Congress takes aim at OPT
Florida Senator Rick Scott has introduced the Prioritizing American Talent Act, a bill that would end the Optional Practical Training program by prohibiting the Department of Homeland Security from funding it.
Scott argues that OPT allows employers to recruit foreign graduates under the guise of job training, giving them a structural advantage over American workers, and that the program is not authorized by federal law.
OPT currently allows F-1 visa holders to work in the United States for up to one year after graduation, with a three-year extension available for STEM graduates. Employers who hire OPT participants receive a payroll tax exemption.
The program is widely used as a pipeline to H-1B sponsorship: international students complete their degree, enter OPT, and are subsequently sponsored by their employer for an H-1B visa.
The bill has not been enacted into law and must pass through standard legislative procedure before taking effect.
Supreme Court asked to decide who pays when ICE detains someone illegally
The Supreme Court may take up a case with serious consequences for immigration detention litigation. At issue in Montoya Palacios v. Liggins is whether attorneys who win habeas corpus cases challenging unlawful detention can recover legal fees from the government under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
Federal circuits are split. The 4th and 5th Circuits say no. The 2nd, 3rd, and 10th Circuits say yes. The practical problem is that nearly half of all ICE detainees are held in 4th and 5th Circuit facilities, meaning attorneys in those regions take on these cases at their own expense no matter the outcome.
With ICE detaining more than 60,000 people per day and over 52,000 habeas petitions filed nationwide, the answer matters.
If the Court rules against fee recovery, fewer attorneys will take on detention challenges, and less of ICE’s detention operation will face judicial scrutiny.
Citizenship is about to cost significantly more
The Department of Homeland Security has proposed raising the paper filing fee for naturalization from $760 to $1,330, a 75% increase. The fee to challenge a denial before the Administrative Appeals Office would rise from $830 to $1,475. The proposal would also eliminate most fee waivers, with an exception remaining only for current and former military members.
DHS says the increases are necessary because current fees do not cover the actual cost of processing, including background checks and vetting. Critics argue the changes effectively price citizenship out of reach for many low-income green card holders who are otherwise fully eligible.
The rule is still in the proposal stage. But if finalized, it would represent one of the largest single increases to naturalization costs in recent memory, and one of the most significant reductions in fee relief since the waiver system was established.
Takeaway
None of these changes have fully taken effect yet. But the direction is consistent. The options available to immigrants today are narrower than they were a year ago, and the cost of navigating the system is going up.
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