By Michael T. Jackson
The last two weeks have seen myriad U.S. immigration-related actions and announcements by the Trump administration impacting various immigrant and non-immigrant-related immigration benefits and services. Some actions are already in effect and creating challenges for individual transferees and assignees depending on their profiles and visa types, while others are potential changes previewed in media interviews or in Federal Register notices but that ultimately may or may not be implemented by the Trump administration in the future.
Below is an overview of the key actions and announcements that talent mobility practitioners need to be aware of:
Immigration Adjudication and Processing-Related Updates
Pause on Asylum-Related Actions and USCIS Benefits and Services From 19 Countries
The Trump administration announced on 2 December a pause to all asylum-related actions and adjudications and a halt to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)-related benefits and services actions for foreign nationals born in or citizens of the 19 countries identified in Presidential Proclamation 10949, “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” signed by President Trump on 4 June 2025.
These actions come in the wake of the 26 November attack on two U.S. National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., which resulted in one death and one being critically injured. This attack was done by an Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who had received asylum status earlier this year after initially entering the United States via a Special Immigrant Visa for Afghans.
The actions, as outlined in a policy memorandum subsequently published by USCIS, included:
- Asylum Petitions: The administration has placed a hold on all Forms I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withdrawal of Removal), pending a “comprehensive review.” This hold applies to all nationalities, regardless of whether their country of birth or citizenship is included in the “high-risk countries” identified in Presidential Proclamation 10949, “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” from 4 June 2025.
- Foreign Nationals from 19 Countries Currently Subject to Presidential Proclamation 10949: For individuals born in or citizens of the 19 countries listed in President Trump’s 4 June 2025 Presidential Proclamation 10949, USCIS has placed a hold on all pending benefits requests pending a comprehensive review, regardless of their initial entry date. The 19 countries included in Proclamation 10949 are: Afghanistan, Burundi, Burma, Chad, Cuba, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.
Additionally, for any individuals from the 19 countries who entered the United States on or after the start of the Biden administration on 20 January 2021, USCIS is requiring a re-review of approved benefits.
For any individuals in the impacted categories above, USCIS indicates that it will require them to go through a “thorough re-review process,” which includes potential interviews and re-interviews to “fully assess all national security and public safety threats along with any other related grounds of inadmissibility or ineligibility.”
All actions included in the 2 December memorandum were effective immediately, and numerous WERC members have reported seeing cases arise of individuals being impacted as a result of the USCIS actions.
Potential Expansion of Country List Covered Under Presidential Proclamation 10949
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem indicated in a Fox News media interview on 4 December that the Trump administration was looking at expanding the list of countries included under the scope of the travel ban outlined in Presidential Proclamation 10949 from the 19 countries currently impacted. In the interview, Noem indicated that “over 30” are being looked at, and that President Trump is “continuing to evaluate countries.”
Secretary Noem did not state which countries are being considered for any potential expansion of the travel ban. However, in June 2025, media reports indicated that the U.S. State Department had identified 36 countries of concern “that might be recommended for full or partial suspension of entry if they do not meet established benchmarks and requirements within 60 days.”
The countries included in the June cable were: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is unclear if any of these countries are ones under consideration by the Trump administration to be part of any expansion, and it is also possible that other countries not listed in the June reporting could end up being involved.
Additionally, Secretary Noem’s comments did not stipulate if an expansion of the travel ban would also result in foreign nationals from those countries also facing a freeze in USCIS benefits and services under the 2 December policy directive noted above, but it is anticipated that the freeze and reviews would apply to new countries added to the 19 currently in place.
Online Presence Reviews for H-1B and H-4 Visa Applicants
The U.S. Department of State announced on 3 December that it would be requiring, effective 15 December, all H-1B and H-4 nonimmigrant visa applicants and their dependents to undergo a “online presence review” as part of their visa adjudication process. Online presence reviews have been required of international students and exchange visitors being adjudicated for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa since June 2025, and these online reviews are part of enhanced vetting protocols stemming from enhanced immigration screening requirements included Executive Order 14161, “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” signed by President Trump on 20 January 2025.
In the wake of the new social media vetting requirements for H-1Bs and H-4s, consular posts in at least one country, India, have started rescheduling some visa appointments scheduled on or after 15 December to facilitate the new social media vetting. WERC members have indicated that they have seen impacted visa appointments originally scheduled for mid- to late-December adjusted to new dates ranging from March to June 2026. In a post on X, the U.S. Embassy in India indicated that applicants “[a]rriving on [their] previously scheduled appointment date will result in [their] being denied admittance to the Embassy or Consulate.”
Reduction in Maximum Validity Period for Certain Employment Authorization Documents
USCIS updated its policy manual to reduce the maximum validity period of employment authorization documents (EADs) for certain foreign nationals. For EAD applications filed or pending on or after 5 December 2025, the maximum validity for initial and renewed EADs was reduced from five years to 18 months for:
- Individuals admitted as refugees or granted asylum, or withholding of deportation or removal;
- Individuals with pending applications for asylum or withholding of removal;
- Individuals with pending applications for adjustment of status under INA 245; and
- Individuals with pending applications for suspension of deportation, cancellation of removal, or relief under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act.
