Recent immigration policy changes (Federal Register)

All immigration-related rules and proposed rules published in the U.S. Federal Register since 2025. Source: federalregister.gov immigration topic tag. 34 documents.

Federal Register publications under ‘Immigration’ have binding legal effect on USCIS, ICE, EOIR, and immigration courts. Final Rules become law on their effective date; Proposed Rules are open for public comment.

Latest updates (auto-refreshed)

The list below pulls the most recent immigration rules and notices directly from the Federal Register and refreshes automatically — so this page reflects the newest USCIS, ICE, and EOIR actions without manual updating.

Latest immigration rules & notices Automatically updated: 2026-09-08 · official source
  • Correction 2026-08-31 · Homeland Security Department
    Affirmative Asylum Referrals Without Interview
  • Proposed Rule 2026-08-25 · Homeland Security Department
    Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to establish a $103,265 fee, payable at the time of filing, for all H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, which would be imposed in addition to all other applicable fees or payments. This fee would serve as a...

  • Rule 2026-08-21 · Executive Office for Immigration Review
    Inflation Adjustment for EOIR OBBBA Fees; Fiscal Year 2027

    The Department of Justice ("Department") is making inflationary adjustments to immigration-related fees for filings with the Executive Office for Immigration Review ("EOIR") as required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for Fiscal Year ("FY") 2027.

  • Proposed Rule 2026-08-21 · Homeland Security Department
    Genealogy Program Regulations To Clarify the Impact of Federal Records Requirements

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to amend its regulation governing genealogy program related records requests to revise its genealogy program regulations to clarify the impact of statutory and regulatory federal records requirements. This is necessary for individuals who request immigration...

  • Rule 2026-08-11 · Homeland Security Department
    Regulatory Changes Required by the Energy Security and Lightering Independence Act of 2022

    The Energy Security and Lightering Independence Act of 2022 amended the nonimmigrant classifications for aliens in transit (C) and for aliens serving as crewmen (D) to include individuals who perform ship-to-ship liquid cargo transfer operations to or from another vessel engaged in foreign trade (lightering). The...

  • Rule 2026-08-11 · Homeland Security Department
    Mandatory Electronic Filing (e-Filing)

    This interim final rule (IFR) amends U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations to provide: USCIS may require mandatory electronic filing (e-filing) of certain benefit requests; the process USCIS will follow to require a benefit request to be e-filed; and how a waiver of the e-filing requirement for...

  • Rule 2026-08-10 · Homeland Security Department
    Immigration Bonds; Technical Amendment

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is making non- substantive technical revisions to its immigration bond regulation to remove form numbers and legacy job titles from its provisions. It also makes other non-substantive revisions to this regulation to improve the clarity of the CFR. This action is editorial...

  • Rule 2026-08-10 · Homeland Security Department
    9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee for H-1B and L-1 Visas

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending the regulations concerning the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee for certain H-1B and L-1 Visas (9-11 Biometric Fee). The regulatory changes correct DHS's interpretation of statutory language to require that covered employers submit the 9-11 Biometric...

  • Rule 2026-08-03 · State Department
    Visas: Visa Bond Program

    This rule finalizes the temporary final rule that went into effect on August 20, 2025, which launched a 12-month long Visa Bond Pilot Program (Pilot Program), and establishes a permanent visa bond program. An alien applying for a visa as a temporary visitor for business or pleasure (B-1/B-2) may be required to...

  • Proposed Rule 2026-07-30 · Executive Office for Immigration Review
    Civil Money Penalty for Actions in Contempt of an Immigration Judge's Proper Exercise of Authority

    This notice of proposed rulemaking ("NPRM") would implement a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA" or "the Act") that authorizes Immigration Judges, under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General, to sanction by civil money penalty any action (or inaction) in contempt of the proper exercise...

  • Proposed Rule 2026-07-30 · State Department
    Exchange Visitor Program-Termination of Program Participation, Extension of Program and Reinstatement to Valid Program Status

    The Department of State's (Department's) Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs administers the Exchange Visitor Program, as set forth at 22 CFR part 62, wherein exchange visitors on educational and cultural exchange programs travel to the United States in the J visa category. The Department tracks the status...

  • Rule 2026-07-28 · Homeland Security Department
    Affirmative Asylum Referrals Without Interview

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending its regulations to permit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to refer certain affirmative asylum applications to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) without interview. USCIS still offers an interview...

  • Notice 2026-07-27 · Homeland Security Department
    Determination Pursuant to Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as Amended

    The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined, pursuant to law, that it is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in the state of Texas.

