We hope this newsletter finds you well. In this edition, we bring you important updates on various immigration matters. Please take a moment to review the following key highlights:
BREAKING NEWS: USCIS Advances “Gold Card” Million-Dollar Green Card Program Toward December Launch
The U.S. government has moved a major step closer to launching the highly anticipated Gold Card permanent residence program, as USCIS formally submitted draft Form I-140G to the Office of Management and Budget for federal review. This marks the most significant progress to date toward meeting the December 18, 2025 rollout deadline set by President Trump.
The Gold Card program would create an unprecedented new pathway to a green card based on large-scale financial contributions, rather than employment or family sponsorship. Under the proposal, individuals could obtain permanent residence with a $1 million donation, while corporations could sponsor an employee through a $2 million contribution. USCIS also anticipates a $15,000 non-refundable filing fee per applicant, and estimates roughly 1,000 applicants per year.
In contrast to the EB-5 investor visa—which requires job creation and at-risk investment—the Gold Card is structured around unrestricted gifts to the Department of Commerce, with no investment obligations or employment creation requirements.
According to draft instructions, applicants would (1) apply with the Department of Commerce, (2) pay the fee via pay.gov, and (3) file Form I-140G with USCIS for eligibility review, background screening, and verification of the lawful source of funds. The agency plans to apply existing EB-1 extraordinary ability and EB-2 National Interest Waiver criteria to determine eligibility, while requiring extensive financial disclosures, including bank accounts, tax records, and cryptocurrency wallet information
The administration is also previewing a related Platinum Card tier requiring a $5 million contribution, allowing up to 270 days of annual U.S. residence with no tax on foreign-source income—though details remain limited.
This program, created by executive order rather than statute, may face future legal or policy challenges. For now, applications are not yet being accepted, but the submission of Form I-140G signals that the administration is pushing aggressively toward the December launch.
More updates are expected in the coming weeks as USCIS and the Department of Commerce release final program guidance.
State Department Expands Health-Based Screening in Visa Decisions
Internal Cable Instructs Consular Officers to Consider Chronic Conditions as Potential “Public Charge” Grounds
The U.S. State Department has issued an internal directive instructing consular officers worldwide to significantly expand their review of applicants’ health conditions when determining whether they may become a “public charge”—and therefore be found ineligible for a U.S. visa.
The guidance, contained in a cable sent to U.S. embassies and consulates globally in early November, represents a dramatic expansion of health-based screening that immigration experts warn could affect millions of visa applicants with common chronic conditions.
The New Directive:
According to multiple media outlets that have examined the internal cable, consular officers are now directed to consider a broad range of medical conditions when making visa eligibility determinations, including:
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Respiratory diseases
- Cancers
- Diabetes
- Metabolic diseases
- Neurological diseases
- Mental health conditions
- Obesity (and related conditions such as asthma, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure)
The cable specifically notes that “all of these can require expensive, long-term care” and instructs officers to assess whether applicants have “adequate financial resources to cover the costs of such care over his entire expected lifespan without seeking public cash assistance or long-term institutionalization at government expense.”
A Significant Departure from Traditional Screening:
While health assessment has long been part of the visa application process, the new guidance dramatically expands what conditions are considered relevant.
Traditional health screening has focused on:
- Communicable diseases (tuberculosis, etc.)
- Vaccination history verification
- History of drug or alcohol use
The expanded review now encompasses a wide range of chronic but treatable conditions that were previously considered less significant in the immigration context.
The directive encourages visa officers and panel physicians to speculate on the cost of applicants’ medical care and their ability to obtain employment considering their medical history.
Family Members Also Under Scrutiny:
In a significant development, the new guidance also directs officers to consider the health conditions of family members who are not visa applicants themselves. Under this framework, a family member’s illness could affect the officer’s overall determination of the principal applicant’s future financial burden and admissibility.
Age as a Factor:
The cable also instructs officers to give particular scrutiny to older visa applicants approaching retirement age, considering both their employment prospects and their ability to support themselves after they stop working.
“Long-term institutionalization (e.g., at a nursing facility) can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and should be considered,” the cable states.
Potential Conflict with State Department Policy:
Immigration attorneys have noted that the cable’s language appears to conflict with the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM)—the State Department’s own handbook—which states that visa officers cannot reject applications based solely on health conditions in certain circumstances.
Who Is Most Affected?
Immigrant visa applicants are expected to face the greatest impact from this policy shift. These applicants:
- Plan to reside in the United States permanently
- Are required to undergo comprehensive medical examinations by panel physicians
- Are subject to a “totality of the circumstances” review for public charge determinations
However, it remains unclear whether the policy will apply with equal force to non-immigrant visa categories such as tourist and student visas.
Part of Broader Public Charge Expansion
The State Department cable is part of a coordinated expansion of public charge enforcement across the immigration system. In parallel developments:
DHS Proposes to Rescind 2022 Public Charge Rule:
On November 17, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to rescind the 2022 Biden Administration public charge regulations for adjustment of status applications. Key aspects include:
- Comment deadline: December 19, 2025
- Expanded scope: The new framework would consider any past or future use of “means-tested public benefits” including SNAP, Medicaid, and housing assistance
- State benefits included: For the first time, state-funded benefits could be considered in the public charge analysis
- Bond provisions: Receipt of any means-tested public benefit during the effective period of a public charge bond would result in a breach
The proposed rescission is published in the Federal Register (DHS Docket No. USCIS-2025-0304) and represents a return toward—and expansion beyond—the 2019 public charge rule that was implemented during the first Trump Administration and later invalidated by courts.
