This policy update highlights key developments related to immigration policies within the Access to Justice program. The updates below summarize recent policy changes, ongoing debates, and implementation challenges affecting South Asian American communities.

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H1B 100K Fee Policy

• What is the policy?
  • The H-1B visa program was created by the Immigration Act of 1990, and it allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers on a temporary status for positions in specialized occupations that require at least a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent degree. In an effort to promote President Trump’s “America First” agenda, the current administration announced that all employers must pay a $100,000 fee for every H-1B application submitted on or after September 21, 2025. The Trump administration has argued that the H1-B visa program displaces American workers and undercuts their wages, and, in an effort to combat that, this policy aims to prioritize American workers and prevent further outsourcing of tech jobs.  
• What are recent changes?
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services later issued a clarification that this rule applies only to new H1-B applications filed on behalf of beneficiaries living outside of the US or beneficiaries within the US if the application requests consular processing, port of entry notification, or pre-flight inspection.
• How does it impact South Asians?
  • For many Indians, the H1-B visa is a tool for upward social mobility, lifting families into the middle class. International students who enrolled in school in September, right before the policy was announced, paid anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 in tuition and fees and no longer have a pathway to entering the American workforce after graduation. 
  • This policy has a significant impact on the South Asian community as 71% of H1-B approvals in 2024 were given to workers born in India, and in every year since 2010, the majority of approvals for H-1B visas has been given to workers born in India. The new fee will likely cause intergenerational financial distress because of the disruption to families’ income sources, which have benefited from the $135 billion in remittances sent home from Indians living around the world.

OPT Fair Tax Act

• What is the policy?
  • Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) introduced the OPT Fair Tax Act in September 2025, which would end tax exemptions for foreign workers and require them and their employers to pay FICA taxes at the same rates as U.S. citizens. FICA, also known as the Federal Insurance Contribution Act, is a 7.65% payroll tax that is withheld from an employee’s gross earnings on each paycheck, and the employer matches that percentage. The money collected is used to fund Social Security and Medicare. Supporters of this bill argue that the OPT tax exemption incentivizes employers to hire foreign workers over domestic workers. 
• What are recent changes?
  • None 
• How does it impact South Asians?
  • Eliminating the OPT tax exemption would increase the financial burden on foreign workers who are already grappling with a high cost of living and tuition. This bill would also make the U.S. less appealing to South Asian students who study here with the intent to obtain a post-study work permit through OPT. Decreasing the affordability of OPT will likely cause South Asians to forego the opportunity to gain U.S. work experience and hurt their marketability around the world.       

Family Sponsorship

• What is the policy?
  • Under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (also known as LPRs or green card holders), can sponsor certain family members for a visa, which allows a foreign national to enter the U.S., subject to approval from a Customs and Border Protection officer. The first category of family-based immigrant visas is for immediate relatives, which includes spouses, children, and parents. There is no annual cap for the number of immigrants in this category. The second category of family-based immigrant visas is known as family preference, which is for more distant relatives, and there is an annual limit for immigrants that fall under this category. U.S. citizens can sponsor family visas for their spouses, children, parents, and siblings, but LPRs can only sponsor their spouses and unmarried children. 
• What are recent changes?
  • The Nuclear Family Priority Act was introduced by Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) and Rep. Elijah Crane (R-AZ) in April 2025. The bill limits family-sponsored visas to nuclear family members only, meaning that an adult child’s parents would no longer be eligible to immigrate to the US through family sponsorship. It also reduces baseline caps on family-sponsored visas from 226,000 to 80,000 per year.
• How does it impact South Asians?
  • In 2023, 71% of Pakistani-born LPRs, 60% of Indian-born LPRs, and 39% of Nepali-born LPRs immigrated to the U.S. through family sponsorship. Removing parents from the definition of immediate relatives would significantly decrease the number of South Asians who are able to immigrate to the U.S. and make it more difficult for families to stay together. This bill fails to acknowledge that joint family households are deeply ingrained in South Asian culture and hold the same level of importance as the western concept of a nuclear family.

Green Card

• What is the policy?
  • Under longstanding federal law, non-citizens age 18 or older, including lawful permanent residents (LPRs), must carry proof of their immigration status at all times. For green-card holders, this typically means their physical green card (formally Form I-551). This requirement originated from the Immigration and Nationality Act. Historically, the rule was intended to ensure that individuals could quickly demonstrate lawful status when interacting with federal authorities, particularly at ports of entry or during immigration inspections. While the legal requirement has remained unchanged, enforcement emphasis has varied significantly over time. 
• What are recent changes?
  • In July 2025 CBP posted a public advisory reiterating the requirement and warning that not having an alien registration when stopped by federal law enforcement can have serious consequences. While the underlying law has not changed, the advisory indicates increased attention to enforcement, signaling that CBP and other federal agencies may more actively verify whether permanent residents are carrying valid documentation.
• How does it impact South Asians?
  • South Asian Americans include a large number of lawful permanent residents. With 4.9 million people in the U.S. identifying as Indian alone or in combination (~21% of Asian Americans), green-card holders represent a significant portion of the community. The renewed emphasis on the carry requirement heightens the risk of penalties or increased scrutiny during routine interactions with federal authorities. For green-card holders who do not carry their documentation daily due to concerns about loss, theft, or inconvenience, the advisory introduces added stress and legal risk. As naturalization backlogs continue to affect many South Asian immigrants, the period during which individuals must comply with this requirement may last for years, making awareness and preparedness especially important.

