U.S. Immigration Systems, Data, Status, and Concepts

On August 25, 2020, USCIS announced that due to "unprecedented spending cuts and a steady increase in daily incoming revenue and receipts," the agency "will avert an administrative furlough of more than 13,000 employees" that was scheduled to begin August 30, 2020. Despite the welcome news that

The USCIS Policy Manual is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's (USCIS) "centralized online repository for USCIS’ immigration policies," that will ultimately replace other USCIS policy repositories. Access the USCIS Policy Manual Update (May 22, 2020). USCIS has removed all Adjudicator's

Update: President Biden revoked former President Trump's Proclamation 9945 on May 14, 2021. See Proclamation 10209 of May 14, 2021: A Proclamation on Revoking Proclamation 9945. This discussion of the subsequently revoked Proclamation 9945 is maintained for research purposes. Under Presidential

Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 (2020) Update: On December 2, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed an amended version of H.R. 1044 by unanimous consent, a procedural motion that does not allow for further amendments to the bill. The title of the amended bill is Fairness for High-Skilled

Updates A November 19, 2025 USCIS proposed rule published at 87 FR 55472 (September 9, 2022) seeks to rescind the final public charge rule that went into effect on December 23, 2022. Comments on the proposal are due by December 19, 2025. "DHS proposes the following changes: Amend 8 CFR 103.6(c)

In a May 10, 2019 Policy Alert, USCIS announced that it is consolidating and updating its policy guidance on how USCIS provides services to the public by revising the USCIS Policy Manual at Volume 1: General Policies and Procedures, Part A, Public Services [ 1 USCIS-PM A]. According to USCIS, the

An October 23, 2017 USCIS memo rescinds a 14-year-old policy that had given deference to prior eligibility determinations when adjudicating an extension of stay petition "involving the same parties (petitioner and beneficiary) and the same underlying facts."

Resources to support secondary school professionals that work in the areas of immigration and regulations, recruitment and admissions, programming and administration, and intensive English programs.

On May 31, 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) agreed to open an investigation into the backlog of immigration cases at USCIS, following a request from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and House Democrats. Read the CHC request Read GAO's letter accepting the request The Congressional