times by field officeVerified Sep 6 · monthly
USCIS processing times: every form and officeVerified Sep 6 · monthly
Visa Bulletin: which chart applies nowVerified Sep 6 · monthly
H-1B cap and registration: FY 2027Verified Sep 5 · on-event
Agencies, programs and states on this desk
Latest
17 publishedUSCIS can now refer asylum cases without an interview
A DHS interim final rule in effect since July 28, 2026 lets USCIS send an affirmative asylum application straight to immigration court without interviewing the applicant first, for cases an officer decides are not likely to succeed. Comments close September 28.
Passport renewal online may open to Americans abroad
A State Department proposed rule would let qualified applicants overseas renew a passport online and would drop the rule that limits online renewal to passports with a year or less of validity left. Comments close October 27, 2026.
DHS proposes a $103,265 fee on H-1B cap petitions
A proposed rule would add a $103,265 fee to every cap-subject H-1B petition, on top of existing fees and separate from the $100,000 proclamation payment. Universities and research employers would not pay it. Comments close September 24, 2026.
DHS proposes ending the 60-day grace period after a layoff
A rule in effect since 2016 lets H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN and E-visa workers stay lawfully for up to 60 days after their job ends while they search or apply to change status. DHS wants to remove it. The rule is proposed, not final; comments close November 10.
How to apply for US citizenship: the N-400, step by step
Who qualifies, what the application costs, the 2025 civics test, the interview and the oath, from the USCIS form page, the Policy Manual and the 10-step guide, with the current waiting time at each field office.
USCIS processing times, explained
The published figure is the time it took to finish 80 percent of recent cases, not a promise for yours. How it is calculated, what the case-inquiry date means, and how to ask about a delayed case.
What Form I-94 is and how to find yours
The arrival record that sets how long a visitor may stay. Why the date on it matters more than the visa, where the electronic record lives, and what to do when it is wrong.
What a Request for Evidence means
An RFE is not a denial. It is a deadline. What USCIS is asking for, how long you have to answer under the agency’s own policy, and how it differs from a Notice of Intent to Deny.
What an Alien Registration Number is
The A-Number is the one identifier that follows a person through every immigration file. Where it appears, how it differs from the USCIS case number, and what to do when a form asks for one you do not have.
How to read US travel advisories
Every country carries a level from 1 to 4, plus risk indicator letters. What each level says, how often they change, and why a Level 2 country is not necessarily safer than a Level 3 one for you.
How the H-1B lottery and cap work
Selection is no longer a flat random draw. What the March registration involves, what the $215 buys, how the weighting by wage level works, and who is outside the cap entirely.
Green card priority dates explained
Your priority date is set the day a petition is filed, not the day you apply. What sets it in family and employment cases, what "current" means, and why retrogression happens.
How to read the Visa Bulletin
The bulletin is a table of cut-off dates, not a queue position. What each chart means, which one applies to you this month, and how to find your own line.
October 2026 Visa Bulletin: what resets Oct. 1
The first bulletin of fiscal year 2027 is not out yet. Here is what the new year’s visa supply changes, what the State Department said to expect for India’s EB-2 and EB-5 queues, and what to check the day the charts appear.
September 2026 Visa Bulletin: which chart
The two charts diverge again this month. Family-sponsored applicants get the earlier filing window; employment-based applicants must meet the stricter date.
H-1B: both FY 2027 caps reached
The 65,000 regular cap and the 20,000 advanced-degree exemption are full for the fiscal year that began in October. The next registration window is in March.