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Tag Archives: Immigration News

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06 Oct 2026
Spain Italy border checks: passport control queue at an airport

Spain and Italy Just Brought Back Border Checks Between Them. Here’s Why That’s Allowed

Categories EU, Visa Updates

Spain Italy border checks have returned at air and sea crossings between the two countries, temporarily suspending one of the basic freedoms of the Schengen Area — travel without routine document checks — for travelers moving directly between them. Spain’s controls run from September 23 through October 7, under a series of orders published in the country’s official state gazette, while Italy’s checks extend further, from October 1 through October 16, citing concerns that include what it called “the continuing situation in the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta.”

Both countries have framed the move as a response to irregular migration risks, potential secondary movements of migrants within the Schengen Area, and broader public order and internal security concerns, rather than any change in the two countries’ underlying relationship. As Italy’s Ministry of the Interior put it in its notification, the two nations “remain open to each other” — but travelers should still expect identity and document checks they would not normally face.

Who the Spain Italy border checks actually affect

The reinstated checks apply to all passengers on air and sea routes directly between Spain and Italy — a route normally exempt from border controls under Schengen rules, since both countries are full members of the passport-free zone. EU citizens travelling the route must still carry a valid passport or national ID card even though they aren’t normally required to present documents on intra-Schengen routes. Non-EU citizens holding a Schengen visa need a valid passport and visa, and third-country nationals with a residence permit in either country should expect their documentation checked as well.

Both governments have notified the European Commission’s Schengen registration system of the controls, a step required under EU rules whenever a member state temporarily reinstates internal border checks — confirming this is a legally sanctioned, time-limited exception rather than a unilateral breach of Schengen rules.

Spain Italy border checks: highway border crossing checkpoint

Why Spain and Italy can legally do this

The Schengen Borders Code allows member states to temporarily reintroduce internal border controls in response to a serious threat to public policy or internal security, provided the measure is proportionate, time-limited, and formally notified to the European Commission and other member states. Spain’s orders — tracked under reference numbers INT/846/2026, INT/932/2026, and INT/977/2026 — and Italy’s parallel notification both follow that framework, which is why the checks can be legally justified as an exception rather than treated as a breach of the Schengen Area’s core principle of free movement.

This is not the first time Schengen states have used this mechanism in 2026, and the specific reference to Ceuta — the Spanish enclave on Morocco’s coast that has repeatedly been a flashpoint for irregular crossings — signals that migration routes through North Africa remain the primary driver behind the current controls, rather than any dispute between Madrid and Rome themselves.

What travelers should actually expect

In practice, travelers on direct Spain-Italy air and sea routes during the control periods should budget extra time for identity checks that would not normally happen on an intra-Schengen trip, and should make sure they are carrying valid passport or ID documentation rather than relying on being waved through. The controls do not affect travel between either country and other Schengen states, only the direct routes between Spain and Italy specified in the respective national orders.

What happens when the controls expire

Spain’s current authorization runs through October 7 and Italy’s through October 16, after which the countries will need to either let the checks lapse and return to normal Schengen rules, or file a fresh notification to extend them if migration pressures and security concerns persist. Given how frequently member states have renewed similar temporary controls elsewhere in the Schengen Area in recent years, a further extension would not be unusual if the underlying pressures driving the current controls haven’t eased by mid-October.

Travelers’ most common questions

Why did Spain and Italy reinstate border checks?
Both countries cited concerns about irregular migration, potential secondary movements within the Schengen Area, and public order and internal security risks, with Italy specifically referencing the situation in Ceuta.

How long will the checks last?
Spain’s controls run from September 23 through October 7, 2026; Italy’s run from October 1 through October 16, 2026.

Which travelers are affected?
All passengers on direct air and sea routes between Spain and Italy, including EU citizens, Schengen visa holders, and third-country nationals with residence permits.

Is this a breach of Schengen rules?
No. The Schengen Borders Code permits temporary reinstatement of internal border checks for security reasons, provided it is proportionate, time-limited, and formally notified to the European Commission.

Does this affect travel to other Schengen countries?
No. The controls apply only to direct routes between Spain and Italy, not to travel between either country and other Schengen states.

What documents should travelers carry?
EU citizens should carry a valid passport or national ID card; non-EU travelers should carry a valid passport and, where required, a valid Schengen visa or residence permit.

