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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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The Trump administration is aggressively overhauling the nation’s immigration system, advancing executive actions and regulatory proposals that restrict legal pathways, tighten asylum eligibility, and increase scrutiny of workers, students, and families.
In 2025, the White House, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a series of executive orders, proclamations, and regulations that, pending rulemaking and litigation, could substantially alter who may enter, remain in, or obtain permanent residency in the United States.
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USCIS and DHS have also confirmed that inflation-based fee adjustments will take effect January 1, 2026, increasing costs for several asylum, parole, and TPS-related filings, work authorization requests tied to those categories, and certain DHS travel programs such as ESTA and EVUS.
The administration has also signaled a more restrictive approach to high-skilled visas, including H-1B workers, through a presidential proclamation and DHS guidance proposing tougher admission standards and heightened scrutiny of roles considered at risk of displacing U.S. workers.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the diversity visa lottery program would be suspended following the Brown university shooting involving an immigrant who entered the United States through the program.
H-1Bs Visas
A new component of that effort is slapping a $100,000 fee on certain new petitions under the H-1B visa program, introduced by a presidential proclamation. That fee, on top of existing USCIS application costs, has drawn immediate backlash.
A coalition of employers, universities, and worker groups has filed lawsuits arguing the fee exceeds presidential authority, violates the statutory structure set by Congress, and undermines the program’s intent to allow U.S. employers access to skilled global talent.
If implemented, employers may face higher documentation burdens, while applicants could encounter increased denial rates and narrower criteria for specialty occupation roles.
Federal agencies have stepped up scrutiny of H-1B petitions through expanded audits, site visits, and more frequent requests for evidence, slowing approvals and raising denial rates even for renewals and long-established roles, according to immigration attorneys.
In Florida, state-level immigration enforcement has compounded the uncertainty, particularly for employers in health care, higher education, and technology, while some Republican lawmakers have renewed calls to sharply restrict or eliminate the program altogether, arguing it undercuts U.S. workers. At the same time, major companies, universities, and several states are pushing back, warning that further curbs on H-1Bs could drive talent, investment, and innovation overseas and exacerbate persistent labor shortages in specialized fields.
The administration's crackdown on legal migration has targeted H-1 B visa holders, tightening admission standards and scrutiny in ways that could slow their transition from temporary work visas to permanent residency.
Will it be harder to get a Green Card in 2026?
In the wake of a recent shooting that left two National Guard members dead, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced it will begin reviewing the green-card status of immigrants from 19 countries.
"Effective immediately, I am issuing new policy guidance that authorizes USCIS officers to consider country-specific factors as significant negative factors when reviewing immigration requests. American lives come first," USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said in a statement on November 27.
The move signals increased scrutiny of certain immigrant populations and raises concerns among legal experts and advocacy groups about potential delays or revocations for lawful permanent residents.
"The recent announcement that USCIS will be reexamining all recent grants of refugee status and all immigration status grants of any kind to individuals from the 19 travel ban countries has the potential to divert enormous USCIS resources from normal operations," Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. Immigration Program at the Migration Policy Institute, told Newsweek.
"These re-reviews may take huge amounts of staff time, slowing all other immigration processing. For those from the 19 travel ban countries, including Venezuelans, Cubans, and Haitians, the pause on all application processing is likely to lead some people to fall out of status and be susceptible to ICE arrest, detention, and removal, and will leave others in limbo," Gelatt said.
A proposed rule published in late 2025 would revive and expand the "public-charge" test for green-card applicants, giving immigration officers broader discretion to consider an applicant’s potential use of public benefits.
Refugee Admissions Cap for 2026
The administration’s October decision on refugee admissions sets the cap for Fiscal Year 2026 at 7,500 people, the lowest limit since the program began. The order also outlines a tighter set of priority groups, signaling a more selective approach to who will be considered for resettlement, with a focus on White South Africans. The figures effectively restrict how many refugees can be admitted over the next year and shape the program’s overall direction for 2026.
