USA Status Now: Which US Immigration Programs Are Open in 2026

This is our running list of the US immigration policies that are changing fastest. It covers:

• Entry restrictions, such as the travel ban and the immigrant visa pause
• Programs that are paused, ending, or facing deadlines, such as the Diversity Visa lottery, TPS terminations, and the EB-5 grandfathering deadline
• Rules in court, such as the H-1B $100,000 fee and the F-1 fixed admission period
• New rules, such as the 2026 public charge rule

The list of items appears below and updates automatically when we add or change an item. For background, start with how US immigration works. Canada and Mexico have their own pages: Canada Status Now and Mexico Status Now.

Each item carries one label. It describes the program or policy as of its Last verified date:

A label is a summary, not the whole story. Read the item's note and timeline, then check the official source linked on that page before you act.

We build these pages from official sources: USCIS, the State Department, CBP, the Department of Labor, the Federal Register, and court records. When one of them announces a change, or a court rules on a policy, we update the item, its label, and its Last verified date, and we often publish a dated news item.

Rules can change overnight, and official websites sometimes lag behind a new rule. If an item's date is more than a few weeks old, or you are about to pay a fee or file an application, confirm the current position on the official source first. Read how we research and our editorial policy. Spotted something out of date? Tell us through the contact page.

• CHNV parole endedClosedThe CHNV parole processes let Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans with a US financial supporter come to the United States for up to 2 years. DHS stopped new cases in January 2025 and terminated the program in a Federal Register notice on March 25, 2025, ending most parolees' permission to stay and work. The Supreme Court allowed the terminations to take effect on May 30, 2025, and no new applications are accepted.
• DV lottery pausedPausedThe Diversity Visa program remains disrupted. The State Department has not announced an opening date for DV-2027 registration. A court vacated the December 2025 DV issuance pause, but the Department immediately kept a separate pause under which no diversity visas are issued. The DV-2026 program year ended September 30, 2026.
• EB-5 grandfathering deadlineChangingUnder the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, EB-5 investor petitions filed on or before September 30, 2026 are "grandfathered": USCIS must keep processing them under the rules in place when they were filed, even if the regional center program later expires or changes. Petitions filed from October 1, 2026 can still be filed while the program is authorized, through September 30, 2027, but they lose that protection. Grandfathering protects against a program lapse only; it does not guarantee approval.
• F-1 fixed admission ruleIn courtA Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule would have replaced "duration of status" (D/S) for F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors with fixed admission dates of up to 4 years from September 15, 2026. On September 14, 2026, a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked it nationwide in Presidents' Alliance v. DHS, so students continue under D/S while the case goes on. Separate August 2026 guidance narrowing Curricular Practical Training (CPT) was not blocked.
• H-1B $100k feeIn courtThe $100,000 payment for certain new H-1B petitions, created by a September 19, 2025 presidential proclamation, is not being collected as of September 22, 2026. A federal court in Massachusetts vacated the policy on June 8, 2026, and the First Circuit refused to pause that ruling on July 24, 2026. A new proclamation on September 18, 2026 extended the fee to September 21, 2027, and DHS says it will collect the fee if the court order is lifted.
• Immigrant visa pauseRestrictedA federal court vacated the State Department's pause on immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries on August 21, 2026. The State Department says that pause is no longer in effect, and its current scheduling tool shows immigrant visa interviews being scheduled by post. Separate travel restrictions still apply to some nationalities.
• Public charge 2026 ruleChangingA Department of Homeland Security (DHS) final rule rescinding the 2022 public charge regulation took effect on September 18, 2026. For green card applications (Form I-485) filed or postmarked on or after that date, USCIS officers decide whether an applicant is likely to become a public charge through a broad, case-by-case review of the totality of the circumstances, with fewer fixed limits on what they consider. Applicants must use the revised Form I-485, and applicants abroad face similar scrutiny as consulates retrain officers.
• Refugee ceilings 2026–27RestrictedThe FY2026 refugee admissions ceiling ended September 30, 2026 at 17,500 after a May increase. A September 25 presidential determination set the FY2027 ceiling at 17,500, primarily for Afrikaners from South Africa. Broader admissions remain subject to the 2025 program suspension and case-by-case exceptions.
• TPS terminationsClosedSince 2025, the US government has ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for most countries that had it, including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Nicaragua, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen, and in August 2026 Somalia and Ethiopia. After a Supreme Court ruling on June 25, 2026 favored the government, the remaining court-delayed terminations took effect in July and August 2026. As of September 22, 2026, only El Salvador, Lebanon, Sudan, and Ukraine remain designated.
• Travel banRestrictedPresidential Proclamation 10998, in effect since January 1, 2026, restricts entry to the United States for nationals of 39 countries. For 19 countries it suspends nearly all immigrant and temporary visas; for 20 more it suspends immigrant visas and visitor, student, and exchange visas (B, F, M, and J), while work visas remain possible. The ban has no end date, exceptions are narrow, and USCIS has also held many pending applications from nationals of these countries for extra review.