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The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has published a travel advisory update informing the public that on Feb. 27, 2026, the State Department authorized the departure of nonemergency U.S. government personnel and their family members from Mission Israel due to escalating regional conflict and safety risks. Travelers are advised to leave Israel while commercial flights are available.
General travel advisory. The embassy site advises the public to “reconsider” travel to Israel and the West Bank, advising against travel to the following areas:
Restricted staff travel. U.S. government employees in Israel are currently restricted from personal travel to the Gaza region and the Lebanese/Syrian borders of Northern Israel without prior embassy security approval. Additional travel restrictions may be imposed on U.S. government employees with little to no notice due to increased security issues or threats.
Additional information: U.S. citizens and travelers should continue to check the Embassy website and the State Department’s Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Travel Advisory page for further guidance on travel to the region and the latest updates.
Due to increased security risks from regional conflict, the State Department has updated its travel advisory for Lebanon to “Level 4: Do Not Travel” and, as previously reported, ordered the departure of nonemergency U.S. government personnel and their families on Feb. 23, 2026.
Embassy staff travel restrictions. U.S. Embassy Beirut personnel require advance permission for any personal travel. Additional travel restrictions may be imposed on U.S. personnel with little to no notice due to increased security issues or threats.
Limited consular services. Although core staff remain in place, prioritizing emergency services for U.S. citizens, they will be living and working under strict security and may not be able to travel to assist U.S. citizens in Lebanon. Internal embassy security policies may be adjusted at any time and without advance notice.
Additional information: U.S. citizens and travelers should continue to check the Embassy website and the State Department’s Lebanon travel advisory page for further guidance on travel to Lebanon and the latest updates.
This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.
Copyright © 2026 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.
Following the Department of Homeland Security’s proposed rule to rescind the 2022 public charge ground of inadmissibility regulations, the State Department published a brief FAQ titled “Preventing Public Benefits Reliance.”
Key takeaways:
The FAQ includes four questions addressing public charge and nonimmigrants:
Public charge defined. The FAQ defines public charge as “a person that becomes primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by accepting public cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense” and provides examples including receiving services and resources from certain federal, state and local agencies and aid programs.
Potential consequences. The FAQ provides that nonimmigrant visa holders who “abuse” public benefits “as a foreign visitor” could have their visas revoked and that such “abuse” could impact “future visa ineligibility, and in the case of fraud, criminal prosecution.”
Consulate visa applicant considerations. Consular officers adjudicate and issue visas on a case-by-case basis. The FAQ emphasizes that consular officers consider “all aspects of a visa application,” including but not limited to “age, health, family status, financial status, education/skills and current or past use of U.S. public benefits” to determine if an applicant is ineligible for a visa due to public charge concerns.
Travel for medical treatment. The FAQ further provides that foreign nationals intending to travel to the U.S. for medical treatment may still be eligible for a nonimmigrant visa if they can “demonstrate they are not likely to become reliant on the U.S. government for public benefits or medical care” and will return to their home country.
Additional information: As of Feb. 27, 2026, the State Department has not updated guidance in the Foreign Affairs Manual or provided any clarification on the adjudication pause for immigrant visa applicants due to public charge concerns.
The Department of Homeland Security announced temporary emergency measures effective Feb. 22, 2026, to conserve funding and personnel during the agency’s shutdown that began Feb. 14, 2026. Impacts to travel-related services and nondisaster federal response activities include certain Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processes.
CBP Global Entry suspended. According to the announcement, “As of 6:00 a.m. on Feb. 22, 2026, CBP, Office of Field Operations will halt all Global Entry arrival processing at participating airports.” The suspension includes reassigning CBP officers to process all other travelers not identified as Global Entry travelers. U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) are instructed to proceed to their respective processing lanes for arriving U.S. citizens and LPRs. All other Global Entry members are instructed to proceed to properly marked “visitor” lanes.
CBP has provided no direct guidance or updates on its website regarding the suspension at this time.
TSA PreCheck remains operational. The announcement states, “At this time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public.” While continuing core passenger screening operations, TSA has suspended courtesy and special privilege escorts at airports.
Other measures resulting from shutdown. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has entered emergency operating status and is limiting activities to immediate lifesaving disaster response, temporarily halting nondisaster operations.
Additional information: Global Entry is a CBP Trusted Traveler Program that allows expedited clearance for preapproved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States.
The final rule on “Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions” takes effect on Feb. 27, 2026.
According to the Federal Register Notice, the rule will “implement a weighted selection process that would generally favor the allocation of H-1B visas to higher skilled and higher paid aliens, while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage levels, to better serve the Congressional intent for the H-1B program.”
In summary, the weighted registration selection process will work as follows:
As a result, registrations for roles with a higher equivalent Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level would have a higher likelihood of being selected in the annual cap lottery.
More information regarding the weighted selection process and the H-1B cap season can be found here.
On Feb. 24, 2026, the State Department announced on X that “public transportation and businesses continue to return to normal operations and U.S. citizens are no longer urged to shelter in place” in certain areas of Mexico.
Embassy lifts all restrictions. On Feb. 24, 2026, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico website stated, “All restrictions related to the events of February 22 on U.S. government staff in Tijuana (Baja California) and Monterrey (Nuevo Leon) have been lifted.”
Curfew in effect for U.S. staff. The Embassy update also states that “U.S. government staff in Guadalajara (Jalisco), Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco/Nayarit) and Ciudad Guzmán (Jalisco) are subject to a curfew during nighttime hours and cannot travel outside their metropolitan areas.”
Transportation updates. According to the site, flight schedules for Guadalajara have returned to normal and extra flights in Puerto Vallarta were scheduled for Feb. 24. No road closures were reported by local authorities — however, some roads were not fully reopened in Jalisco State (including between Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta). Further actions to take regarding transportation can be found here.
Additional information: On Feb. 23, 2026, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico issued security alerts for specific locations in Mexico because of ongoing security operations, related road blockages and criminal activity following the pursuit and death of the Mexican cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes in Jalisco, Mexico, on Feb. 22.
U.S. citizens and travelers should also check the Embassy website for the latest updates.
The State Department announced that the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, is offering limited consular services, including restricted visa operations, because of safety risks.
Departure ordered for U.S. staff. On Feb. 23, 2026, the State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government staff and family members from Beirut due to safety risks.
Embassy remains operational. Core staff remain in place, prioritizing emergency services for U.S. citizens.
Visa processing suspended. Routine visa processing is currently unavailable. Email notifications were sent to reschedule visa interviews in Beirut for a later date.
Additional information: U.S. citizens and travelers should check the embassy website for the latest updates on U.S. visa processing.
Today, the Department of Homeland Security published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register that would modify regulations governing asylum-related employment authorization.
Summary of overall proposed provisions. The NPRM states the proposed changes will “modify regulations governing applications for asylum and withholding of removal (asylum applications) and employment authorization based on a pending asylum application.”
Proposed limits on asylum-based work authorization. DHS has proposed multiple changes to employment authorization rules for asylum applicants, including:
Public comment period. Public comments regarding the proposed rule can be submitted here and must be received on or before April 24, 2026.
Existing regulations remain in effect. Until a final rule takes effect, existing asylum-based employment authorization regulations remain in place.
Additional information: According to the related DHS announcement, “The proposed rule supports President Trump’s Executive Order 14159, ‘Protecting the American People Against Invasion.’”
BAL will continue to monitor related developments and provide updates.
The U.S. State Department has released the March 2026 Visa Bulletin. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced filings for employment-based visa preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart in the March Bulletin, which shows China and India advancing in the EB-1 category, India substantially advancing in the EB-2 category, Mexico and the Philippines advancing in the EB-3 category and China advancing in the EB-5 category.
The Dates for Filing chart indicates who is eligible to submit their application and supporting documents for further processing, even if the green card itself is not available. Review BAL’s employer’s guide to reading the Visa Bulletin to better understand this monthly report.
Dates for Filing chart category movement
EB-1 visa
EB-2 visa
EB-3 visa
EB-5 visa (unreserved)
Dates for Filing Chart for employment-based visa applications
Category
Additional Information: Final Action Dates for the March Visa Bulletin can be found here.
The shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security began Feb. 14, 2026, after Congress’ two-week continuing resolution and consolidated spending bill, which provided short-term funding for the agency through Feb. 13, 2026, expired without the passage of a new funding measure.
Following is a summary of certain immigration agencies and services that may be impacted:
E-Verify and other programs: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has not posted any updates on the E-Verify site regarding the shutdown as of the date of this alert, and the system appears to be operating as normal. Typically during a shutdown, E-Verify becomes unavailable until reauthorized by Congress because it is funded through appropriations. However, during the last federal government shutdown, the E-Verify system continued to operate.
If E-Verify does become unavailable, employers may be unable to enroll in E-Verify, access or create E-Verify cases or resolve tentative non-confirmations. Employers remain required to comply with all Form I-9 obligations, as the ability to complete the Form I-9 within the required timeframes is not affected by a shutdown. Employers will not be penalized for shutdown-related delays in E-Verify but will still be required to complete E-Verify cases as applicable when the system becomes available.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: USCIS can continue processing immigration benefit applications, but applicants could experience delays, particularly if the shutdown is prolonged. DHS has previously indicated that the majority of USCIS employees would continue working in the event of a shutdown.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: ICE is expected to continue to operate. ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) should continue its normal operations.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection: CBP ports of entry will continue to operate. However, foreign nationals could experience delays.
Additional Information: The other federal government agencies with critical roles in immigration processes, including the Department of Labor and Department of State, are funded through the end of the fiscal year and are not affected by the DHS funding lapse. BAL is closely monitoring events in Washington, D.C., and will continue to provide updates on developments.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the first allocation of returning worker H‑2B supplemental visas for fiscal year (FY) 2026.
Petitions exceeded visa availability. USCIS confirmed that it received more petitions than available visas for the first allocation of returning worker H‑2B visas for FY 2026.
First allocation group details. USCIS reached the cap for 18,490 supplemental H‑2B visas reserved for returning workers in the first FY 2026 allocation. The allocation applied to petitions requesting employment start dates between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2026, under the FY 2026 H‑2B supplemental cap temporary final rule. Feb. 6, 2026, was the final receipt date for petitions requesting visas under this allocation.
Random selection process details. In accordance with applicable regulations, USCIS used a computer‑generated random selection process to fairly allocate available visas without exceeding the cap. The agency conducted the random selection on Feb. 13, 2026, for petitions received during the first five business days of filing, from Feb. 2 to Feb. 6, 2026. Premium processing services began after completing the random selection process.
Additional information: The Office of Foreign Labor Certification published an updated list of the names of foreign labor recruiters for the H-2B program. The H-2B Foreign Labor Recruiter List includes only those names and locations associated with H-2B applications that were processed or issued final decisions from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025.