More on European travel rules

For more on European travel and study routes, see our coverage of the Erasmus Mundus scholarship deadlines for 2027 and the DAAD and Chevening scholarship deadlines this October. We also previously reported on the UK’s refugee resettlement scheme.

Sources

06 Oct 2026
UK immigration rule changes: Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament at golden hour

The UK Is Quietly Rewriting Its Visa Rules on October 8 — Five Changes Worth Knowing

Categories Immigration, Uk

A fresh round of UK immigration rule changes takes effect October 8, 2026, under a Home Office statement of changes published September 3 as HC 584. The amendments touch several visa routes at once — victims of modern slavery, visitors, EU Settlement Scheme holders, Hong Kong BN(O) applicants, and people on the domestic abuse route — without the kind of fee increases or salary threshold shake-ups that have made headlines in past statements of changes.

That lower profile doesn’t mean the changes are minor for the people they affect. Several provisions close long-standing gaps that immigration lawyers and advocacy groups have flagged for years.

What the UK immigration rule changes actually cover

The most significant shift affects victims of modern slavery on the Skilled Worker route: under the new rules, they can work for a different employer for the remainder of their visa validity, rather than being tied to the employer connected to their exploitation. Immigration advocates have long argued that employer-tied visas make it harder for trafficking and modern slavery victims to safely leave abusive situations, since doing so previously risked their immigration status along with their job.

On the Visitor route, several niche but meaningful changes take effect: training visits no longer require applicants to show the training is unavailable in their home country, and artists, entertainers, and musicians visiting the UK may now attend rehearsals as part of permitted activities, alongside qualifying entertainment staff supporting them. New provisions also accommodate Erasmus+ exchange participants under the visitor rules.

UK immigration rule changes: UK visa vignette sticker

EU Settlement Scheme and Hong Kong BN(O) changes

The EU Settlement Scheme sees adjustments to how proportionality is assessed for pre-settled status holders in certain circumstances, along with a modified three-month deadline for family members joining an EUSS holder for the first time, now linked to the date of their most recent lawful UK entry rather than a fixed point. On the Hong Kong BN(O) route, dependent children of BN(O) status holders will no longer need to separately complete their own five-year continuous residence period before qualifying for settlement alongside their parents — a change that should speed up settlement for BN(O) families with children who arrived at different times.

The domestic abuse route also expands: certain adult dependent children whose relationship with their sponsor broke down permanently due to abuse become newly eligible, addressing a gap where only the primary applicant’s circumstances were previously considered.

The smaller print worth knowing

A handful of technical changes round out the statement of changes. Fee waiver requests must now match the specific immigration route of the subsequent application for the waiver to carry forward, a procedural tightening the Home Office says is meant to prevent mismatched applications. Biometric enrollment deadlines are unaffected by application variations, meaning switching or amending an application does not reset the clock on required biometrics. The rules around suitability — the grounds on which an application can be refused for prior immigration law breaches, including bail failures and absconding — have also been clarified.

Transitional provisions mean applications submitted before October 8 will generally continue to be assessed under the prior rules for the specific provisions being changed, so applicants mid-process should check which version of the rules applies to their specific situation rather than assuming the new rules apply retroactively.

What happens for applicants after October 8

Immigration practitioners typically see a wave of questions in the weeks following any statement of changes, particularly from modern slavery victims and their advocates trying to understand the new employer-switching provision, and from Hong Kong BN(O) families working out whether their children now qualify for settlement sooner than previously expected. The Home Office has not signaled another statement of changes is imminent, meaning October 8’s rules are likely to stand without further amendment for at least the next few months.

Questions about the October 8 changes

When do the new UK immigration rules take effect?
The changes take effect October 8, 2026, under Home Office statement of changes HC 584, published September 3, 2026.

What changes for modern slavery victims?
Victims of modern slavery on the Skilled Worker route can now work for a different employer for the remainder of their visa, rather than being tied to the employer connected to their exploitation.

How does the Hong Kong BN(O) route change?
Dependent children of BN(O) status holders no longer need to separately complete their own five-year residence period before qualifying for settlement alongside their parents.

Do these changes affect visa fees or salary thresholds?
No. Unlike some past statements of changes, this round does not include fee increases or salary threshold adjustments.

Do the new rules apply to applications already submitted?
Generally no. Transitional provisions mean applications submitted before October 8 continue under the prior rules for most of the affected provisions.

