Archive for October 29, 2026

On August 5, 2026, USCIS issued updated Policy Manual guidance that changed the operational reality of how Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny are handled. The update received wide attention for authorizing officers to deny cases without first issuing an RFE. What received less immediate attention is equally significant for employers and foreign nationals: USCIS officers can now set RFE response deadlines as short as 30 days. For anyone with a pending or upcoming H-1B or L-1 petition before USCIS, understanding what this shift means in

If you’re a green card holder planning to apply for citizenship, the calendar just got more important. This summer, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a steep increase in the cost of naturalization, and it would also remove the fee assistance many applicants rely on.

At Salinas Law Firm, we want you to have the facts before you make a decision. Here’s what the proposal says, what hasn’t changed, and how to think about your next move.

What DHS Is Proposing

DHS published its notice of proposed rulemaking in the

If you are an E-2 investor from one of the countries named in the 2026 travel ban, you have likely spent the summer trying to figure out what a federal court ruling in Rhode Island actually changes for you. The short answer: it helps some E-2 renewals move forward, but it does not touch the travel ban itself. Here is what the ruling covers, what it does not, and what it means for your next renewal.

What the June 5 Ruling Actually Decided

On June 5, 2026, Chief Judge John

The legal ground shifted again on August 6, 2026. The U.S. government issued two new executive orders targeting birthright citizenship, the constitutional principle that every child born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen regardless of their parents’ immigration status. For immigrant families in Houston and across Texas, the questions started immediately: Does this affect my child? Does my U.S.-born child still have citizenship? What does this mean for our family’s future?

This post addresses those questions directly, with the honest answer that every affected family deserves to hear

A green card application filed on the wrong side of a single date could now be judged under an entirely different set of rules. On July 20, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security finalized a new public charge regulation that rolls back the more predictable 2022 standard and hands immigration officers far broader discretion over who counts as likely to depend on government support. 

The new rule takes effect September 18, 2026. For anyone already eligible to apply for a green card, that date is a real deadline, and

On July 16, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security announced a final rule rescinding the public charge regulation that has been in place since December 2022. The rule was published in the Federal Register on July 20, 2026, and becomes effective September 18, 2026, with a 60-day window required by the Congressional Review Act. For anyone with a pending or upcoming green card application, that date now outranks everything else on the calendar.

What this means in plain terms: the structured framework that USCIS has used to evaluate public

If you sponsor H-1B workers or currently hold H-1B status, September 20, 2026 is a date worth understanding clearly. That is when Presidential Proclamation 10973, the executive order that imposed a $100,000 supplemental fee on certain H-1B petitions, expires by its own written terms. But expiration does not mean the issue is over. It means the landscape shifts, and the shift comes with variables that employers and workers need to understand before assuming anything.

This post explains what the proclamation required, where the courts left things, what actually happens

On July 24, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the federal government’s request to restore the $100,000 H-1B fee while its appeal continues. That is the headline. What most employers still do not understand are the three layers of uncertainty sitting underneath it, each one capable of changing the situation before the end of September.

What Is the $100,000 H-1B Fee and Where Did It Come From?

On September 19, 2025, President Trump signed Proclamation 10973, imposing a $100,000 fee on employers filing new

A major federal rule change takes effect September 18, 2026. Texas immigrants need clear answers about government benefits and green card eligibility right now, not generic information.

If you or someone in your family receives SNAP, Medicaid, or other government benefits, you are probably wondering whether that will hurt your immigration case. The honest answer: it depends on your immigration status, what benefits you used, when you used them, and whether you file before or after September 18, 2026. This article gives you the specific answers Texas immigrants need.

What

Receiving an immigration court notice is one of the most alarming moments in any immigrant family’s life. The document that triggers removal proceedings in the United States is called a Notice to Appear, commonly referred to as an NTA. Understanding the NTA meaning, what the document requires, and what steps to take immediately after receiving it is the difference between a case that is managed well and one that spirals into a removal order you never had to face.

What Is an NTA in Immigration Law?

The Notice to Appear