U.S. Immigration Alerts

FGI FIVE: U.S. Immigration News Summary – Week of February 25, 2025

Department of State will no longer issue X marker on passport applications

• The White House issued Executive Order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” on January 20, 2025. 
• Under the executive order, we will no longer issue U.S. passports or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs) with an X marker. The Department of State (DOS) will only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer’s biological sex at birth. 
• Passport applications requesting an X marker or requesting a sex marker that differs from the sex marker of the applicant’s birth may experience delays getting their passport, and may receive a letter or email requesting more information. DOS will issue you a new passport that matches the applicant’s biological sex at birth, based on supporting documents and DOS records about the applicant’s previous passports. 
• All passports – including those with an X marker or those listing a sex different from your sex at birth – will remain valid for travel until their expiration date, under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) policy. 
• While new forms are being developed, existing forms can be used in the interim and can be found at https://pptform.state.gov. 

SOURCE: Department of State, U.S. Passports: Sex Marker in Passports

Reminder – Department of State updates visa interview waiver requirements

On February 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of State (DOS), issued an update that changed its policy on eligibility waivers for the in-person nonimmigrant visa interview appointments. Specifically, the update reinstates the post expiration period for applicants who hold a visa in the same category to twelve (12) months. 

Prior to this announcement, nonimmigrant applicants that had an approved nonimmigrant visa in any visa category (e.g., H-1B, L-1, O-1) that had expired within the past 48 months were eligible for a waiver. There are reports that U.S. consular posts have begun to enforce the new, more restricted, eligibility requirements for Visa Interview Waiver appointments. 

DOS’s update also reminds applicants that they must meet certain criteria for an interview waiver. Applicants must:  

• apply in their country of nationality or residence;
• have never been refused a visa (unless such refusal was overcome or waived); and
• have no apparent or potential ineligibility.

Who is affected by this change?

Nonimmigrant applicants with a visa that expired more than twelve months in the same category for which they intend to renew their visa. 

What are the potential impacts? 

By shortening the eligibility window for visa interview waivers, nonimmigrant applicants who do not meet the new eligibility requirements will have to schedule an in-person interview. Consequently, applicants should anticipate longer wait times to schedule interview appointments in high-volume locations such as India. Certain applicants may also face travel disruptions if they intend to apply for a waiver. 

How to respond?

FGI encourages nonimmigrants to determine their eligibility before requesting a waiver or scheduling an appointment. Applicants should anticipate extended consular wait times as this change in the eligibility criteria will likely lead to backlogs. Applicants may also wish to consider Premium Processing if the visa category permits. 

The Department of State’s announcement can be found at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/interview-waiver-update-feb-18-2025.html

Reminder – FY 2026 H-1B Cap initial registration period opens on March 7, 2025

• On February 5, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 7 and run through noon Eastern on March 24, 2025. 
• During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary.
• Prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives are required to use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated $215 H-1B registration fee for the registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary.
• H-1B petitioning employers who do not have a USCIS online account will need to create an organizational account. H-1B petitioning employers who had an H-1B registrant account for the FY 2021 – FY 2024 H-1B registration seasons, but did not use it for FY 2025, will have their existing account converted to an organizational account after their next log in. 
• First-time registrants can create an account at any time. Additional information and resources on the organizational accounts, including a link to step-by-step videos, can be found on the Organizational Accounts Frequently Asked Questions page. These FAQs will be updated with FY 2026 information before the start of the initial registration period.
• Representatives may add clients to their accounts at any time, but both representatives and registrants must wait until March 7 to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the $215 fee. Selections take place after the initial registration period closes, so there is no requirement to register on the day the initial registration period opens.
• The FY 2026 H-1B cap will use the beneficiary-centric selection process launched in FY 2025. Under the beneficiary-centric process, registrations are selected by unique beneficiary rather than by registration. If USCIS receives registrations for enough unique beneficiaries by March 24, USCIS will randomly select unique beneficiaries and send selection notifications via users’ USCIS online accounts. 
• USCIS reserves the right to extend the registration period based on the number of registrations received and open other registration periods during the fiscal year based on petitions approved and visas granted. 
• For additional information, please consult the USCIS’s website at: FY 2026 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 7 | USCIS

SOURCE: USCIS Newsroom, February 5, 2025: FY 2026 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 7 | USCIS

Department of Homeland Security preparing to fire hundreds of senior leaders

• The Trump administration is preparing to fire hundreds of high-level Department of Homeland Security employees this week as part of a move to rid the country’s third-largest agency of people deemed to be misaligned with the administration’s goals.
• The sources said the Trump administration has a “centralized plan” and a list of people in high-level positions across every component of DHS who are to be targeted this week. 
• This week, career employees at high managerial levels, namely Senior Executive Service and General Schedule 15 employees, may be removed from agencies across DHS — not to reduce the size of the workforce but to remove employees whom the administration sees as potentially standing in the way of goals the Trump administration has for the agency. 

SOURCE: NBC News: Department of Homeland Security preparing to fire 100s of leaders

USCIS: EB-5 adjudication statistics for FY 2024 released

• The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published EB-5 program data for Fiscal Year 2024, Quarter 4.
• The denial rate for I-526 (Immigration Petition by Alien Entrepreneur) petitions was approximately 30%. Applicants waited about 57 months on average for adjudication. Form I-526 is the petition foreign nationals usre in the EB-5 investor program to invest in their own business or in a regional center investment opportunity that was filed before the passage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) of 2022. 
• The denial rate for I-526E petitions was approximately 3%. Form I-526E is used by an investor pooling his or her investment with one or more qualified immigrants in the EB-5 Regional Center Program with a petition filed after the passage of the RIA. 

SOURCE: https://www.uscis.gov/tools/reports-and-studies/immigration-and-citizenship-data

The content of this article is intended only to provide a general guide to the subject matter. It should not be construed as legal advice. Please contact FGI at info@employmentimmigration.com or (+1) 248.643.4900 for guidance if you have specific questions.