More UK immigration coverage

For more on UK-related immigration policy, see our coverage of the Companies House identity verification deadlines for directors and the UK’s refugee resettlement scheme. For a US comparison, see our report on the Supreme Court’s immigration detention and bond hearings case.

Sources

06 Oct 2026
H-1B fee struck down: United States federal courthouse

A Federal Judge Just Tore Up the $100,000 H-1B Fee. Here’s Why It Won’t Be the Last Word

Categories Immigration, Work Permits

The H-1B fee struck down this week by a federal judge in California leaves the Trump administration’s $100,000 charge on new H-1B petitions blocked for now, but employers hoping the issue is settled should hold off celebrating — a proposed replacement fee of $103,265 remains under review at the Department of Homeland Security. US District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr., ruling in the Northern District of California on September 30, found the fee policy “arbitrary and capricious” and vacated it entirely, saying the administration failed to consider alternatives or the reliance interests of employers and workers affected by the sudden charge.

It is the second time a federal court has struck down the fee. A Massachusetts judge issued a similar nationwide ruling back in June 2026, finding comparable procedural defects in how the policy was imposed.

Why the H-1B fee struck down ruling matters

Judge Gilliam’s ruling centers on process rather than the underlying policy goal. The court found that imposing a $100,000 fee on H-1B petitions amounted to a “legislative rule” — a substantive change requiring the formal notice-and-comment process under the Administrative Procedure Act — rather than something the administration could simply impose by fiat. “There is no question here that Agency Defendants failed to consider any alternatives or the reliance interests of the regulated parties,” Gilliam wrote in his order, according to court filings reviewed by legal reporters.

The practical effect is that enforcement of the $100,000 fee is enjoined until the administration completes proper notice-and-comment rulemaking — a process that typically takes months and allows the public, employers, and advocacy groups to formally weigh in before a rule takes effect.

H-1B fee struck down: chart of H-1B visa applications by employer

What comes after the H-1B fee struck down decision

The ruling does not mean H-1B fees are off the table permanently. The Department of Homeland Security has a separate, proposed $103,265 fee already under review, and nothing in Gilliam’s decision prevents the administration from pursuing that or a similar charge through the proper rulemaking channel. Given that two separate federal courts have now struck down versions of this policy on nearly identical procedural grounds, any future attempt would likely need to clear the notice-and-comment bar explicitly to survive a legal challenge.

Immigration attorney Charles Kuck, among those who have tracked the litigation closely, has noted that the administration’s repeated attempts to impose steep H-1B fees without formal rulemaking suggest an urgency to raise the cost of the program quickly — an urgency that keeps running into the same procedural wall in court.

What this means for employers and visa holders

For now, employers filing new H-1B petitions are not subject to the $100,000 fee, restoring the prior cost structure while the legal situation remains unsettled. Companies that paid the fee before it was struck down, or that held back petitions due to the cost, will be watching closely for guidance from USCIS on how the agency plans to implement the court’s order in practice. The uncertainty itself has been costly for employers trying to plan hiring around a program whose cost structure has shifted multiple times within a single year.

What to watch next

The key date to watch is whether and when DHS formally opens notice-and-comment rulemaking on the proposed $103,265 fee, which would start a public comment period typically lasting 30 to 60 days before any new rule could take effect. Continued litigation is also likely regardless of that process, given the stakes for both the administration’s immigration agenda and the tech and consulting firms that rely heavily on the H-1B program.

What readers are asking

Is the $100,000 H-1B fee still in effect?
No. The fee is currently blocked following Judge Gilliam’s September 30, 2026 ruling, which found the policy unlawful.

Why did the judge strike down the fee?
The court found the fee amounted to a substantive “legislative rule” that required formal notice-and-comment rulemaking, which the administration did not conduct before imposing it.

Is this the first court to block the fee?
No. A Massachusetts federal judge issued a similar nationwide ruling against the fee in June 2026.

Could a new H-1B fee be introduced?
Yes. A proposed $103,265 fee announced by DHS in August 2026 remains under review and could move forward if the administration completes proper rulemaking.

What does “arbitrary and capricious” mean in this context?
It is a legal standard under the Administrative Procedure Act meaning the agency failed to reasonably justify its decision, including by not considering alternatives or the interests of affected parties.

Who is affected by this ruling?
Employers filing new H-1B petitions and the foreign workers those petitions cover are directly affected, as the ruling removes the $100,000 charge for now.

