To help with your writing efforts, here’s what people are looking for in Immigration Law online. Trending topics culled from JD Supra, search analytics, social media conversations, and other sources:
Consider writing about:
Two new questions that prospective visa holders are being asked by officials at U.S. embassies and consulates; official rationale for the required new questions; what these asylum-related questions could mean for nonimmigrant visa applicants; practical guidance for individuals and for the business community.
Related information:
https://www.newsweek.com/us-visa-update-state-department-questions-asylum-11889179
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Notices of Inspection issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; what these notifications consist of; how they are delivered; practical guidance on complying with an NOI; what an NOI does or does not entitle ICE agents to do on company premises or with company records; how the NOI process may be accelerating and leading to heightened risks for employers.
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Immigration-related developments involving foreign-born truckers in the United States; what percentage of the commercial trucking industry is estimated to consist of immigrants; what to know about their immigration status, rights, and protections, and how that population has trended over the years; new pressures that immigrant truck drivers are facing from state or federal authorities; related enforcement actions or lawsuits, and their current status; potential impacts on the U.S. trucking industry’s overall workforce and operations, as well as on the numerous other industries that rely heavily on the trucking industry; what the U.S. trucking industry should be doing in the face of a potentially worsening shortage of drivers.
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Oral arguments held this month before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding lawful permanent residents (aka green card holders); key issues raised in Todd Blanche, Acting Attorney General v. Muk Choi Lau; what to know about the federal government’s parole authority, the parole process, and how this case could affect lawful permanent residents’ rights, immigration officers’ powers, and – more broadly speaking – the Trump administration’s overall immigration policy and goals.
Related information:
https://rollcall.com/2026/04/22/supreme-court-hears-arguments-on-us-power-to-strip-green-cards
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Reports that the Trump administration plans to widen its efforts to revoke the citizenship status of foreign-born Americans; precedent for doing so; grounds for denaturalization; what the denaturalization process consists of; related notifications, timelines, procedures, or rights that individuals or other affected parties should know about; what the loss of citizenship status would potentially mean for individuals.
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Disputes over property conversions or construction intended to create immigrant detention centers in the United States; how these legal battles are taking shape; what to know about key claims being made in challenges to these facilities’ existence and designated use; any noteworthy patterns that may be emerging across these cases, especially in terms of outcome.
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Heightened I-9 compliance risks facing employers in the wake of changes recently made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Form I-9 errors that ICE now considers to be substantive, rather than technical or procedural in nature; potential penalties for substantive violations; how penalties are determined and imposed; timeline under which violations may be determined; any options for corrective action by employers after the fact, in lieu of penalties; practices that employers should be undertaking, or strengthening, in the face of these ICE changes; immediate actions that employers should be taking now to reduce the risks of facing I-9 penalties.
Related information:
https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/new-ice-policy-redefines-substantive-i9-violations
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Your choice of recent or quickly approaching developments involving the use of the Temporary Protected Status designation in the United States. Among the possible points to explore: nationalities that have recently either lost or regained this status; related legal challenges or court rulings involving the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail temporary protected status designations; what to know about upcoming U.S. Supreme Court arguments over temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian nationals; how the high court has ruled on TPS issues in the past; what employers should know about TPS-designated individuals’ residency status, employment eligibility, and more; potential risks and alternative options for individuals who lose temporary protected status; how employers may need to rethink their staffing and operational needs if they are hard hit by TPS changes to certain groups.
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Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court over the Trump administration’s challenge to long-standing birthright citizenship protections; history and significance of birthright citizenship; how birthright citizenship has become a hot-button issue; key points raised during oral arguments before the high court; the case’s potential implications for Trump administration immigration policies, for individuals, and for immigrant communities; feasibility of enforcing a revocation of birthright citizenship status, should the U.S. Supreme Court rule in the Trump administration’s favor.