  • Rule 2026-07-21 · Homeland Security Department
    USCIS Immigration Fees and Related Procedures Required by H.R.1 Reconciliation Bill; Correction

    This document corrects the interim final rule (IFR) that published in the Federal Register on April 29, 2026. The IFR codified certain immigration fees and other provisions required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) and amended USCIS regulations governing asylum and annual asylum fees, the new Form I-94...

  • Notice 2026-07-21 · Homeland Security Department
    Determination Pursuant to Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as Amended

    The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined, pursuant to law, that it is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in the state of Arizona.

  • Notice 2026-07-20 · U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
    Flight Manifest/Billing Agreement

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will submit the following Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance. This information collection was...

  • Rule 2026-07-20 · Homeland Security Department
    Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility

    DHS is rescinding the 2022 public charge ground of inadmissibility regulations ("2022 Final Rule"). The 2022 Final Rule was not the best implementation of the statute. It was inconsistent with congressional intent, unduly restrictive, and hampered DHS's ability to make accurate, precise, and reliable determinations...

  • Rule 2026-07-17 · Homeland Security Department
    Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending its regulations to change the admission period in the F, J, and I classifications from duration of status to an admission for a fixed time period, and additional changes to admission and extension requirements. This final rule will provide additional protections...

  • Correction 2026-07-08 · Homeland Security Department
    Naturalization Application Fee Adjustments
  • Notice 2026-07-02 · Homeland Security Department
    Determination Pursuant to Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as Amended

    The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined, pursuant to law, that it is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in the state of Texas. The notice of...

  • Proposed Rule 2026-07-02 · Homeland Security Department
    EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022; Ensuring the Integrity of the EB-5 Program; Automatic Revocation of Petitions for Immigrant Classification

    This proposed rule would implement the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), which the President signed on March 15, 2022. The RIA substantially reforms and adds significant integrity provisions to the employment-based, fifth preference (EB-5) visa category for alien investors and the associated Regional...

  • Correction 2026-06-30 · Homeland Security Department
    Signatures on Immigration Benefit Requests
  • Rule 2026-06-29 · Homeland Security Department
    Alien Registration Form and Evidence of Registration

    On March 12, 2025, DHS issued an interim final rule (IFR) with request for comments amending DHS regulations to designate a new registration form for aliens to comply with statutory alien registration and fingerprinting provisions. Unregistered aliens may use this general registration form to satisfy their...

  • Proposed Rule 2026-06-23 · Homeland Security Department
    Naturalization Application Fee Adjustments

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to adjust the fees that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) charges for Form N-400, and Form N-336, to end both the reduced fee option for Form N-400, and the availability of fee waivers for both forms. Current and former armed forces service members...

  • Rule 2026-06-11 · Executive Office for Immigration Review
    EOIR Fees

    In this interim final rule ("IFR"), the Department of Justice ("Department") is updating its fee regulations for filings with the Executive Office for Immigration Review ("EOIR") to comply with a recent statutory enactment.

Curated archive

A hand-curated archive of the most significant immigration rules and proposed rules since 2025, each with its own detail page.

Final Rules

Proposed Rules

Recent fee, deadline, and contact context (2025-2026)

H.R.1 / OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill / Public Law 119-21) took effect 2026-05-29 and substantially changed USCIS fees. Asylum applications (Form I-589) now require a $100 filing fee and a $102 Annual Asylum Fee (AAF; $100 base, inflation-adjusted for 2026) — both non-waivable per 8 U.S.C. 1802 and 1808. Other major fee changes: I-102 (replacement I-94) increased by $24; in-absentia removal-order arrest fee $5,130 for 2026 (the $5,000 base plus the 2026 inflation adjustment) — a proposed rule (Federal Register 2026-10082, May 2026) would raise it to $18,000 but is not yet in effect; and initial TPS registration (Form I-821) raised from the old $50 cap to $500, now $510 for filings postmarked on or after January 1, 2026, non-waivable, plus $30 biometrics — H.R.1 amended INA § 244(c)(1)(B). Re-registration still has no I-821 fee, and TPS EAD validity is capped at 1 year.

Final Rules typically include a 30-day or 60-day delayed effective date from Federal Register publication. Proposed Rules receive a 60-day public comment period before potential finalization. Submit comments at regulations.gov referencing the rule’s docket number; comments become part of the rulemaking administrative record. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USCIS, ICE, and CBP each have their own Federal Register agency tag — search federalregister.gov for “Immigration” topic OR the specific agency.

Verify all USCIS form fees at the official Fee Schedule before filing: uscis.gov/g-1055 (Form G-1055). USCIS Contact Center: 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833) Monday-Friday 8:00am-8:00pm Eastern Time. ICE Detainee Locator System: locator.ice.gov/odls. EOIR immigration court hearings information: 1-800-898-7180 (case status) or justice.gov/eoir. The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin priority dates are published monthly around the 15th for the following month.