Visa Consultation by Former Diplomats

10/02/2026

IMMIGRATION UPDATE - October 2, 2026

You may have seen reports that a federal judge blocked the $100,000 H-1B fee. Here is the careful version.

WHAT IS CONFIRMED: The case is real and pending - Global Nurse Force v. Trump, No. 4:25-cv-08454, in the Northern District of California, filed November 25, 2025 as an Administrative Procedure Act challenge. We verified that through the government's official federal courts collection.

WHAT IS NOT CONFIRMED: The order itself. We could not open it on any official source. Published accounts disagree on the date (September 30 or October 1), on whether the relief reaches only the named plaintiffs or the fee policies generally, and on whether a stay or appeal is in place.

WHY THAT MATTERS: Those are very different outcomes for an employer who is not a party to the case.

WHAT TO DO RIGHT NOW: Do not change a filing plan on the strength of news reports. If your petition would otherwise carry the $100,000 payment, treat that obligation as live until the order is confirmed and its scope is known.

Not reported as affected: petitions for beneficiaries already in the U.S., extensions and amendments, cap registration and its fees, and the ordinary USCIS H-1B filing fee schedule.

Full breakdown of what is confirmed and what is not:
https://www.visaexpertdiplomats.com/post/immigration-update-court-reported-to-have-blocked-the-100-000-h-1b-fee-what-is-confirmed-and-wh

Need help understanding how a U.S. visa change may affect your case? Our former U.S. diplomats provide professional visa consultations. Learn more at visaexpertdiplomats.com

Law firms and news outlets reported on October 1, 2026 that a federal judge barred implementation of the $100,000 H-1B fee in Global Nurse Force v. Trump (N.D. Cal.). The case is confirmed pending, but the order itself is not confirmed — and accounts conflict on its date and scope. Employers shoul...

10/01/2026

IMMIGRATION UPDATE - October 1, 2026

DHS published three Federal Register notices today raising the H.R. 1 immigration fees by 3.36% for fiscal year 2027. The new amounts take effect October 16, 2026 - fifteen days from now.

What is going up:
- Form I-589, annual pending asylum fee: $102 to $105
- Form I-765, initial EAD (asylum applicant): $560 to $570
- Form I-821, TPS: $510 to $520
- Form I-131, immigration parole: $1,020 to $1,050
- ESTA (Visa Waiver travelers): $40.27 to $40.62
- EVUS (Chinese nationals): $30.75 to $31.75

The amounts are small. The deadline is the part that matters. The USCIS notice says plainly that any request postmarked on or after October 16 without the proper filing fee will be rejected. If your package goes out in the third week of October with a check written for the old amount, it comes back - and you lose the filing date.

If you have an asylum, TPS, parole or EAD filing nearly ready, the postmark date is the thing to look at this week.

ESTA and EVUS need no action. Those fees are charged automatically when you apply; just expect the new amount.

Full breakdown, with direct links to all three Federal Register notices: https://www.visaexpertdiplomats.com/post/immigration-update-dhs-raises-h-r-1-immigration-fees-3-36-for-fy-2027-new-amounts-apply-to-fili

Need help understanding how a U.S. visa change may affect your case? Our former U.S. diplomats provide professional visa consultations. Learn more at visaexpertdiplomats.com

Three Federal Register notices published October 1, 2026 raise the H.R. 1 immigration fees by 3.36% for fiscal year 2027, effective October 16. Asylum, TPS, parole and EAD filings, plus ESTA and EVUS, are affected. The postmark date controls.

09/30/2026

IMMIGRATION UPDATE — September 30, 2026

Two things published today that change what people should be doing this week.

1) USCIS published a final rule raising EB-5 filing fees, effective November 30, 2026. Form I-526 goes from $3,675 to $7,615. The regional center designation fee on Form I-956 goes from $17,795 to $44,115. Two new forms are created, including a $2,165 registration for promoters. The fee is keyed to the POSTMARK date, so anything postmarked before November 30 locks in today's fee. A few filings actually get cheaper.

2) The October 2026 Visa Bulletin is out, and it governs from October 1. EB-2 for all chargeability areas retrogresses from Current to January 1, 2025. EB-3 worldwide moves back to May 15, 2024. On the other side, EB-2 India and EB-5 Unreserved India come off Unavailable for the first time since the fiscal-year numbers ran out, and EB-1 India advances.

If your EB-2 or EB-3 priority date was current in September, it may not be in October. Whether you can still file an adjustment application using the Dates for Filing chart is a separate determination USCIS publishes on its own page — check it before you rely on a filing date.

Full breakdown, with the fee table and both charts, here:
https://www.visaexpertdiplomats.com/post/immigration-update-eb-5-filing-fees-more-than-double-on-november-30-october-2026-visa-bulletin-ret

Need help understanding how a U.S. visa change may affect your case? Our former U.S. diplomats provide professional visa consultations. Learn more at visaexpertdiplomats.com

USCIS published a final rule today raising EB-5 filing fees effective November 30, 2026, keyed to postmark date, and the State Department published the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, which retrogresses worldwide EB-2 and EB-3 while reopening EB-2 and EB-5 for India.

