Immigration News This Week (21 March): Visa Delays, Birthright Battles & More

Current immigration policy features multiple changes involving extended visa processing timelines, lawsuits against established program regulations, and adjustments to financial sponsorship rules. Immigrants and sponsors together with their legal representatives, must continually monitor the situation due to evolving changes, including State Department Visa Bulletin retrogressions and Trump administration efforts regarding birthright citizenship and changes to green card sponsor financial qualifications. The major changes can be summarised in this sequence.

April Visa Bulletin: Some Advances, Notable Setbacks

The U.S. Department of State issued the April 2025 Visa Bulletin, which provides essential information to prospective green card applicants. Every month the report provides data regarding both visa type and nationality that helps predict waiting periods.

Family-Based Visas: Modest Progress for Mexico and Worldwide

The family-sponsored visa categories showed minor forward progress in their movement. Consular processing has been expedited by six months for the F-1 category of unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens and unsatisfied with the six-month forward advance for F-2B children of permanent residents. Worldwide applications under the F-2A category progressed by three months as it pertains to spouses with permanent resident status and their children. These improvement steps offer minimal encouragement to users of these classifications, but their total wait periods remain extensive.

Also Read: Trump's Return: H-1B Visa Wage Changes on the Horizon

Employment-Based Visas: EB-5 Retrogressions Cause Concern

Application prospects for the EB-5 (investor visa) category suffered major changes, while the rest of the employment-based visas showed varying results for U.S. immigration access. China's Final Action Date suffered one of the greatest retrogressions at 2 years and 8 months, followed closely by India's 2.5 years of retrogression. The intense popularity of these particular categories triggered sharp retrogression, which created significant distress and uncertainty for processing applicants.

Most employment-based visa categories demonstrated small progress in their numerical usage. The immigrant visa categories EB-2 and EB-3 for Chinese professionals advanced significantly. The Other Workers group showed continuous progress. The EB-4 category (special immigrants) has reached its yearly quota, so it will be unavailable until October 1, 2025, when the new fiscal year starts.

Trump's Birthright Citizenship Challenge: A Renewed Legal Battle

The legal team of Donald Trump pushes for the Supreme Court to remove the nationwide injunction restricting his birthright citizenship termination order that affects undocumented immigrant children and foreign resident children. During his first day in office, the president issued an order that targeted birthright citizenship for people who lacked U.S. citizenship or permanent residence.

Challenging Nationwide Injunctions

Federal courts issued three nationwide injunctions against this policy, so Trump filed an appeal with the Supreme Court. The court case debates whether such injunctions should stop a policy from taking effect throughout America. Experts in the field expect that canceling existing injunctions will create multiple lawsuits involving individuals, which may cause a backup in the court system. A court decision about this matter will shape the way we interpret the 14th Amendment and determine the birthright citizenship status for future generations in America.

Also Read: Navigating Uncertainty: Trump's Potential Travel Ban Affects US Workforce

Enforcing the 30-Day Rule: New Scrutiny for Canadians

United States authorities intend to strengthen enforcement of a long-standing immigration law, which started on April 11, which demands Canadian visitors to register with USCIS for longer than thirty days while completing fingerprinting procedures.

Who Is Affected?

The new immigration policy has the potential to alter immigration procedures, affecting Canadian citizens, such as snowbirds and business travellers who operate between the United States and Canada. The requirement does not apply to green card holders or visa holders who maintain valid authorization.

Potential Consequences

People who fail to follow this requirement risk penalties despite the US government not providing specific details about their enforcement approach. Several people believe this action represents part of a national plan to make U.S. immigration regulations more stringent during this period of international trade conflicts with Canada. All visitors should refer to official information sources to obtain current travel guidelines and details.

Green Card Sponsor Income Requirements: Updated for 2025

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services revised the financial standards that apply to Americans who want to sponsor family members for green cards. The requirements exist to guarantee that sponsors possess adequate financial ability to support immigrants without depending on public welfare benefits.

Income Thresholds

Sponsors need their income to exceed 125% of the standards set by the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Active-duty military sponsors can meet the requirements by meeting 100% of established standards. The necessary minimum income to sponsor family immigration for a household of four members in 2025 reaches $40,18,7, while active-duty military sponsors can use $32,150 as their cap. Prospective sponsors must check the complete income stipulations because they need to confirm their eligibility before submitting their petition application.

Also Read: Trump Administration Mulls New Travel Ban Affecting Dozens of Nations

Judge Blocks Deportation: Palestinian Activist Case

The New York federal court issued a temporary order preventing the removal of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist who attended Columbia University. Government agents arrested Khalil for immigration violations using a State Department order to revoke his green card, which triggered widespread controversy.

Concerns Over Legal Access

Legal professionals are struggling to provide adequate support to Khalil throughout his time in detention in Louisiana. Members of the public advocate for his release as they believe this represents an attack on student protest movements after Donald Trump promised to deport foreign students who participate in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. This case demonstrates how immigration enforcement crosses paths with political activism and confirms the threat that deportation represents when intended to suppress criticism.

EB-4 Visa Limit Reached: Special Immigrant Visas Halted

The State Department has declared the Special Immigrant Visas (EB-4) quota reached already in FY2020 at the five-month mark while ordering an official suspension until October 1, 2025.

Impact and Timing

The initial visa cutoff arrives before the August-ended deadline of 2022, thus affecting numerous applicants who have waited for these immigration permissions. The annual visa quota will expire when the new fiscal year begins, enabling diplomatic offices to proceed with visa applications from qualified applicants.

Also Read: Navigating US Ports of Entry: A Green Card Holder's Guide to Rights

Conclusion

The recent updates demonstrate how unpredictability remains a common characteristic of current U.S. immigration policy. Immigrants, together with their sponsors, need legal professionals to stay informed about the continuously shifting U.S. immigration policy, which includes visa processing delays and legal fights about fundamental rights alongside financial requirement changes. Expert professional assistance combined with updated awareness of system developments are necessary elements for understanding U.S. immigration policies.

To learn more about the immigration policies in the US, you must contact TerraTern right away!