Related information:
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/01/nx-s1-5754762/trump-supreme-court-birthright-citizenship
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A proposed rule published by the U.S. Department of Labor on March 27 regarding wages paid to foreign workers; key worker groups or classifications to whom the proposed rule would apply; the DOL’s rationale for the rule; what the rule could mean for wage levels and for hiring and compensation practices and patterns; industries that would be most apt to feel the greatest impact from the rule, if it is implemented.
Related information:
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New state-level protections for immigrants. Which states are taking action on this front in response to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration agenda? What is the status of these protections, and which stand out to you as the most sweeping or otherwise significant? What should employers, schools, local law enforcement, or other organizations know about these protections, and how they may apply to their workers, vendors, customers, visitors, or others?
Related information:
https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2026/2026-14.html
https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/2026/20260325c.shtml
https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/12/education-bills-protect-immigrant-students-oregon-schools
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The H-2A visa program. What’s the status of a new interim rule that stands to lower wages for H-2A workers? What are the key elements of that rule, and how are legal challenges to that rule progressing? Additionally, what are the challenges facing the U.S. agricultural industry amid the Trump administration’s increasingly hard line on immigration and internal administration pressures to ramp up detentions and deportations? How is the industry coping with these challenges? What options might the industry be overlooking?
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A Feb. 25 announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division regarding a settlement over a company’s posting of AI-generated job listings; citizenship status criteria that ran afoul of federal law, according to the DOJ; related enforcement trends involving alleged discrimination against U.S. workers; what the DOJ’s settlement agreement with Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions may indicate regarding potential hiring and recruiting pitfalls (especially in the current political climate) and specifically regarding the use of AI tools in an attempt to facilitate the hiring process.
Related information:
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State-level wrangling over the E-Verify system for confirming new hires’ work eligibility; the E-Verify system’s history and how it is intended to work; where (and why) disputes are heating up over use of the E-Verify system; any noteworthy E-Verify-related legislative measures or new laws that employers should be aware of; any specific industries or job types that may be attracting the most attention from state legislators as they take up E-Verify issues; what else employers should know about the E-Verify system and potential obligations or risks involving the system.
Consider writing about:
I-9 audits; overview of the audit process; how to conduct an internal I-9 audit before government representatives come knocking at the door; policies and procedures that can help ensure companywide compliance; related guidance from federal agencies on the I-9 process; common pitfalls and liability risks to be aware of; how I-9 enforcement trends have evolved under recent administrations.
Consider writing about:
A proposed rule announced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Feb. 20; what the proposed rule could mean for asylum seekers, the work authorization process, work permits, hiring, retention, and staffing, and other workforce- and immigration-related matters; how dramatic a change this proposed rule could turn out to be for the immigration system, employer operations, and the economy; potential for legal challenges to the DHS proposed rule.
Related information:
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Trends involving allegations of national origin bias; whether employers in the Trump 2.0 era are facing an increase in litigation or enforcement actions alleging bias in favor of foreign workers over American citizens; any significant jury verdicts, rulings, lawsuits, or other related actions to know about; how employers should be managing their hiring, promotions, and other workplace practices with an eye to heading off potential claims of national origin bias.
Related information:
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How immigration-related matters can become an issue during the M&A process; how a merger or acquisition can impact individuals’ work status or visa concerns; immigration-related red flags to watch for when contemplating the undertaking of a merger or acquisition; related liability risks; due diligence obligations and recommended compliance and systems integration processes; or, alternatively or additionally, how to minimize immigration-related fallout after the M&A process has been completed; any real-life cautionary tales that can help illustrate these points.
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The “gold card” program created by the Trump administration last year; guidance from federal immigration authorities on the mechanics of the program; status of applicable regulations; what interested parties should know about “gold card” eligibility criteria, the application process, pros and cons of the program, and any legal challenges to the program.
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The United Kingdom’s Global Talent visa; the visa’s origins, history, objectives, and the individuals and industries for whom it is mainly intended; what interested parties should know about changes that the UK is planning to make to its Global Talent visa system, and how someone can best qualify for a Global Talent visa; whether the U.S. tech sector should be concerned about losing prospective hires to the United Kingdom, partly due to the UK’s Global Talent visa system; and perhaps a comparison of UK immigration policies and work visa trends to those in the United States under the Trump administration.