09/28/2026

IMMIGRATION UPDATE — September 28, 2026

The October 2026 Visa Bulletin has still not been published. Checked today: the State Department's Visa Bulletin page lists September 2026 as the current bulletin, and the upcoming bulletin shows only "Coming Soon."

Fiscal year 2027 begins Thursday, October 1. Until the October bulletin posts, the September 2026 bulletin — published August 10, 2026 — is the one in force, and it runs out on September 30.

Three things that bulletin says, in its own words:

• DV-2026: "DV visas may not be issued to DV-2026 applicants after" September 30, 2026. That deadline is statutory and does not move.

• EB-1 India: high demand "may necessitate making the category unavailable in the coming weeks."

• EB-2 and EB-5 unreserved: demand may make it necessary "to retrogress the final action date or make the category unavailable before the end of the fiscal year."

And there are no October dates yet. If you are timing an I-485 filing or a consular immigrant visa interview across the fiscal-year turn, there is nothing official to plan against right now. Numbers circulating as "October predictions" are not from the Department of State.

Full update, with direct links to both State Department pages:
https://www.visaexpertdiplomats.com/post/immigration-update-october-2026-visa-bulletin-still-not-published-three-days-before-fiscal-year-20

Need help understanding how a U.S. visa change may affect your case? Our former U.S. diplomats provide professional visa consultations. Learn more at visaexpertdiplomats.com

Checked September 28, 2026: the State Department's Visa Bulletin page still lists September 2026 as current and shows the next bulletin only as "Coming Soon." The September bulletin governs through September 30 — including the DV-2026 cutoff and the EB-1 India, EB-2 and EB-5 unreserved warnings.

09/21/2026

IMMIGRATION UPDATE — September 21, 2026

Two presidential actions signed on Friday, September 18, and one State Department announcement the same day. One is already in force.

1) H-1B ENTRY PAYMENT — IN FORCE AS OF TODAY
A Proclamation signed September 18, 2026 restricts the entry of H-1B specialty occupation workers "except for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000." It took effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2026 and expires, absent extension, 12 months later. By its terms it reaches people who are outside the United States and must seek admission. The Secretary of Homeland Security may exempt an individual, a company's workers, or an industry in the national interest.

2) H-1B EMPLOYER SCRUTINY
A companion Executive Order directs State, Labor and Homeland Security to weigh whether a sponsoring employer has had layoffs in the past year or plans them, and gives the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division 30 days — on or about October 18, 2026 — to begin reviewing previously submitted labor condition applications.

3) SOCIAL MEDIA REVIEW EXPANDS OCTOBER 1
The State Department announced on September 18 that, effective October 1, 2026, I (foreign media), TN (USMCA professionals) and TD (dependents) applicants are added to online presence review, and are instructed to set all social media profiles to "public" or "open."

ONE CAUTION: the proclamation sets the payment condition but does not, on its face, say where or how a payment is made. Implementing guidance from USCIS and the State Department could not be confirmed as of this writing. Check the agencies' own pages, and take advice on your own case, before anyone pays anything or concludes nothing is owed.

Full update, with the official sources: https://www.visaexpertdiplomats.com/post/immigration-update-100-000-h-1b-entry-payment-takes-effect-today-social-media-review-expands-to-t

Need help understanding how a U.S. visa change may affect your case? Our former U.S. diplomats provide professional visa consultations. Learn more at visaexpertdiplomats.com

A proclamation signed September 18, 2026 conditions H-1B entry on a $100,000 payment as of 12:01 a.m. EDT September 21. A companion Executive Order puts employer layoffs and past labor condition applications under review, and State adds I, TN and TD applicants to social media vetting on October 1.

09/18/2026

IMMIGRATION UPDATE — September 18, 2026

The State Department has created a new form, DS-864E, Request for Exemption From Immigrant Visa Applicant's Affidavit of Support. The Federal Register notice published today says it replaces the discontinued DHS Form I-864W.

WHAT THIS MEANS

If you are an immigrant visa applicant going through CONSULAR PROCESSING and you claim an exemption from the affidavit of support requirement, the exemption request now routes through a State Department form instead of the old USCIS one.

This mainly reaches applicants credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work, applicants who will acquire U.S. citizenship on admission under INA 320, and self-petitioning widow(er)s and certain VAWA self-petitioners — plus their petitioners and sponsors.

WHAT IT DOES NOT CHANGE

Who qualifies for an exemption. The eligibility criteria are unchanged.

Also: nothing in the notice establishes that adjustment of status filings with USCIS are affected. Adjustment cases follow USCIS's own instructions.

DATES THAT MATTER

Published September 18, 2026. There is no effective date — this is a comment-stage information collection notice, not a rule, so it does not by itself impose a new requirement today. Comments are open until November 17, 2026 under docket DOS-2026-0960.

