By Cyrus D. Mehta
A visa is a travel document and is not the same as having a nonimmigrant status. Ordinarily, revocation of an F-1 visa while the student is in the United States prevents the student from using that
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The Fifth Circuit Retreats from Due Process in Sosnava Rodriguez v. Ortega
By Cyrus Mehta
The Fifth Circuit has now erased the constitutional protection that a divided panel recognized only months ago in Sosnava Rodriguez v. Ortega. On October 23, 2026, the en banc court reversed the district courts and held that three longtime…
Agarwal v. Miller Clashes with Mukherji v. Miller Over the EB-1 Final Merits Determination
By Cyrus Mehta
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Manjeeta Chowdhary
A federal district court in Nebraska has reopened a consequential debate over how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services adjudicates EB-1A extraordinary ability petitions. In Agarwal v. Miller, Chief District Judge Brian C.…
When Dual Intent Meets the Duty to Depart: L-1 Owners Pursuing EB-1C Permanent Residence
By Cyrus Mehta
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Manjeeta Chowdhary *
The L-1 visa classification appears to pull owner-beneficiaries in two directions. INA § 214(b) permits an L-1 nonimmigrant to pursue permanent residence without forfeiting L-1 eligibility, and an L-1 manager or executive…
Matter of Ho Revisited: Protecting Adjustment Applicants in Removal Proceedings When Visa Numbers Are Unavailable
By Cyrus Mehta
By Cyrus Mehta and Damira Zhanatova*
The October 2026 Visa Bulletin created an unusual opening for some EB-4 applicants, including Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs), whose dates for filing have advanced to January 1, 2025. As a result, these individuals may…
When Government Threats Collide with the Ethics of Asylum Representation
By Cyrus Mehta
DHS General Counsel James Percival’s September 15, 2026 letter to the American Immigration Lawyers Association is troubling not because it reminds lawyers that fraud and frivolous filings are prohibited. No responsible immigration lawyer disputes that. It is troubling because the…
Additional H-1B Barriers Outside the Statute: The September 18 Executive Order on Layoffs and the Extension of the $100,000 Proclamation
By Cyrus Mehta
On September 18, 2026, President Trump issued an executive order entitled Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program. Issued alongside a proclamation extending for another year the controversial $100,000 payment requirement…
The Fourth Circuit Breaks with Pickering: Why Yanez Piedra v. Blanche Matters for Vacated Convictions
For more than two decades, the Board of Immigration Appeals has treated some vacated criminal convictions as continuing to exist for immigration purposes. Under Matter of Pickering, 23 I&N Dec. 621 (BIA 2003), the critical question was why the…
A Maryland Court Blocks Trump’s Latest End-Run Around Birthright Citizenship
Court Strikes Down 75-Country Immigrant-Visa Ban as Unlawful Nationality Discrimination
By Cyrus Mehta and Damira Zhanatova*
On January 14, 2026, the Department of State announced that, effective January 21, 2026, it was pausing immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries. The Department publicly justified the policy on the ground…