The Department of State recently announced a temporary pause on the issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of specified “high-risk” countries, effective January 21, 2026. The administration calls the measure part of a...more
Effective January 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of State will indefinitely pause the issuance of immigrant visas (connected to the permanent residence process) for nationals of 75 countries in an expansion of its internal...more
The Trump Administration has risen yet another barrier for foreign nationals to immigrate to the United States. Beginning on Jan. 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of State will indefinitely pause the issuance of immigrant visas...more
The U.S. Department of State has announced a temporary pause on the issuance of immigrant visas for applicants from certain countries. Effective January 21, 2026, immigrant visa issuance at the U.S. Consulates abroad will be...more
Effective January 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of State announced that it will indefinitely pause all immigrant visa issuances for applicants from 75 specific countries the Department deems are “at high risk of public...more
On January 1, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0194, expanding its suspension of adjudicating pending benefit requests filed by or on behalf of foreign nationals from...more
With the U.S. Department of Justice’s Data Security Program (DSP) now in full effect, companies that handle sensitive personal data, operate across borders, or rely on global vendor ecosystems face an increasingly complex...more
On December 16, 2025, President Trump released a new Presidential Proclamation that adds additional countries to the list of existing nations whose citizens face entry restrictions into the U.S. as well as visa issuance...more
The European Commission (EC) has announced that it has listed Russia as a high-risk country with strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks (AML/CFT) pursuant to the EU's...more
Following the tragic November 26, 2025 shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC and the arrest of an Afghanistan national for the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of State...more
On December 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum directing the agency to place on hold all benefit requests for individuals from one of the nineteen countries of birth or...more
On December 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum directing agency personnel to: (1) place a hold on pending immigration benefit requests for individuals from the 19 countries...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new guidance on Nov. 27, 2025, allowing for negative, country-specific factors to be considered when foreign nationals from 19 countries are vetted for any U.S....more
On December 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a significant new policy memorandum PM-602-0192, titled “Hold and Review of all Pending Asylum Applications and all USCIS Benefit Applications...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it has paused the adjudication of (1) all pending asylum applications regardless of the applicant’s country of citizenship or birth and (2) all pending...more
The European Commission (EC) has adopted a Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 to update the list of high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and...more
Revised regulations restricting investments in Chinese companies developing semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence systems are taking shape and could soon be in...more
Starting on Aug. 1, 2024, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is simplifying its regulations regarding the entry of dogs into the United States. CBP still wants to be sure that rabies does not “enter” the United States...more
Government officials underscored the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) enforcement and data protection during the American Bar Association’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime in March 2024. Specifically,...more
In the March edition of our Public Company Watch, we cover key issues impacting public companies, including the new climate disclosure rules, SEC scrutiny on beneficial ownership filings, West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension...more
Following the end of a long-running process, the Cayman Islands has now officially been removed by the EU Commission from its list of ‘high-risk’ countries for AML/CFT purposes. ...more
The Cayman Islands is now set to be removed from the EU anti-money laundering (AML) list. This action follows the decision of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) monitoring group on 27 October 2023 and subsequent removal...more
Following the removal of the Cayman Islands from the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, the Cayman Islands is to also be removed from the European Union list of jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in...more
On January 7, 2022, the European Commission adopted a draft regulation adding the Cayman Islands to its list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/KYC regimes. Article 4 of the EU Securitisation Regulation...more
On November 10, the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, and Commerce issued an unusual joint advisory (the “advisory”) on the risk of investing and interacting with certain Cambodian individuals and entities. The advisory is...more