These revisions are in addition to several maximum validity adjustments already implemented by the Trump administration resulting from changes within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3) signed into law in July 2025. The law reduced the validity period for initial and renewal EADs for a range of categories, including individuals paroled as refugees, individuals granted TPS or parole status, individuals with a pending TPS application, and individuals who are the spouse of an entrepreneur parole.
Updates Considered for ESTA Processes
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced in the Federal Register on 10 December that it was seeking public comments on changes to ESTA forms and processes. CBP indicated that it planned to implement several updates to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) application used by foreign nationals from the 41 countries within the Visa Waiver Program that are eligible to request approval to come to the United States for up to 90 days for business or travel-related purposes without a visa stamp.
As part of the changes, the ESTA application would be updated to require submission of an individual’s face photo in addition to the one on their passport page. CBP advised this is needed to improve the facial recognition reviews of applications. Additionally, the updated form will require submission of five years’ worth of social media-related handles and details related to several new high-value data elements. These high-value data elements include biometric information, which the notice indicates is defined as “face, fingerprint, DNA, and iris.” CBP also states that it intends to sunset the ESTA website application and only permit applications via the ESTA mobile app, but the agency does not indicate a timeline for this potential transition.
Termination of Family Reunification Parole Program
USCIS published a Federal Register notice on 15 December 2025 indicating the administration’s ending of 9 categorical parole programs facilitating family reunifications for foreign nationals from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras. For the individuals who have been paroled into the United States as part of the programs, their parole will terminate on 14 January 2026 unless they have filed a Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) on or before 15 December and that petition’s adjudication is still pending as of 14 January.
Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras
New USCIS Vetting Center
USCIS announced on 5 December that it would be establishing a new specialized center to focus on “the enhanced vetting of aliens and allow[ing] the agency to respond more nimbly to changes in a shifting threat landscape.” This center, to be headquartered in Atlanta, will “draw on the full spectrum of classified and nonclassified screening and vetting capabilities and provide a more thorough supplemental review of immigration applications and petitions,” and will be tasked with vetting both pending and existing beneficiaries.
Immigration Compliance -Related Updates
Department of Labor’s Project Firewall
U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer indicated in interviews that DOL has approximately 200 ongoing investigations against U.S. employers looking into potential fraud and abuse with the H-1B visa program. These investigations are part of DOL’s Project Firewall, which was announced on 19 September and involves DOL invoking investigatory provisions in existing U.S. immigration law for cases directly signed off on by the labor secretary.
According to media reports, officials within DOL’s Wage and Hour Division indicated that investigations to date had found a range of issues within cases, such as:
- H-1B visa holders being hired at wage levels lower than either comparable American workers or typical wage rates aligned with their advanced degree-related qualifications;
- Job locations listed for H-1B visa holders not existing;
- H-1B visa holders not understanding or being aware of tasks listed in their Labor Condition Application (LCA); and
- Companies failing to timely notify the U.S. government when the H-1B-related program was ended by the employer.
DOL has reportedly identified over $15 million in back wages to workers that employers will need to pay related to open cases, with the amount expected to grow as investigations continue.
The open cases represent over $15 million in owed back wages to workers, with the WHD expecting this figure to grow as more cases of fraud and abuse are uncovered. Companies found abusing the H-1B visa program will have to pay those back wages as part of their settlements with the Labor Department.
EEOC Guidance on National Origin Discrimination
On 8 December, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new technical assistance document for employers related to anti-American worker discrimination by employers or a covered entity (such as a staffing agency or recruiter). This builds on the EEOC’s February 2025 announcement that the agency would be prioritizing “protecting American workers from anti-American national origin discrimination” and is aligned with the agency’s announced partnership with the Department of Labor in support of Project Firewall-related enforcement activities related to the H-1B visa program.
Considerations for Talent Mobility Professionals
The recent changes and actions announced by the Trump administration are poised to have wide-ranging impacts on the processing and adjudication of immigration-related petitions, applications, and benefits and the compliance considerations that employers need to consider and navigate within their organizations. Some have already resulted in impacts that talent mobility practitioners are navigating with impacted foreign nationals, while others are likely to have longer-term reverberations as announced changes are implemented and decisions are made by agencies around updates to the travel ban countries and the ESTA application.
The pause and re-review of asylum-related actions and USCIS services for individuals from the 19 travel ban countries have already resulted in individual cases occurring that corporate mobility practitioners and their immigration counsels have had to navigate since 2 December, and companies are likely to continue to face short-term impacts for certain individuals depending on their employee populations. Mobility practitioners have also indicated that the visa appointment rescheduling by U.S. consulates in India due to the new social media vetting requirements for H-1B and H-4 petitioners has also started creating issues for impacted individuals and their employers, particularly in cases where individuals had intended to align their visa renewal appointments during already scheduled holiday and year-end travel back to India.
Talent mobility practitioners should engage with their immigration and other relevant legal counsel to ascertain the potential ramifications of these actions on their employee populations and any actions to support impacted individuals and navigate any operational and compliance-related considerations within their organizations.
WERC and its immigration policy forum will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates as available.