U.S. Immigration Alerts

FGI FIVE: U.S. Immigration News Summary – Week of January 24, 2025

President Trump Announces Initial Immigration-Related Orders

On Monday, January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. Later that day, the President both rescinded executive actions by the Biden administration and introduced new immigration-related actions to restrict the entry to or the presence of foreign nationals in the United States. While most of these initial actions focus on the southern border and asylees, certain measures will have an impact on business-based immigration. These include: 

• Rescissions of Biden Administration Executive Orders. The White House has announced that it has rescinded dozens of President Biden’s executive orders (EOs). Among those listed on the White House’s official website are EO 14012, (February 2, 2021) that tasked executive agencies to identify barriers that impede access to immigration benefits and fair, efficient adjudications of these benefits and make recommendations on how to remove these barriers and EO 14110 (October 30, 2023) that aimed, among other provisions, to facilitate the entry into the U.S. of highly-skilled foreign-born talent in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and AI (artificial intelligence). 
• Enhanced Screening and Vetting: The Trump Administration issued an order, “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” This order requires that the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence to establish standards and procedures to enhance vetting and screening of foreign nationals seeking entry into the United States. These agencies are mandated to “vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already in the United States, particularly those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks.” The text of this order can be found at: Protecting The United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats – The White House
• Birthright Citizenship: Another executive order signed by President Trump on January 20, 2025, aims to eliminated birthright citizenship to children born in the U.S. after February 19, 2025, without at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident. The executive order would thus deny citizenship to children who parents are either undocumented or who have nonimmigrant status (including such categories as B-1/B-2, H-1B, L-1, O-1, P, and TN). The text of this order can be found at: Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship – The White House

Federal District Court Temporarily Halts Trump’s Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

• On January 23, 2025, a Federal District Court in Washington State issued a 14-day restraining order that stopped the implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on birthright citizenship. 
• The EO would deny citizenship status to children born in the U.S. after February 19, 2025, without at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. lawful permanent resident. 
• As of this writing (January 24, 2025), twenty-two states, as well as activist groups, have filed six lawsuits to halt the executive order, arguing that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. 

SOURCE: New York Times, January 23, 2025: Judge Blocks Trump’s Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship – The New York Times

USCIS Waives COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Adjustment of Status Applicants

• Effective Jan. 22, 2025, USCIS is waiving any and all requirements that applicants for adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident present documentation on their Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, that they received the COVID-19 vaccination. 
• USCIS will not issue any Request for Evidence or Notice of Intent to Deny related to proving a COVID-19 vaccination.
• USCIS will not deny any adjustment of status application based on the applicant’s failure to present documentation that they received the COVID-19 vaccination.

SOURCE: USCIS Newsroom, January 23, 2025: USCIS Waives COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Adjustment of Status Applicants | USCIS

USCIS Updates Guidance on EB-2 National Interest Waiver Visas

• On January 15, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has updated its policy guidance to clarify how the agency evaluates eligibility for the second preference employment-based (EB-2) classification for immigrant petitions filed with a request for a national interest waiver (NIW).
• The new guidance explains that for advanced degree professionals seeking an NIW, USCIS considers whether the occupation in which the petitioner proposes to advance an endeavor is a profession and, if applicable, whether the five years of post-bachelor’s experience is in the specialty. 
• The guidance also states that for persons of exceptional ability seeking an NIW, the exceptional ability must relate to the endeavor proposed as part of the NIW request. USCIS said it determines the relationship of exceptional ability to the proposed endeavor “on a case-by-case basis, considering any shared skillsets, knowledge, or expertise.”
• In addition, the new guidance—which builds on a previous Policy Manual update that discussed the unique considerations for persons with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields and entrepreneurs—provides information about how USCIS evaluates whether a proposed endeavor has national importance and explains how the agency evaluates evidence, such as letters of support and business plans, when determining whether a person is well-positioned to advance an endeavor.
• This guidance, in Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5 of the Policy Manual, applies to requests pending or filed on or after the publication date. The guidance is controlling and supersedes any related prior guidance, USCIS said. 

SOURCE: USCIS Newsroom, January 15, 2025: USCIS Updates Guidance on EB-2 National Interest Waiver Petitions | USCIS

Department of State releases Visa Bulletin for February 2025: Slight movement in EB-2 and EB-3 India, and EB-3 China Final Action Dates

On January 13, 2025, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued its monthly Visa Bulletin for February 2025. Final Action Dates for EB-2 India, EB-3 India, and EB-3 China advance slightly as detailed below. All other countries’ Final Action Dates under EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 will remain the same. USCIS confirms it will be accepting adjustment of status applications based on the Final Action Dates chart in February 2025. 

• EB-2 India: Advances 14 days to October 15, 2012.
• EB-3 China: Advances one month to July 1, 2020.
• EB-3 India: Advances 14 days to December 15, 2012.

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.