On March 25, 2026, the US Department of State (“DOS”) announced that beginning March 30, it is expanding its review of applicants’ online presence to include several additional nonimmigrant visa categories. The expanded screening update includes those applying for A-3, C-3 (for domestic workers), G-5, H-3 (and H-4 dependents of H-3 holders), K visas (K-1, K-2, K-3), as well as Q, R-1, R-2, S, T, and U visas. Visa applicants under these categories will now undergo a review of their publicly available social media and online activity. To facilitate this vetting, all applicants are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public.”
Read moreUSCIS Policy Update for Employment Authorization of H-4, L, and E Dependent Spouses
Shergill et al, v Mayorkas (21-cv-1296-RSM), a class action lawsuit, was filed by The American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) and its litigation partners Wasden Banias and Steven Brown, to address the extensive delays at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) in processing Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applications for dependent spouses of H-1B and L nonimmigrant visa holders. On November 10, 2021, AILA announced a settlement had been reached with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Shergill case, under which USCIS agreed to allow continued work authorization for certain H-4 and L-2 EAD applicants whose applications remained pending with USCIS. USCIS reversed its policy that prevented H-4 spouses “from benefiting from automatic extension of their employment authorization during the pendency of standalone employment authorization document (EAD) applications.” USCIS also agreed to implement policy guidance within 120 days to provide work authorization for L-2 spouses without requiring an EAD card.
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