More on US visa policy

For more on US visa fee changes, see our coverage of the USCIS fee increases for asylum, parole, and TPS applicants and the new $750 expedited visa interview fee pilot. We also previously reported on the public charge rule change affecting green card applicants.

Sources

25 Sep 2026
Office workers affected by layoffs, relevant to the H-1B layoff scrutiny order

A New Executive Order Means Your Employer’s Layoffs Could Now Sink Your H-1B

Categories Immigration, Visa Updates

A new H-1B layoff scrutiny order takes aim at a full year of a sponsor’s workforce history. President Trump signed it on September 18, 2026. It directs the Departments of State, Labor and Homeland Security to weigh whether an H-1B sponsor has conducted layoffs, past or planned, at every stage of the visa process. That covers the initial Labor Condition Application through consular interviews and border admission. It is titled “Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program.” The order marks a sharp expansion of how closely regulators examine an employer’s workforce history before approving a petition.

What the H-1B layoff scrutiny order actually requires

The order instructs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Homeland Security to consider whether an employer “directly or indirectly engaged in layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs that negatively affect the employment of similarly situated United States workers.” That is a significant widening of existing practice. Previous rules examined layoffs only within a narrow 90-day window around the petition filing date. Under the new order, a full year of layoff history becomes fair game for reviewers, and so do publicly stated future plans.

Employers this covers

Work visa documents tied to the new H-1B layoff scrutiny order

The scrutiny applies to “all H-1B employers, not only H-1B-dependent employers,” according to legal analysis of the order. Companies that assumed they were too small or too diversified to draw this kind of review are now covered too. Reviewers can raise questions at four separate checkpoints. These are Labor Condition Application certification, USCIS petition adjudication, consular visa processing, and admission at the US border. That gives agencies multiple chances to flag a mismatch between an employer’s layoff history and its sponsorship requests.

What happens in the next 30 days

That 30-day window is short by federal rulemaking standards, another sign of how quickly the administration wants agencies to act. The order gives the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division 30 days to start reviewing data from previously submitted Labor Condition Applications. It must decide whether the case for further enforcement against sponsoring employers holds up. Legal commentators note the order leaves significant implementation details to forthcoming agency guidance. Exactly how aggressively this data review translates into denials, Requests for Evidence or audits is not yet clear. Attorneys are already telling clients to expect more Requests for Evidence, echoing earlier periods of tighter H-1B enforcement.

Why this matters beyond the tech sector

Coverage of H-1B policy tends to focus on Silicon Valley. That framing misses how wide the program actually reaches. H-1B sponsorship is often associated with technology companies, but the visa category spans healthcare, finance, manufacturing and education too. Any employer that has trimmed staff in the past year, for any reason, could now face extra questions when sponsoring a new hire. That includes layoffs the company made in an unrelated part of the business. Immigration attorneys say the broad wording of the order gives agencies wide discretion in how closely they scrutinize a given petition, which makes early legal review more valuable than it was before September 18.

What H-1B employers should do next

Larger companies with dedicated immigration counsel are likely to adapt fastest. Smaller sponsors without in-house legal support may be the ones most exposed to an unexpected denial. A single missed detail in a filing could now carry more weight than it did a month ago. Employers with any recent or planned layoffs should expect closer documentation requirements when filing new H-1B petitions or renewals. They should be ready to explain the relationship between workforce reductions and the specific positions they are sponsoring. This order is separate from the $100,000 H-1B fee policy covered in our earlier report on the H-1B fee extension. It adds a second, independent layer of scrutiny on top of that fee. For related visa-cap developments, see our coverage of the H-2B visa cap for FY2027.

H-1B Layoff Order: Common Questions

What does the H-1B layoff scrutiny order require?

It directs the State, Labor and Homeland Security departments to consider an employer’s past-year layoffs or planned future layoffs when reviewing H-1B filings at every stage of the process.

When did the H-1B layoff scrutiny order take effect?

President Trump signed it on September 18, 2026.

Which employers does the order apply to?

All H-1B employers, not just companies classified as H-1B-dependent.

How far back can layoffs be considered under the new order?

Up to one year, a significant expansion from the previous 90-day window around the petition filing date.

What happens within 30 days of the order?

The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division must begin reviewing data from previously submitted Labor Condition Applications to assess whether further enforcement action is warranted.

Is this the same as the $100,000 H-1B fee policy?

No, it is a separate order focused on layoff scrutiny, distinct from the H-1B fee policy covered separately.

