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Immigration News Briefs

Provided by Sadia Subhani

October 2025

Third-country processing may end

On September 6, the Department of State (DOS) announced updated guidance which may serve to substantially restrict the availability of nonimmigrant visa appointments for third-country national applicants. DOS announced that, effective immediately, applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas should schedule non-immigrant visa appointments in their country of nationality or residence, signaling a change in public messaging from the past several years. The update specifically states that existing nonimmigrant visa appointments will generally not be cancelled. Also, the guidance does not apply to applicants for A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO visas, applicants for diplomatictype or official-type visas (regardless of classification), or applicants for any visa for travel covered by the UN Headquarters Agreement. Rare exceptions may also be made for humanitarian or medical emergencies or foreign policy reasons.

Neighborhood checks for citizenship applications

The Trump administration is planning to reinstate a long-dormant practice of conducting “neighborhood checks” to vet immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship, expanding its efforts to aggressively scrutinize immigration applications, based on a government memo obtained by CBS News. The neighborhood checks would involve on-the-ground investigations by officials at USCIS that could include interviews with the neighbors and coworkers of citizenship applicants. The government investigations would be conducted to determine if applicants satisfy the requirements for citizenship, which include showing good moral character.

The Trump administration’s memo upends a decadesold U.S. government policy. While the neighborhood investigations for citizenship cases are outlined in U.S. law, they can also be waived, which the U.S. government has done since 1991. Since then, the government has relied mainly on background and criminal checks by the FBI to vet citizenship applicants. The USCIS memo immediately terminated the “general waiver” for neighborhood checks, directing officers to determine whether such investigations are warranted based on the information, or lack thereof, submitted by citizenship applicants. Officers retain the ability to waive the checks, according to the memo. The directive said USCIS officers will decide whether to carry out a neighborhood investigation by requesting and reviewing testimonial letters from neighbors, employers, coworkers, and business associates who know the person applying for U.S. citizenship.

Trump 2.0 to review 55 million visas for violations

The Trump administration is reviewing the records of more than 55 million U.S. visa holders for potential revocation or deportable violations of immigration rules, in a significant expansion of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

In a move first reported by the Associated Press, the DOS said that all of the foreigners who currently hold valid U.S. visas are subject to “continuous vetting” for any indication that they could be ineligible for the document, including those already admitted into the country. Should such evidence come to light, the visa would be revoked and, if the visa holder were in the United States, they would be subject to deportation. It follows an announcement by the Trump administration that it will look for “anti-American” views, including on social media, when assessing the applications of people wanting to live in the U.S.

APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES FOR OCTOBER 2025

FAMILY	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	15Jul16	15Jul16
2A	01Sep22	01Sep22
2B	15Oct16	15Oct16
3rd	01Aug11	**01Aug11**
4th	01Nov06	01Jan08

EMPLOYMENT	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	15Feb22	Current
2nd	01Jan13	15Sep23
3rd	22May13	**01Apr23**
Other	22May13	08Jul21
4th	U	U
5th	15 Nov19	Current1B

DATES FOR FILING VISA APPLICATIONS - OCTOBER 2025

FAMILY	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	01Sep17	01Sep17
2A	01Jun25	01Jun25
2B	01Jan17	01Jan17
3rd	22Jul12	22Jul12
4th	01Dec06	01Jan09

EMPLOYMENT	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	15Apr22	Current
2nd	01Feb13	15Nov23
3rd	08Jun13	01May23
Other	08Jun13	22Jul21
4th	01Feb21	01Feb21
5th	01Apr22	Current1B