U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a policy update on December 12th, 2025 introducing enhanced photo and identity verification procedures for certain immigration benefit applications, including Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization), which is used for Optional Practical Training (OPT).
On December 16, 2025 the White House issued a modification to Presidential Proclamation 10949 expanding the restriction on entry for specific foreign nationals to include 7 additional new countries and Palestinian issued travel documents to the full ban list and placing partial restrictions on 15 additional countries. This expanded ban takes effect at 12:01 AM EDT on January 1st, 2026. The following countries will be added to the original list shared earlier in the article:
On December 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum titled “Hold and Review of all Pending Asylum Applications and all USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from High-Risk Countries.” The memorandum includes the following directives, which go into effect immediately:
On August 28, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule to change the current I-94 Duration of Status (D/S) to instead issue an exact date in which an individual can be in the U.S. lawfuly for F and J nonimmigrants students and scholars.
On June 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of State has announced appointments for F-1 and J-1 student and exchange visitor visa applicants will resume at embassies/consulates soon. This update follows the temporary pause in visa interview scheduling that was announced at the end of May as the Department of State implemented screening and vetting processes.