Before you assemble a consular package that would previously have used Form I-864W, confirm on the official State Department forms page whether DS-864E is issued and in use at your post.

Our full update, with the Federal Register citation: https://www.visaexpertdiplomats.com/post/immigration-update-state-department-creates-form-ds-864e-to-replace-the-discontinued-form-i-864w

Need help understanding how a U.S. visa change may affect your case? Our former U.S. diplomats provide professional visa consultations. Learn more at visaexpertdiplomats.com

Published September 18, 2026: the State Department filed a 60-day notice for a new form, DS-864E, which it says replaces the discontinued DHS Form I-864W for immigrant visa applicants claiming an affidavit of support exemption. Comments close November 17, 2026.

09/17/2026

IMMIGRATION UPDATE — DHS has corrected the new rule on children born in the United States to foreign government employees.

The interim final rule published September 9, 2026 (91 FR 57249) and took effect September 4. On September 16, DHS published a correcting amendment (91 FR 58575) that restores evidence criteria dropped by mistake when the rule was first codified. The correction is effective September 16 and applies back to September 4.

Two things families should know:

1) The filing now turns on official confirmation of the parent's foreign government employment, including occupational title — not on proof of diplomatic classification alone.

2) Form I-508, the Waiver of Rights, Privileges, and Immunities, is expressly required only "if applicable." Children of non-diplomatic foreign government employees are not necessarily required to file one.

Registration under the rule is voluntary. It applies to children born in the U.S. on or after September 4, 2026; children born before that date are treated under the rules in place at the time of their birth. Comments on the interim final rule close October 5, 2026.

Full explanation, with the exact corrected regulatory text and links to both Federal Register documents:
https://www.visaexpertdiplomats.com/post/immigration-update-dhs-corrects-the-new-rule-on-children-born-in-the-u-s-to-foreign-government-emp

Need help understanding how a U.S. visa change may affect your case? Our former U.S. diplomats provide professional visa consultations. Learn more at visaexpertdiplomats.com

DHS published a correcting amendment on September 16, 2026 restoring evidence criteria to the rule on children born in the U.S. to foreign government employees. Registration stays voluntary; comments close October 5.

09/15/2026

USCIS has reached the H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2027.

September 4, 2026 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2027 — USCIS will reject later-received petitions for that window. Start dates on or after April 1, 2027 fall under the second-half cap, so employers who missed the cutoff should begin second-half planning now.

Full update on our blog:
https://www.visaexpertdiplomats.com/post/immigration-update-uscis-reaches-h-2b-cap-for-first-half-of-fy-2027

Official USCIS announcement:
https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-reaches-h-2b-cap-for-first-half-of-fy-2027

09/15/2026

IMMIGRATION UPDATE — USCIS is proposing revisions to four forms that matter a great deal to families and waiver applicants: I-751, I-601, I-601A and I-360.

The four notices published in the Federal Register on September 14, 2026. Here is the part worth understanding: nothing changes today. A Paperwork Reduction Act notice is a step in the approval process between USCIS and the Office of Management and Budget — it does not change a form, a fee, or how a case is decided. A revised form only matters to you once USCIS issues a new edition of it.

What is open right now is the public comment period. Comments on the Form I-751 revision close October 14, 2026. Comments on I-601, I-601A and I-360 close November 13, 2026. Anyone may comment, not just attorneys.

One piece of ordinary good practice: before you file any USCIS form, check the edition date on the official USCIS page for that form. Filings on a superseded edition get rejected.

Full breakdown, with links to all four Federal Register notices:

Need help understanding how a U.S. visa change may affect your case? Our former U.S. diplomats provide professional visa consultations. Learn more at visaexpertdiplomats.com

09/15/2026

IMMIGRATION UPDATE — USCIS is proposing revisions to four forms that matter a great deal to families and waiver applicants: I-751, I-601, I-601A and I-360.

The four notices published in the Federal Register on September 14, 2026. Here is the part worth understanding: nothing changes today. A Paperwork Reduction Act notice is a step in the approval process between USCIS and the Office of Management and Budget — it does not change a form, a fee, or how a case is decided. A revised form only matters to you once USCIS issues a new edition of it.

What is open right now is the public comment period. Comments on the Form I-751 revision close October 14, 2026. Comments on I-601, I-601A and I-360 close November 13, 2026. Anyone may comment, not just attorneys.

One piece of ordinary good practice: before you file any USCIS form, check the edition date on the official USCIS page for that form. Filings on a superseded edition get rejected.

Full breakdown, with links to all four Federal Register notices:

Need help understanding how a U.S. visa change may affect your case? Our former U.S. diplomats provide professional visa consultations. Learn more at visaexpertdiplomats.com

Four Federal Register notices published September 14, 2026 propose revisions to Forms I-751, I-601, I-601A and I-360. Nothing changes today — but the comment periods close October 14 and November 13, 2026.