July 2025 Newcomer Policy Update

Want to keep up with newcomer policy updates in the U.S.? Every month, Global Cleveland publishes our newcomer policy update so that you can stay informed about the latest news.

This month’s Newcomer Update at a glance:

  • State Department to Vet Visa-Holders for Israel Criticism
  • ICE Brings Back Retirees
  • State Department to Vet Visa-Holders for Israel Criticism

State Bill Would Criminalize Entry by Undocumented Immigrants

New Bill Requires Visa Fee

  • Most nonimmigrant visas will be subject to a $250 fee, under the terms fo the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4th
  • B-1/2, F-1, H-1B, L-1, O-1, and TN visas are among those affected.
  • The fee, called the Visa Integrity Fee, is not waivable, but can be refunded at the conclusion of the visa.
  • https://www.boundless.com/blog/visa-integrity-fee/

Dignity Act Introduced, Would be Major Immigration Overhaul

  • Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican, introduced a bill intending to deliver major reform of the immigration system.
  • The bill has support from both parties, and had 22 sponsors or cosponsors.
  • The bill would have several key provisions:
    • major funding for border security and enforcement
    • mandatory use of E-Verify
    • restrictions on and changes to the asylum program
    • protections for Dreamers, giving them legal status and a path to permanent residency
    • A 7 year earned legal status that undocumented immigrants would be eligible for
    • an overhaul of visa categories
  • https://salazar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-salazar-introduces-historic-bipartisan-dignity-act-finally-fix-americas

Four African Countries See US Visa Duration Cut

  • The US State Department restricted most non-immigration and non-diplomatic visas to three months for citizens of four African countries
  • The four countries affected are Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon
  • Authorities in Nigeria disputed the administrations statement that they were seeking more reciprocal visa policy
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx23ywg9w82o

ICE Brings Back Retirees

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been in the midst of a labor crunch after the Trump administration’s emphasis on deportations has led to more demand for officers
  • The agency, who’s budget has more than tripled, is now offering major incentives to former officers, as part of a project entitled Operation Return to Mission, including a $50,000 signing bonus.
  • President Trump plans on hiring an additional 10,000 agents for ICE
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/us/ice-recruit-retiree.html

Eswatini Says it will Repitrate Foreign Deportees

  • The Trump administration deported a group of migrants to the small African nation of Eswatini (sometimes known as Swaziland, its former official name), saying their home countries would not take them.
  • The immigrants had all been serving time in prison for major offenses, and were sent to Eswatini as part of plans to deport immigrants to ‘third countries’
  • However, the Eswatini government released a statement saying that it and the US, as well as the International Organization for Migration, would be sending the migrants to their countries of origin
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/world/africa/eswatini-trump-migrants-deportation.htm

US Hits 2026 H1-B Cap

  • US Citizenship and Naturalization Services announced that it had reached the 65,000 visa cap for H-1Bs as well as the 20,000 addition slots reserved for those with advanced degrees.
  • USCIS will no longer be able to accept new petitions for the 2026 Fiscal Year unless they are cap-exempt
  • Cap exempt petitions include transfers and exemptions for current H-1B employees. Some organizations applying may also be cap-exempt.
  • The H-1B cap, mandated by congressional legislation, is regularly reached as the visa has remained in-demand across the country
  • https://www.boundless.com/blog/h1b-visa-cap-fy2026/

Government Agrees to Prisoner Swap with Venezuela, El Salvador

  • In a three-country deal, ten United States citizens and permanent residents detained in Venezuela were released, in exchange for the simultaneous release of 250 Venezuelan nationals deported from the US and held in El Salvadorian prisons.
  • The Trump administration claimed the Venezuelans deported to El Salvador had ties to organized crime, which critics have disputed
  • Their release has been something of a cause célèbres for Venezuela’s government, which has been accused of detaining Americans as a way of gaining leverage
  • Among the Americans released was Lucas Hunter, detained on Colombian soil. near the Venezuelan border last year.
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/world/americas/venezuela-us-prisoner-swap-migrants-el-salvador.html

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Courthouse Arrests

  • Democracy Forward led a group of legal organization who filed a lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement to try to prevent them from arresting people at courthouses
  • The tactic, used since this spring, can enable quick deportation, but critics have accused it of violating due process
  • Plaintiffs on the lawsuit include 12 immigrants who had entered the country without authorization and applied for asylum
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/nyregion/trump-ice-arrests-lawsuit-immigrants.html

State Department to Vet Visa-Holders for Israel Criticism

  • In a testimony in court, the leader of the Bureau of Consular Affairs said that calling for limiting military aid to Israel, denouncing Zionism, or particularly harsh condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza would be factors that could lead to a student losing his or her visa
  • The statement comes after an executive order in January ordering agencies to investigate antisemitic actions on college campuses.
  • Joe Armstrong, the Consular Affairs leader, said that vetting was necessary for national security, and that if done improperly could allow people into the country who could commit acts of terrorism.
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/us/politics/us-visa-revocations-israel.html

Abrego Garcia's Lawyers Question Government's Case

  • The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a prominent and long running controversy in the US and El Salvador, saw a new development, as federal agents admitted they had not spoken with the government’s leading witness.
  • Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadorian man who had been living in Maryland, was deported to El Salvador and imprisoned there, and became the subject of a high-profile legal and political battle, was returned to the United States to face a criminal trial in Tennessee.
  • Unusually, the Justice Department has said that it only would continue prosecution if he remained in custody, otherwise they have suggested they could drop the charges and pursue deportation.
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/us/politics/kilmar-abrego-garcia-trump-deportations.html

Controversy in Cincinnati Leads to Protests, Arrests

  • An ongoing controversy in Cincinnati over the detention of an Egyptian-born man who was a chaplain at a local hospital led to major protests in the city
  • The chaplain, an Islamic Imam named Ayman Soliman, says he fears for his life in Egypt, and was arrested earlier this month by immigration enforcement agents
  • The protest crossed the John Roebling Bridge, linking Cincinnati with suburbs in Kentucky, where at least 13 people were arrested, including journalists covering the protest.
  • https://apnews.com/article/immigration-protest-cincinnati-arrests-hospital-chaplain-8cce0f80673ba54fc48fd660f2e4dc0f

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