Visa-Related News and Announcements
USCIS adjudications hold for entry ban countries; H-1B visa appointment rescheduling
December 16, 2025
USCIS Hold on Adjudication for Entry Ban Nationals On December 2, US Citizenship and Immigration Services published internal guidance to (1) place a hold on all asylum applications, (2) place a hold on pending benefits requests by nationals of countries affected by the June 2025 entry ban, and (3) conduct a retrospective review of approved…
End of UW's pause on filing new H-1B petitions
November 10, 2025
Effective November 10th, and consistent with recently-released USCIS guidance, UW is ending the “pause” on filing new H-1B petitions related to the $100,000 fee announced on September 19, 2025. International Scholars Operations (ISO) will start moving individual affected H-1B cases forward, as follows: According to the latest USCIS guidance, the $100,000 fee is not required…
USCIS no longer accepting filing fee checks as of 10/29/25
October 2, 2025
USCIS has announced that it will no longer accept checks as a payment method for any filing fee as of October 29, 2025, and will transition entirely to electronic payment methods instead. Those methods include the Form G-1450 Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. ISO has experienced higher USCIS rejection rates with petitions filed using G-1450…