Expanded Travel Restrictions
The Trump administration announced an expansion of its travel restrictions, set to take effect January 1, 2026, adding five countries—Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria to the list of nations whose citizens are barred from entry. Travel document holders from the Palestinian Authority are also fully restricted. In addition, 15 other countries will face partial restrictions, including Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and others. This update builds on a policy introduced in June 2025, which limited travel from 12 countries and imposed additional restrictions on seven others. The measures aim to tighten U.S. entry standards for certain foreign travelers.
"A potential expansion of the travel ban to additional countries—combined with USCIS treating people from these countries differently in how it handles applications for asylum, green cards, naturalization, and other statuses, could have a major impact on legal immigration," Gelatt said.
"One of the things that I find the most problematic is that it appears to be Muslim and African countries that are bearing the brunt of these high-risk countries. They are being singled out because of race, nationality, color of their skin, and this is extremely un-American," Ricky Murray, a former senior USCIS official, told Newsweek.
Work Authorization and EAD Changes
USCIS announced fee adjustments for FY2026 and moved to rescind the practice of automatically extending employment authorization documents in some categories. Fee hikes and reduced automatic extensions will affect applicants’ costs.
Several major changes related to EADs will hit immigrant workers next year, with experts saying it "will likely lead to many workers churning in and out of the labor force."
"The first change was to get rid of auto-extensions that allowed people to continue working if USCIS took longer than 180 days to approve their work authorization renewal.
"The second change was to shorten the validity period of work authorization documents for asylum applicants, green card applicants, and others from five years to just 18 months.
"Because USCIS is often taking more than 180 days to process work authorization renewal applications, and they are now requiring more people to file more often for work authorization, we are likely to see many people having to go on furlough or quit their jobs while they wait for their work authorization to be renewed."
Recruitment of Deportation Judges
The U.S. Department of Justice is actively recruiting attorneys to serve as deportation judges as part of efforts to address a growing backlog of cases. Recruitment notices emphasize adjudicating cases involving removal and relief, with salaries ranging from approximately $160,000 to $207,500 and additional incentives for certain locations. Recent regulatory changes allow the Executive Office for Immigration Review, with Attorney General approval, to designate any licensed attorney as a temporary immigration judge for renewable six-month terms, broadening eligibility beyond those with prior immigration law experience. Supporters say the changes help manage caseloads more efficiently, while critics raise concerns about potential impacts on fairness and consistency in hearings.
Gold Card Visa
The Trump administration has unveiled a $1 million 'Gold Card' visa for high-net-worth investors. Applications are open, and the first round of visas could be issued next year. The initiative offers a pathway to U.S. permanent residence for foreign nationals who meet the program’s financial and eligibility criteria, marking a high‑profile addition to the country’s legal immigration options as the Trump administration cracks down on migration. The gold card program allows applicants to seek permanent residence and eventually citizenship by making significant financial contributions alongside meeting standard employment-based immigration requirements.
The Weaponization of USCIS
Experts told Newsweek the nation's immigrant benefits agency could become more of an enforcement agency.
"This time, however, they’ve hit the ground running with more aggressive policies designed to restrict access to the nation’s legal immigration system," Daniel Delgado, a former acting deputy assistant secretary for immigration policy at DHS under the Biden administration, told Newsweek.
"What we’ve seen so far, and can expect to continue, is the administration telling those seeking to come to the United States to do things the 'right way' while simultaneously making every effort to undermine that process and pushing the 'right way' further from reach for so many."
U.S. immigration policy is changing rapidly, with new rules, procedures, and enforcement priorities coming into effect on an ongoing basis. Many of these changes have been implemented through executive actions and agency guidance rather than legislation, showing how administrations can reshape the system without congressional approval. As a result, applicants, employers, and advocates must navigate a landscape where visa programs and immigration benefits can shift quickly and unpredictably.
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