Sources

23 Sep 2026
IRCC processing time update illustrated by a Canadian passport

Canada Just Changed How It Reports Work Permit Wait Times

Categories Canada, Immigration

Canada’s immigration department released its latest processing-times figures this month, and the headline change is as much about how the numbers are reported as what they show. The IRCC processing time update shifted in-Canada work permit reporting from days to weeks, while showing wait times rising for applicants already inside Canada even as study permit timelines held steady for the first time in several cycles.

What the IRCC processing time update changed for work permits

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada began reporting in-Canada work permit processing times in weeks rather than days in its latest release. Under the new figures, in-Canada submissions, covering both initial applications and extensions, are estimated at 120 days, while applications submitted from outside Canada are estimated at 60 days. Work permit wait times rose for applicants located in Canada and the United States, marking Canada’s first increase in that category since at least early June, while wait times for applicants in the Philippines fell by one week over the same period. The shift in reporting units alone caught many applicants off guard, since a figure quoted in weeks reads very differently at first glance than the same duration expressed in days.

Study permits held steady

Study permit processing times showed no movement in the September update for any featured country, the first time since IRCC’s July 17 update that the figures had stayed flat across the board. That stability offers a measure of predictability for prospective international students planning their arrival dates around an upcoming academic term, even as work permit timelines moved in the opposite direction.

Why the reporting change matters

Switching from days to weeks for in-Canada work permit figures is a small technical adjustment, but it changes how applicants and immigration consultants interpret the numbers at a glance. IRCC has cautioned that actual processing times can run shorter or longer than the published estimate depending on an application’s complexity, the size of IRCC’s current inventory, and whether the department needs additional information or further verification before a decision.

IRCC processing time update

What applicants should expect next

IRCC’s next processing-times update is expected on or around September 30, 2026, and applicants currently in the queue should treat the current figures as a moving target rather than a fixed promise. Anyone with a time-sensitive work permit extension is advised to file well ahead of their current permit’s expiry, given that in-Canada wait times just moved in the wrong direction for the first time in months.

How Canada’s processing times are calculated

IRCC’s published figures represent an estimate covering 80% of cases processed within the stated window, not a guarantee for every individual file, which is why the department consistently cautions that actual outcomes can run shorter or longer. The methodology draws on rolling data from recently completed applications, meaning a sudden surge in a particular category can push the published estimate up even before the underlying backlog fully clears. That lag is part of why applicants sometimes see processing times move in a direction that seems disconnected from their own personal experience of submitting and waiting on a file.

Why in-Canada applicants saw the biggest shift

The rise in wait times specifically for applicants already inside Canada and the United States, rather than a uniform increase across every country, points to a processing backlog concentrated in particular application streams rather than a system-wide slowdown. Immigration consultants tracking the figures have suggested the shift may reflect higher application volumes from temporary residents seeking to extend their status domestically rather than apply from abroad, a pattern that tends to accelerate when broader immigration policy uncertainty makes applicants reluctant to leave the country while a decision is pending.

What this means for employers relying on temporary workers

Canadian employers who sponsor foreign workers on time-limited permits are watching the in-Canada figures particularly closely, since a 120-day estimate for extensions can create staffing gaps if an employee’s current permit expires before a renewal is approved. Immigration lawyers have generally advised employers to build additional lead time into renewal planning given the recent increase, rather than assuming processing will match the previous, faster baseline that applied through the summer months.

Frequently Asked Questions

What changed in the latest IRCC processing time update?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada began reporting in-Canada work permit processing times in weeks rather than days, setting in-Canada submissions at 120 days and outside-Canada submissions at 60 days.

Did wait times go up or down?

Work permit wait times rose for applicants inside Canada and the United States, the first increase since at least early June, while wait times fell by one week for applicants in the Philippines.

What about study permits?

Study permit processing times were unchanged in the September update for every featured country, the first time in several update cycles that no movement was recorded.

How often does IRCC update these figures?

IRCC updates processing times regularly, and the next update was expected on or around September 30, 2026.

Do these published times guarantee how long an application will take?

No. IRCC says actual processing times can be shorter or longer depending on an application’s complexity, the size of IRCC’s inventory, and whether additional information or verification is required.

Related coverage on Tamara News

For more context, see our reporting on Alberta independence referendum vote, Employment based visa retrogression and Uscis new form editions i539 i765.

Sources