Neutralized, source-linked updates from nomad, tax, migration, and remote-work sources.
USCIS has opened a new Atlanta Asylum Office to handle affirmative asylum interviews for applicants in Georgia and Alabama. Starting July 8, 2026, applicants under this office's jurisdiction will be scheduled at one of three interview locations.
Following the Supreme Court's decision in Mullin v. Doe, USCIS has issued updated E-Verify and Form I-9 guidance for employers and Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries from Burma, Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The guidance is temporary while lower court litigation over TPS terminations continues.
On July 1, 2026, the United States government chose not to renew the USMCA trade agreement between the US, Mexico, and Canada for another 16-year term. The USMCA Free Trade Commission, composed of representatives from all three nations, was required to conduct a joint review, but the US declined to extend the agreement in its current form past 2036.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has raised the mandatory Saudization rate for engineering professions in the private sector to 30%, effective June 30, 2026. The requirement applies to establishments employing five or more workers in the affected professions.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has extended the grace period for foreign workers whose work permits expired more than six months ago, or who were not issued work permits within six months of joining an establishment, until the end of 2026.
Immigration New Zealand has changed its policy to require police certificates to be submitted at the time of application for student and certain other temporary visas, effective immediately. Applications missing a required police certificate may be declined without further request for the document.
Australia's Department of Home Affairs has raised skilled visa income thresholds by 3.8% effective July 1, 2026, in line with changes to the Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE). These thresholds are indexed annually to keep skilled migrant wages aligned with broader Australian wage growth.
Forbes has released a list of the 250 most successful living immigrants in the United States, timed to coincide with the country's 250th anniversary. A Forbes senior editor co-edited the list and discussed the methodology behind its selection.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a determination expanding its waiver authority to expedite border barrier construction in Texas's Big Bend Sector. The notice amends a February 17, 2026 determination and waives additional legal requirements to facilitate rapid construction activities.
The Department of Homeland Security has published a proposed rule to comprehensively implement the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, affecting the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and Regional Center Program. The proposal includes new compliance requirements, expanded government oversight, fraud-prevention measures, and investor protections.
Effective June 25, 2026, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended its visa-on-arrival program to ordinary passport holders from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Kenya, and South Africa, along with their accompanying family members.
From midnight July 12, 2026 (NZST), Immigration New Zealand will only accept in-person Occupational English Test (OET) results for visa applications. All parts of the OET must be completed at a supervised testing facility; remote or online test formats will no longer be accepted.
Iceland's Directorate of Immigration has announced that amendments to the Foreign Nationals Act and the Act on the Employment Rights of Foreign Nationals now allow student residence permit holders to work without obtaining a separate work permit.
On June 30, 2026, the US Supreme Court struck down President Trump's executive order that sought to restrict birthright citizenship, reaffirming that children born in the United States are citizens regardless of their parents' immigration status. The ruling upheld the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of citizenship to all persons born on US soil.
Changes to Ontario Regulation 422/17 under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015 came into force on June 26, 2026, eliminating the existing eight OINP streams. A new Ontario Workforce Priority stream with an Expression of Interest system is set to open following the redesign.
Erickson Immigration Group was named a Top Workplace for 2026 by WTOP News, based on employee feedback collected via a third-party survey by Energage LLC.
The Department of Homeland Security has finalized a rule amending alien registration and fingerprinting regulations, formalizing Form G-325R (Biographic Information – Registration) as a general registration mechanism. The rule builds on a March 2025 interim rule and requires previously unregistered foreign nationals in the US to comply with the new registration process.
The UK government announced the second and final 2026 Youth Mobility Scheme ballot for Taiwanese youth will open July 14, 2026 and close July 16, 2026. A total of 1,000 places are available in this round.
Armenia's Migration and Citizenship Service will launch a new electronic system for residency status applications on November 1, 2026. Existing services on the migration.e-gov.am platform will be affected by the transition.
In a 6–3 decision in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, the US Supreme Court ruled on June 25, 2026 that the Immigration and Nationality Act does not require border officials to process asylum claims from individuals who have not yet physically entered the United States. The ruling upholds restrictions on asylum access at the border.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to allow the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians residing in the United States. The Court held that federal law limits judicial review of DHS decisions on TPS designations.
A ministerial order published on June 23, 2026 in the Gazette Officielle du Québec establishes new rules governing when and how undertaking applications in the family reunification category will be accepted. An undertaking application is a binding contract between a sponsor and the person they wish to sponsor.
In Blanche v. Lau (June 23, 2026), the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that border officers do not need clear and convincing evidence that a lawful permanent resident committed a disqualifying crime before treating them as an applicant for admission upon reentry. This expands DHS authority to subject returning green card holders with criminal charges to heightened scrutiny at the border.
Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs announced on June 19, 2026 that entry visa fees will increase by 400% effective July 1, 2026. The single-entry visa fee rises from JPY 3,000 to JPY 15,000, with multiple-entry fees increasing proportionally.
Immigration New Zealand has confirmed final changes to the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) taking effect August 24, 2026, including clarifications on how wage thresholds are applied. Changes to wage rate rules for work-to-residence visas have also been announced.
On June 18, 2026, Iceland's parliament passed amendments to the Foreign Nationals Act and the Act on the Employment Rights of Foreign Nationals, transferring work permit application processing and issuance from the Directorate of Labour to the Directorate of Immigration. The amendments take effect the day after publication.
France's minimum wage (SMIC) rose 2.41% on June 1, 2026, from EUR 12.02 to EUR 12.31 per hour gross, raising the full-time monthly gross equivalent from EUR 1,823.03 to EUR 1,867.02. Immigration salary thresholds linked to the SMIC have increased accordingly.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a proposed rule (RIN 1615-AD08) that would raise USCIS naturalization application fees to as much as $1,330, along with increases to related appeal fees. The proposal represents one of the largest fee increases for U.S. citizenship applications in recent years.
Gibraltar's government announced a new Residence Criteria framework on June 17, 2026, requiring residency applicants to demonstrate genuine economic contribution and regulatory compliance. Key requirements include an employment contract with a salary at or above the average wage, aimed at protecting Gibraltar's capacity to deliver public services to residents.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada updated its International Experience Canada (IEC) participation eligibility requirements on June 17, 2026, clarifying police certificate rules. For an applicant's current country or territory of residence, the police certificate must be no older than six months from the date of application.