U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is expanding its use of facial recognition technology to airports, pursuant to a final rule published on Oct. 24, 2025, which it says will help address national security concerns related to terrorism, as well as document fraud and visa overstays. CBP, which already utilizes facial recognition technology at sea
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced expected changes to the registration requirements for foreign nationals in the United States.
Continue Reading Considerations for Navigating the New Alien Registration Process: Effective April 11, 2025
In anticipation of a second Trump administration, employers should prepare for changes in immigration policies. Based on previous actions and campaign statements, there may be a renewed focus on immigration compliance and limiting both legal and humanitarian immigration. This GT Alert summarizes possible Trump administration immigration initiatives and their implications for businesses and foreign workers.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that starting Oct. 19, 2023, Israeli passport holders are eligible to apply for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which, once granted, will allow them to travel to the United States for business or tourism without having to first apply for and obtain a visa.
The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department announced that Israel has been admitted to the Visa Waiver Program. Starting Nov. 30, 2023, Israeli passport holders are eligible to apply for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which, once granted, will allow them to travel to the United States for business or tourism
The U.S. Embassy announced it was suspending all nonimmigrant visa services in all U.S. diplomatic posts in Turkey. Turkey responded within a few hours of the U.S. Embassy’s announcement by saying it would no longer issue visas to U.S. citizens, including the physical “sticker” visas at border posts as well as the online Turkish electronic visa (e-visa).
Continue Reading U.S. Suspends Nonimmigrant Visa Services in Turkey; Turkey Responds by Suspending Visas to U.S. Citizens
On November 10, 2016, Laura Foote Reiff, Bob Maples, and Rebecca Schechter presented an Immigration Post-Election Update webinar highlighting some of the anticipated key changes to U.S. immigration policy (click here to listen to the webinar). President-elect Donald Trump will likely begin the change on current U.S. immigration policy as soon as he
Today USCIS released performance data on I-526 and I-829 petitions. The data provides an overview across several segments for case status (received/approved/denied/pending) for FY 2008 through FY 2015. Data for FY 2015 is broken down by quarter.
The chart below summarizes USCIS statistics on I-526 filings:
Comparing this data to similar information in 2013
On August 31, 2015, USCIS released updated processing times for EB-5 related petitions. The following chart provides the average processing times for cases being adjudicated by the Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) as of June 30, 2015:
| FORM | Processing Timeframe as of June 30, 2015 |
| I-526 | 13.5 months |
| I-829 | 14.3 months |
| I-924 | 11.8 months |
On June 16, 2015, USCIS announced the suspension of the USCIS Electronic Immigration System (ELIS) for Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur. Due to challenges with ELIS and in an effort to improve it, effective June 15, 2015, USCIS will no longer accept electronically filed forms for the EB-5 category. Additionally, USCIS ELIS will