Employment Authorization Document (EAD)

• What is the policy?
  • An Employment Authorization Document (EAD) permits non-citizens in specific immigration categories to work legally in the United States. These categories include asylum applicants, individuals with pending adjustment-of-status applications (green card applicants), certain H-1B or L-1 spouses, DACA recipients, and others who depend on uninterrupted employment authorization while navigating the immigration system.
• What are recent changes?
  • In December 2024, DHS briefly expanded automatic extensions from 180 days to 540 days to address severe processing backlogs, but this expansion was short-lived. The far more consequential change came on October 30, 2025, when DHS issued an Interim Final Rule eliminating automatic extensions for most EAD categories. Under this 2025 rule, renewal applications filed on or after that date no longer receive any automatic extension, except for a narrow set of humanitarian classifications. The rule represents a sharp reversal of prior policy and removes the primary safeguard that had allowed many workers to maintain employment while USCIS adjudicated renewals. By eliminating the extension, the 2025 action reintroduces the risk of abrupt employment loss if processing delays outpace the expiration of an existing EAD–an outcome DHS itself had previously acknowledged as harmful to families, employers, and the broader labor market.
• How does it impact South Asians?
  • This policy shift has significant implications for South Asian American communities, particularly for individuals on H-4 visas, those navigating lengthy employment-based green card backlogs, and families relying on stable income during years-long immigration processing. The removal of automatic extensions increases the likelihood that workers will face sudden lapses in work authorization if USCIS does not complete renewals in time. This can result in lost wages, employer uncertainty about continued sponsorship, disruptions in healthcare coverage, and long-term career setbacks. For South Asian immigrants who already experience some of the longest wait times in the U.S. immigration system, the 2025 rule deepens instability and heightens stress during transitions between statuses.

Birthright Citizenship

• What is the policy?
  • Under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, children born on U.S. soil are U.S. citizens at birth, regardless of their parents’ immigration status, temporary visa type, or lack of legal status. This principle, known as birthright citizenship, has been a cornerstone of U.S. immigration and constitutional law since 1868. Courts have repeatedly upheld that citizenship acquired at birth cannot be restricted by statute or executive action because it is constitutionally guaranteed. This protection ensures that children born in the U.S. have full legal rights and are not subject to the immigration status, country of origin, or temporary living circumstances of their parents.
• What are recent changes?
  • On January 20, 2025, the administration issued a presidential executive order titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” attempting to reinterpret the 14th Amendment and limit birthright citizenship for children born to individuals who are unlawfully present or temporarily present in the U.S. Within weeks, multiple federal courts blocked enforcement. A federal appeals court in Boston held that the administration could not deny U.S.-born children citizenship guaranteed under the 14th Amendment, stating the order was likely unconstitutional and exceeded executive authority. Additional federal judges issued injunctions preventing the government from implementing the policy while litigation proceeds.
• How does it impact South Asians?
  • The South Asian American community includes many recent immigrants, temporary visa holders, mixed-status households, and families in long immigration backlogs. Any attempt to reinterpret birthright citizenship creates uncertainty about the legal status of U.S.-born children of South Asian immigrants. Even without an actual change to the law, the proposal has caused anxiety around hospital registrations, passport applications, and the future stability of children’s status. With the South Asian American community already navigating complex immigration systems, the mere possibility of altering birthright citizenship adds another layer of stress and legal ambiguity.
• What is the current status?
  • As of now, there has been no change to birthright citizenship. Courts have blocked the executive order, and the constitutional guarantee remains fully in effect. Nonetheless, political debate around the issue continues. In Congress, Sen. Rosen (D-NV) introduced S. 646 – Born in the USA Act, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to implement the executive order and reaffirm the constitutional protections for U.S.-born children. While no new law has been enacted to restrict birthright citizenship, ongoing litigation and legislative responses indicate that the issue remains active.

Medical Denials for Visas

• What is the policy?
  • Immigrants must undergo a medical exam performed by a U.S. Embassy-approved physician and fill out a form that asks about any history of drug or alcohol use, mental illness, or violence. The exam includes screening for communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, and vaccinating applicants for measles, polio, and hepatitis B if they have not already done so.
• What are recent changes?
  • In early November, the State Department directed visa officers to expand the list of medical conditions that can be used to deny permission to foreign nationals who wish to enter the U.S. The list of diseases that officers are now required to consider include cardiovascular, neurological, metabolic, and respiratory diseases, as well as cancer, diabetes, obesity, and mental illness.  The guidance also asks visa officers to determine whether applicants have the financial resources to pay for medical treatment without government assistance and whether their dependents have disabilities, special needs, or chronic medical conditions that would require applicants to care for them instead of being employed. The basis for this guidance is that applicants who have chronic health issues and are seeking to immigrate to the U.S. may rely on public benefits and become a drain on the country’s health system. 
• How does it impact South Asians?
  • South Asians are affected by cardiovascular disease and diabetes at significantly higher rates than other races. India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh rank second, third and eighth, respectively, in global diabetes rates, and South Asians have 60% of the world’s cardiovascular diseases. The State Department’s decision to use these health issues as eligibility requirements for applicants and their dependents will disproportionately affect South Asians who seek legal residency in the U.S.

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