Related information:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-01-20/hcws1254
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J-1 visas; whom they’re intended for; how they have historically been used; existing or potential changes to the J-1 visa system under the Trump administration; any noteworthy legal disputes involving J-1 visas (and potential takeaways of practical use for other businesses); what else employers should know about the pros and cons of J-1 visas, either in and of themselves, or in comparison to other visa types and staffing options.
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A temporary final rule issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Jan. 30; what the rule means for employers and workers with an interest in H-2B visas; industries or worker categories covered by H-2B visas; deadline to apply for one of the supplemental visas; eligibility criteria under the Jan. 30 rule; other requirements or limitations to know about; pointers on how to maximize one’s chances of securing an H-2B visa under this new rule.
Related information:
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The potential for reputational damage to companies amid heightened tensions over the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement practices. How companies like Home Depot, Hilton, Palantir, and others have found themselves the target of consumer boycotts, on-site demonstrations, investor calls for action, social media campaigns, and other pressures. How companies can best anticipate and respond to potential reputational and economic risks in these types of scenarios; do’s and don’ts involving internal and external messaging and other points.
Consider writing about:
The Workplace Know Your Rights Act; origins and intent of SB 294; key employer obligations under this Act, and their effective date; and perhaps a look at any other existing or proposed laws of this type in other states, and whether such measures may be gaining steam.
Related information:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB294
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Potential confusion on the part of employers and others regarding ICE actions and warrants. When must immigration agents show a warrant? What are the differences between a judicial and an administrative warrant? What rights, protections, and limitations adhere to each type of warrant? What type of warrant must be shown to gain lawful entry into a private space? (Further, what parts of a business’s interior or exterior property are considered private or public?) How might these rights differ between a commercial and residential space? What should employers, managers, or employees do if immigration agents fail to produce the proper type of warrant?
Related information:
Consider writing about:
The U.S. Department of State’s Jan. 14 announcement that it is suspending the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries; rationale given for the suspension; when the suspension goes into effect; key categories of applicants to whom the suspension applies – or does not apply; additional screening procedures that have been announced in conjunction with the suspension, or that are likely to emerge; related issues for employers, and possible courses of action in view of the State Department announcement; potential for legal challenges to the suspension.
Related information:
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The status of the United States’ Diversity Immigrant Visa Program; whom the program applies to; a program suspension announced on Dec. 19 by the Trump administration; how the suspension stands to affect individuals and existing or would-be employers; how long the suspension is expected to last; any alternatives to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program that would-be applicants or their employers may want to pursue.
Related information:
https://apnews.com/article/brown-mit-shooting-suspect-green-card-1d6c1d83bc1237a21d0ca65d39981fa8
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Recent or otherwise significant developments involving temporary protected status. What groups are losing or gaining temporary protected status as a result of Trump administration actions? How can employers best keep pace with the shifts in policy and the related rollout of multiple changes? How should employers respond when a change in temporary protected status hits their workforce, or when such a change appears imminent? What are the most pressing compliance obligations and risks for employers in these cases?
Related information:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5671938-venezuelans-apply-asylum-us
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/07/nx-s1-5668411/dhs-venezuelans-can-return-home
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-temporary-protected-status-honduras-nepal-nicaragua
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The Department of Homeland Security’s finalized proposal aimed at changing the H-1B visa petition process; how the weighted selection process will impact the H-1B lottery, employers, and foreign workers; who stands to gain or lose under the DHS’ final rule; how employers can best prepare for this process change.
Related information:
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New protections for Illinois immigrant communities, as signed into law by that state’s governor on Dec. 9; to whom the protections extend; new obligations on the part of hospitals, day care centers, universities, courthouses, and others; how the law will be enforced; potential challenges in doing so; whether other states are enacting or considering similar measures.
Related information: