The Supreme Court let the government keep sending people to third countries, meaning countries that are not their home country and are not named in their removal order, while it decides whether that practice is legal. The justices have not yet ruled on the merits. A decision is not expected before next year. What "Third-Country Removal" Actually Means Most removal orders name a specific country, usually the person's country of citizenship, where the government intends to send them....

Yes. Under a new Board of Immigration Appeals decision issued on September 29, 2026, an immigration judge can deny, or "pretermit," an asylum application without ever holding a hearing and without the Department of Homeland Security asking for it. The ruling means the written application itself, not a courtroom hearing, can decide an asylum case. What the Board Decided in Matter of G-R-B- The case is Matter of G-R-B-, 30 I&N Dec. 102 (BIA 2026), a precedent decision from the Board of...

Family-based green card waits can stretch anywhere from a couple of years to more than two decades because Congress allows only a limited number of family preference visas each year, and no single country can receive more than seven percent of them. The October 2026 Visa Bulletin shows just how wide that range has become, with some categories moving forward only months at a time while others remain stuck more than twenty years behind. How the Family Preference Visa System Works Not every...