Weekly Immigration News Roundup: March 23
This week, Manifest immigration attorney Ana Gabriela Urizar offers her insights on some of the latest headlines.
Several consulates remain closed due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East
The U.S. embassy in Muscat has resumed limited immigrant and emergency nonimmigrant visa services, but all other locations have paused consular processing for foreign nationals.
Urizar: “Right now, my best recommendation is to stay on top of news updates and, if you’re in the U.S., stay put until the situation stabilizes. If you’re already abroad in an area affected by the conflict, follow government guidance.”
The State Department expanded its visa bond list
Effective on April 2, tourists from fifty countries must pay either a $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 bond prior to entering the U.S.
Urizar: “Interestingly, there’s some overlap between the countries affected by the travel ban and those whose TPS designations have been successfully challenged in court. For anyone affected by these policies, I recommend staying on top of legal developments and consulting with a qualified immigration attorney to understand how these changes apply to your case.”
The April 2026 Visa Bulletin showed major forward movement
For EB-2 final action dates, China showed no movement while India surges forward by 303 days. All other areas also became current.
Urizar: “This update brought hope for many employment-based Green Card candidates. If you’d like to see a fuller breakdown of these changes, I highly recommend checking out my colleague Nicole Gunara’s Legal Brief on the April 2026 Visa Bulletin.”
USCIS proposed revisions to Form I-140G
The suggested changes to the Trump Gold Card petition expands the items required to complete the spousal and children section.
Urizar: “From my perspective as an attorney, this proposal to expand the information required to include a spouse and children in an I-140G applicant may signal that the federal government may be increasing scrutiny of a Gold Card applicant’s entire family. If implemented, this could affect which dependents can be included in the initial application.”
The State Department brings back a passport requirement for the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery
In addition, the federal agency suggests the registration window for this upcoming season may be delayed, but didn’t indicate by how much.
Urizar: “These changes are meant to strengthen identity verification, but it does add an additional challenge to anyone who doesn’t have a valid passport. If you’re planning to register for the Diversity Visa lottery, start gathering documents as soon as possible, as it’s not guaranteed that the window to register will be significantly delayed.”
