DHS Strengthens Integrity in Nation’s Immigration System, Returns to Commonsense Legal Immigration Levels

WASHINGTON — Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Director Joseph Edlow, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has taken critical steps to restore sanity and integrity to our immigration system. Since Jan. 20, 2025, USCIS has closed loopholes and implemented critically needed changes to better protect American communities and workers.

"The distinction between legal and illegal immigration becomes meaningless when both can destroy a country at its foundation, "said USCIS Spokesman Matthew Tragesser. "Unchecked mass migration floods the American labor market, depressing wages and taking jobs away from hardworking Americans, while straining healthcare, education, and housing systems. The Trump administration continues to execute policies to ensure legal immigration advances American interest

Court Order on Annual Asylum Fee Notices

On Oct. 30, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland issued an order in Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al., SAG-25-03299 (D. Md.), temporarily staying the Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) implementation provisions by USCIS as provided in the notice titled "USCIS Immigration Fees Required by HR-1 Reconciliation Bill" and published in the Federal Register (90 FR 34511 (FRN)) on July 22, 2025. USCIS strongly disagrees with the Court's order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review.

The FRN provided information about how DHS would effectuate the mandatory AAF for fiscal year 2025 and subsequent years. It specified that an

USCIS Received 35,000 Applications for Homeland Defenders, Most for Any Job in Agency History

USCIS has made hundreds of job offers and is recruiting even more Homeland Defenders

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that since starting its hiring campaign for Homeland Defenders on Sept. 30, the agency has received an overwhelming 35,000-plus applications—the most for any position in agency history. The agency says its aggressive social media campaign is attracting Americans to join USCIS and restore integrity to the nation's immigration system after four years of Biden's border chaos.

USCIS is cutting bureaucratic red tape to hire fiercely dedicated, America-first patriots to serve on the frontlines and hold the line against terrorists, criminal aliens, and bad actors intent on infiltrating our

DHS Terminates Designation of South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status

DHS today posted a Federal Register notice announcing the termination of South Sudan's designation for Temporary Protected Status. The termination will be effective Jan. 5, 2026. 

At least 60 days before a TPS designation expires, the secretary of homeland security, after consultation with appropriate U.S. government agencies, must review the conditions in a country designated for TPS to determine whether the conditions supporting the designation continue to be met and, if so, how long to extend the designa

USCIS Enhances Voter Verification Systems

States can now use last four digits of Social Security numbers to verify citizenship

WASHINGTON— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has continued its upgrades of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to enable states to verify that only U.S. citizens are voting in federal elections. States can now use SAVE to verify the citizenship of voters and voting registrants using the last four digits of the individual's Social Security number rather than requiring the full nine digits.

"USCIS remains dedicated to eliminating barriers to securing the nation's electoral process," said USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser. "By allowing states to efficiently verify voter eligibility, we are reinforcing the principle that America's elections are reserved exclusively for American citizens. We encourage all

DHS Ends Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization

New rule prioritizes vetting, screening to protect public safety, national security

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security has announced an interim final rule ending the practice of automatically extending employment authorization documents for aliens filing renewal applications in certain employment authorization categories. With this rule, DHS prioritizes the proper screening and vetting of aliens before extending the validity of their employment authorizations.

Aliens who file to renew their EAD on or after Oct. 30, 2025, will no longer receive an automatic extension of their EAD. There are limited exceptions to this rule, including

USCIS to Mandate Electronic Payments for Applications

WASHINGTON— As previously announced, on Oct. 28, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will only accept electronic payments for paper-filed forms. Payments may be made either via credit card or debit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions, or ACH debit transactions from a U.S. bank account using <a target='_blank' href="https://www.uscis.gov/g-1650" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="292a6ce6-90d8-47a0-8254-f99d06de