DHS Announces Sweeping Actions to “Restore Integrity” to U.S. Immigration System
The Department of Homeland Security has announced a broad series of enforcement-heavy immigration measures aimed at what it calls restoring “sanity, integrity, and commonsense legal immigration levels” under the direction of President Donald Trump, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow.
According to DHS, USCIS has ended large-scale categorical parole programs, tightened Temporary Protected Status (TPS) policies, and implemented rigorous vetting measures, including expanded social-media screening and intensified fraud detection efforts. The agency reports more than 13,000 referrals to ICE for fraud, security, and public-safety concerns since January, alongside nearly 2,000 arrests at USCIS facilities.
The agency also highlighted major operations—including Operation Twin Shield, the largest fraud investigation in USCIS history—targeting marriage fraud, visa abuse, asylum schemes, human trafficking, and money laundering.
USCIS says it is taking a stricter approach to naturalization by expanding the civics test, reviving neighborhood investigations, and placing greater emphasis on positive community contributions when assessing good moral character. The agency has also issued over 172,000 Notices to Appear (NTAs) since February as part of its effort to remove exemptions and re-energize immigration enforcement.
Additional actions include ending automatic EAD extensions, expanding SAVE verification to safeguard elections, strengthening public-charge enforcement, and implementing the President’s controversial new rule requiring a $100,000 supplemental payment for H-1B petitions under the September proclamation.
DHS says these measures collectively mark a return to “lawful, merit-based, and security-focused” immigration practices.
Federal Court Strikes Down EB-5 Fee Increases, Orders Rollback to Prior Rates
Washington, D.C. A federal district court has invalidated the significant EB-5 immigrant investor fee increases implemented by USCIS in April 2024, ruling that the agency acted unlawfully by raising fees without completing the mandatory fee study required under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA).
The court found that USCIS failed to meet statutory obligations before imposing the higher costs, making the increases procedurally improper. As a result, fees for all EB-5-related filings have now been reduced, reverting to the levels in effect prior to the April 2024 change.
The ruling represents a major victory for EB-5 investors and regional centers, many of whom argued that the fee hikes—some exceeding 200%—created unnecessary barriers to participation in the program. USCIS has not yet indicated whether it will appeal the decision or issue revised regulations.
This is a developing story. More updates will follow as USCIS releases implementation guidance.
December 2025 Visa Bulletin Released — Modest Movement in Employment Categories, Minimal Progress for Family Cases
The U.S. Department of State has released the December 2025 Visa Bulletin, showing limited but notable forward movement in several employment-based green card categories, while most family-sponsored categories remain largely stalled. USCIS has confirmed that applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart for adjustment of status submissions in December.
Employment-Based Highlights:
EB-1:
- India advances to March 15, 2022.
- China moves to January 22, 2023.
EB-2:
- India advances to May 15, 2013.
- China advances to June 1, 2021.
- All other countries at February 1, 2024.
EB-3:
- India advances to September 22, 2013.
- China moves to April 1, 2021.
- All other countries at April 15, 2023.
EB-5 (Unreserved):
- China jumps forward to July 15, 2016.
- India advances to July 1, 2021.
- All set-aside (reserved) categories remain Current.
Family-Sponsored Categories:
Movement remains minimal, with most categories—especially for high-demand countries like India and the Philippines—showing little to no advancement. The F2A category (spouses and unmarried children of green card holders) continues to maintain early 2023 cut-offs.
What It Means for Applicants?
- Many employment-based applicants may now be eligible to file adjustment of status under the Dates for Filing chart.
- Family-based applicants continue to face long backlogs with limited near-term relief.
- EB-5 investors, particularly from India and China, see the strongest progress this month, though future retrogression remains possible.
The December bulletin closes out 2025 with cautious forward movement, but long-standing visa backlogs—especially for India—remain a significant challenge.
DHS Moves to Rescind 2022 Public Charge Rule, Signals Major Expansion of Policy Ahead
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced plans to rescind the public charge regulation that has governed adjustment-of-status applications since December 2022, setting the stage for a dramatically tougher policy in the months ahead.
Under the proposal—set for formal publication on November 19—DHS would eliminate the current rule and replace it not with a new regulation, but with expanded policy guidance and interpretative standards. This shift would give the agency broader flexibility to redefine what it means for an applicant to be “likely to become a public charge.”
According to DHS, the forthcoming guidance will lower the threshold for determining inadmissibility and will broaden the types of benefits, behaviors, and circumstances that officers may consider. This could significantly increase the number of applicants found ineligible for permanent residence based on predicted future reliance on government assistance.
The proposal will undergo a 30-day public comment period, after which DHS could finalize the policy as early as 30 days after the comment window closes, meaning a sweeping new public charge framework could take effect within weeks.
This is a developing story, and further details are expected once the proposed rule is officially published.
Sincerely,
Keshab Raj Seadie, Esq.
Law Offices of Keshab Raj Seadie, P.C. Disclaimer: This newsletter is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Always consult an attorney for personalized advice.
