Tomorrow, the U.S. will hold the mid-term elections! Unless you have somehow managed to avoid news, social media, and dinner table discussions, you are aware that American citizens will be heading to the polls tomorrow, hopefully in droves.
There are three things worth knowing heading into Election Day: thousands of people are telling the government exactly what they think of the pending fee proposals; the green card lottery got paused again; and what will change tomorrow.
The Comment Flood
As I’ve written about a few times here, there are three major DHS proposals have open comment periods right now, and thankfully, people are actually taking the time to submit comments. As of September 24th, when comments closed, the proposed $103,265 fee on cap-subject H-1B petitions had over 11,700 comments. As of today, the proposed $70,000/$30,000 OPT fee (which closes November 9th) has drawn over 4,800 public comments. The proposal to eliminate the 60-day grace period, which closes on November 10th, already has over 27,000 comments! What's notable isn't just the volume, it's who's showing up. The American Hospital Association asked for a healthcare-worker exemption from the H-1B fee, while an engineering trade group has commented in favor it the proposal.
At the risk of being a broken record, it is important that you voice your opinions. Many of you are not able to vote in our elections, but you CAN comment and voice your concerns, give valid data and feedback on the rulemaking process. You can also do it anonymously. So, one more time: the OPT fee proposal closes November 9; the proposal eliminating the 60-day grace period closes November 10; and the H-1B deference-to-prior-approvals proposal closes November 13. If you have not commented yet, the clock is ticking.
Update: The Green Card Lottery Got Paused Again
Now, for a lot of you, this may just be general news, or even noise, but it is still important to know the updates. A federal judge in San Diego had ordered the State Department to reopen FY2027 Diversity Visa lottery registration, with a window running November 1st through December 1st. The government appealed, and the Ninth Circuit granted an emergency stay just before that November 1 deadline, so registration did not open today, and it's unclear when, or whether, it will. The underlying appeal is still pending, with no ruling on the merits yet. Even if this doesn't apply to you directly, it's still important to pay attention to haw these patterns keep repeating.
Election Eve: Nothing Changes Tomorrow
As most of you know, tomorrow's midterm results will not change anyone's immigration processes or standing overnight. Most of what's hit the news over the past few months, including the $100,000 fee, the PERM suspensions, the deference proposal , came from the executive branch and federal agencies, not from a law that Congress passed. A new Congress doesn't automatically undo any of that.
However, what it can do starting in January, is change how three current bills get: the Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act (which would drastically change how H-1B wages are calculated); the End H-1B Abuse Act , would pause new H-1B issuance for three years; and the SMARTER Act , which would scrap per-country green card caps for a points system. Now, the SMARTER act is the one that could potentially help ease the India and China backlogs, but it is unclear how it would treat people already in line. None of these are law yet, and a change in control of either chamber would mainly change which of these gets a hearing. It may also add new proposals, and potential amendments to current proposals. To pass any law still takes votes, and less than 4% of proposed bills make it through.
TLDR
Tens of thousands of comments are landing on three open DHS fee/policy proposals, with deadlines coming very soon:
- OPT fee proposal closes November 9th;
- Proposal to end the grace-period closes November 10th; and
- Proposal to End H-1B deference closes November 13th.
So. comment now if you're going to.
Separately, the FY2027 green card lottery got paused again by the Ninth Circuit right before its scheduled reopening, which is another iteration of how contested everything immigration-related is right now.
And, it’s the eve of the midterms: nothing about your status will change tomorrow regardless of the results. Most restrictions and proposals are coming from the executive branch, not Congress, and the bills that could move either way (wage-floor increase, a 3-year new-H-1B pause, or scrapping per-country caps) all still have to make their way through the procedural process, and garner enough support to pass.
This post is for general information only and is not legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, please consult a licensed immigration attorney
