Immigration Updates For February 2025

On February 3, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will be ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuela under the 2023 designation, following a determination by Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem based on a review of country conditions and consultations with relevant U.S. government agencies. TPS and related benefits under this designation will expire 60 days after the Federal Register notice is published. USCIS has published the announcement in its newsroom here.

On February 5, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the FY 2026 H-1B cap registration period will run from March 7 to March 24, 2025. Petitioners must register each beneficiary with the USCIS online registration accounts and pay a $215 fee per entry. The beneficiary-centric selection process introduced in FY 2025 will continue, with selections notified through USCIS accounts by March 31. The daily credit card limit for payments has temporarily increased to$99,999.99 with ACH available for larger transactions.

USCIS has also introduced new account features, including multi-representative access for paralegals and bulk data uploads. For additional details visit the USCIS page here.

On February 10, 2025 the US government announced the suspension of the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and terminated grant agreements with resettlement agencies. This has impacted travel and case processing. The Department of State terminated grant agreements with resettlement agencies, including faith groups. There has been a funding freeze for core resettlement services. The order was challenged in court, and a judge blocked it. Resettlement offices across the country have furloughed or laid off staff and resettlement offices may be forced to close programming. For additional information visit UNHCR website here.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made an announcement on February 20, 2025 which clarifies the modification in the extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. The TPS period is now reduced from 18 months to 12 months, with a new end date of August 3, 2025. The initial registration period for new applicants under the redesignation will also remain open through August 3, 2025. The announcement can be found here.

In its announcement dated February 20, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published that Secretary Noem signed a memorandum on February 18, 2025, deputizing up to 600 special agents within the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service across the country to help with arresting and deporting illegal immigrants.DHS has also deputized IRS employees and DOJ employees to help with immigration enforcement actions.

On February 24, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it has partnered with Travel Sentry, Inc. under the Donations Acceptance Program to enhance baggage inspections at Ports of Entry nationwide. Travel Sentry will provide Passkey sets and usage instructions at no cost to the government, allowing CBP officers to open and re-lock Travel Sentry-compatible luggage locks during routine inspections. This initiative aims to streamline processing, reduce wait times, and improve traveler satisfaction by preventing broken locks and costly replacements. For more information, please visit the CBP website here.

On February 25, 2025, Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will enforce the alien registration requirement in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). According to the registration requirement, with limited exceptions, all aliens 14 years of age or older who were not fingerprinted or registered when applying for a U.S. visa and who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer, must apply for registration and fingerprinting. Similarly, parents and guardians must ensure that their children below the age of 14 are registered. Within 30 days of reaching his or her 14th birthday, the previously registered alien child must apply for re-registration and to be fingerprinted. It is the legal obligation of all unregistered aliens (or previously registered children who turn 14 years old) in the United States to comply with these requirements. Failure to comply will result in criminal and civil penalties, up to and including misdemeanor prosecution and the payment of fines. For additional details visit USCIS.

On February 28, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum (PM) to guide USCIS officers in the issuance of Notices to Appear (NTA) or Form I-862 in cases involving inadmissible and deportable aliens. The PM describes the circumstances under which USCIS will issue an NTA to include such issuance required by statute or regulation, national security cases, criminal cases, fraud and misrepresentation, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), noncitizens not lawfully present in the United States, special circumstances involving employment-based petitions and naturalization applicants and prosecutorial discretion. The USCIS PM is available here.

On February 28, 2025, the Department of State (DOS) announced that employment-based 4^th preference category (EB-4) for FY2025 have nee issued and are no longer available. The US Consulates will no longer issue visas for qualified applicants in this category for the rest of the fiscal year. The new annual limit will be rest in the next fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025. The announcement is available here.