Adviser's Manual 360

New USCIS guidance requires young nonimmigrants who turn 14 while in the U.S. to "re-register" with USCIS within 30 days of their birthday, even if previously registered when entering the country. This may affect, for example, F-2, J-2, H-4 dependents and young F-1/J-1 students who entered before age 14. Most nonimmigrants who entered the U.S. at age 14+ (e.g., F-1, J-1, H-1B, etc.) are already automatically registered upon entry (as evidenced by their Form I-94) and DON'T need to re-register. The new registration process isn't available yet but USCIS will announce it when ready. This is also a good time to remind noncitizens to carry their registration document and timely report address changes. Visit NAFSA's page for more details.

Join us for a critical townhall discussion on the evolving landscape of international education policy 40 days into the new US administration. Our expert panel will examine the current status of Executive Orders affecting international education, explore NAFSA's strategic focus and approaches to these challenges, and share diverse perspectives from practitioners in the field. Our host, NAFSA CEO Fanta Aw will be joined by Simon Emmett of IDP Education as well as Rachel Banks, Caroline Donovan White, and Joann Ng Hartman from NAFSA. We'll conclude with an action-oriented conversation on future directions and collaborative solutions. This session provides essential insights for international education professionals seeking to understand and respond to the policy shifts impacting our work. Register today!

NAFSA joined more than 60 associations in a letter sent by the American Council on Education (ACE) to the Department of Education (DoED), asking the agency to rescind its February 14, 2025, Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) and "work to promulgate guidance that reflects existing law."

On February 14, 2025 the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) posted a notice informing stakeholders that on March 20, 2025 it will begin deleting records older than five years from the record's final determination date as recorded in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system. The notices advises stakeholders that "If you have case records in FLAG older than five years from the final determination date that you would like to retain, please ensure that they are downloaded no later than March 20, 2025."

A February 18, 2025 DOS update supersedes prior visa interview waiver eligibility policies. For example, the previous policy allowed visa interview waivers for applicants whose prior visa in the same category had expired within the past 48 months. The new policy reduces this to the statutory 12-month post-expiration period.

On February 14, 2025, the Department of Education (DoEd) issued a "Dear Colleague Letter" that "provides notice of the Department's existing interprettion of federal law" on the prohibition on " using race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life." The letter, signed by DoEd's Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Craig Trainor, warns that educational institutions "that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding."

On February 11, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled Implementing the President's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Workforce Optimization Initiative. This order aims to significantly reduce the size of the federal workforce and implement new hiring practices.

Executive Order 14211 of February 12, 2025, One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations, declares that "Failure to faithfully implement the President’s policy is grounds for professional discipline, including separation" of foreign service officers and calls for "foreign service reform" to also include revising or replacing the Department of State's Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM). This could impact the nature and number of staff at U.S. consulates and embassies and affect the FAM that has guided foreign service officers and the public for decades.

On February 5, 2025 USCIS announced that "the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 7 and run through noon Eastern on March 24, 2025. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary." H-1B cap-exempt employers such as institutions of higher education continue to be exempt from the requirement to pre-register potential H-1B beneficiaries.

Two federal district courts have issued preliminary injunctions blocking the January 20 presidential executive order that attempts to alter U.S. citizenship at birth.