Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026
Did you know we're archiving these editions on the web? Yesterday, we added a new feature to share on WhatsApp with zero personal tracking. We're also making Instagram carousels with primary source data and including in our web posts. Share widely! Produced in part with AI, all mistakes are my own. —David
International students face fixed admission periods and new filing requirements
People studying in the United States on F-1 and J-1 visas will be admitted for a fixed period starting September 15, 2026, rather than for however long their studies take, and those who need more time must seek an extension through both their school and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Department of Homeland Security final rule also covers I visa foreign-media representatives and restricts some changes of school, program and major; it is a major rule under congressional review, so DHS may still publish a different effective date. Federal Register, Daily Emerald, University of Cincinnati International Services, National Law Review, American Bazaar
Anyone applying to extend or change status, secure dependent status or obtain work authorization will need the new editions of Forms I-539 and I-765 starting September 15, 2026, with no grace period for the old versions. USCIS will reject an application filed on or after that date on an earlier edition; the University of Washington ISS edition table says filings before September 15 still use the 08/28/24 I-539 and 08/21/25 I-765. University of Washington ISS, Diario Las Américas
Curated news, primary source context, useable data, and a calendar of what’s coming in the immigration system. Free every weekday in August.
We never sell or share your email. Unsubscribe any time.
ICE proposes liability coverage for local officers making immigration arrests
State and local officers who make immigration arrests under federal deputization could get help paying for liability insurance under a new proposal from ICE. The subsidy is meant to remove a financial deterrent for officers worried about being personally sued over their federal immigration work. AP News, PBS News
See whether your local department has a 287(g) agreement, then ask for the insurance contracts. 287(g) Watch lists participating agencies by state; a public-records request can turn up whether the department already carries liability coverage for immigration arrests, and on what terms. 287(g) Watch state index
Refugee admissions fall toward a historic low
People seeking refuge in the United States are arriving in far smaller numbers: the country admitted 10,258 refugees in the first 10 months of fiscal 2026, down from 38,102 in fiscal 2025 and 100,034 in fiscal 2024, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of State Department data. Pew says the year could finish at the lowest annual level on record against a 17,500 ceiling, and South Africans account for nearly all arrivals so far. Pew Research Center, Stateline
Salvadoran TPS nears its scheduled endpoint
Salvadorans with Temporary Protected Status, the designation that shields people from deportation when their home country is deemed unsafe, are watching a September 9, 2026 endpoint that Spanish-language newsrooms are covering far more closely than their English-language counterparts. Reporting from El Salvador asks what happens if the Department of Homeland Security does not publish the required determination before that date; by statute the designation continues automatically, usually for six months. DHS told Telemundo it has not made an official announcement yet. El Salvador.com, Telemundo 62
Salvadorans with qualifying, pending work-permit renewals may keep using expired employment authorization documents through September 9, 2026, with a USCIS notice as proof of the extension. USCIS is mailing those notices, and sending them electronically to people with myUSCIS accounts; employers can accept the old card plus the notice through that date. Diario Co Latino
Upcoming
Next four weeks
- Aug. 24, 2026
DHS wants to raise the cost of applying for US citizenship (Form N-400) from $760 to $1,330 on paper, and $710 to $1,280 online, with the appeal of a denial (Form N-336) going from $830 to $1,475. Reduced fees and fee waivers for naturalisation would end. Comments close Aug. 24 and implementation likely soon after.
- Aug. 25, 2026
Adults who want to take custody of an immigrant child who arrived without a parent or guardian would have to show more documents — proof of identity, proof of income, and information for background checks — before the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) releases the child to them. Comments on the proposed rule are open until August 25, 2026.
- Aug. 28, 2026
The comment deadline closes on the DHS rule requiring foreign nationals in the US to register with the government and give fingerprints (Form G-325R). DHS is asking whether more immigration filings should count as registration on their own, and whether to change biometrics rules for some travelers; further rulemaking may follow.
- Sept. 9, 2026
Starting September 9, the heaviest users of H-1B and L-1 visas owe a federal fee on every extension petition, not just when they hire someone new or take on another company's worker. The fee — $4,000 per H-1B petition, $4,500 per L-1 — applies to companies with 50 or more U.S. employees when more than half of them are on H-1B or L-1 visas. DHS says its old reading of a 2015 law wrongly let same-employer extensions skip the fee; this rule closes that gap through September 2027.
Protection from deportation for Salvadorans in the US (TPS) is scheduled to end September 9, 2026. DHS's decision on whether to extend it was due July 11 and has not been published; by law, if no termination notice publishes, the designation continues automatically for six months.
Send this edition to someone who should have it.
The link carries “?via” and nothing else — no identifiers, no cross-site tracking.
Around the system
Local data reporting tracks the growth of ICE arrests in southwestern Utah and examines who is being taken into custody as federal enforcement expands. The Salt Lake Tribune
Flatbush, New York merchants report fewer customers, staffing problems and workers or residents afraid to leave home amid concerns about immigration enforcement; a neighborhood business survey found that 70% of responding owners had seen lower foot traffic, adding pressure to small storefronts already facing higher costs. Documented
Bay Area legal-aid groups say they will keep representing unaccompanied children after federal funding shifted to a contractor that advocates say lacks experience in immigration court, while a federal judge examines whether the administration's transition plan actually ensures the children have lawyers as required. KQED, La Nación
The administration has paused disputed border construction in Big Bend while residents continue challenging the project and its effects on the surrounding community. Scripps News, CBS Texas
Reading, Pennsylvania, is considering a formal process for police certification of U visa applications, a local step that can affect whether immigrant crime victims are able to pursue federal protection. Reading Eagle
U.S. citizen teenagers describe how the arrest and deportation of their parents disrupted their households, separated family members and shifted adult responsibilities onto children. NBC News
DHS is defending investigations of people who criticize the agency, including ICE agents who tracked a Rochester, New York man to his house, an airport and a hotel over a critical email and left a warning notice; he has sued, arguing the visits violated the First Amendment. NPR