MASSA VIANA LAW | IMMIGRATION INSIGHTS | April 2026
5 Things You Need to Know This Week
The immigration developments that matter most to you — clearly explained, with guidance on what to do next.
1- MVL Supports The Learning Community This Thursday
This Thursday, Attorney Alma Cothias and Business Manager Ketlyn DePaula will be attending The Drop, the reimagined annual fundraising event for The Learning Community, a school rooted in Central Falls and serving families across Pawtucket and Providence.
The school serves 585 students in grades K-8: 81% Latino, 15% Black, and 96% students of color. Forty-five percent are active Multilingual Learners, 22% have an IEP, and 93% of families qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Their families live in Central Falls, Pawtucket, and Providence. These are communities we know well, and families with important stories to tell.
When immigrant families have access to quality education and a school that sees them fully, everyone benefits. We are proud to stand alongside The Learning Community.
2- Ethiopia TPS Is Still in Effect. But the Court Battle Is Not Over.
Ethiopia’s TPS was set to terminate on February 13, 2026, following Secretary Noem’s determination that country conditions no longer warranted the designation. Before that date arrived, a federal judge in the District of Massachusetts issued a stay in African Communities Together et al. v. Noem et al., No. 26-cv-10278-BEM. That order blocked the termination and kept status and work authorization in place for current beneficiaries.
On April 13, 2026, USCIS issued updated guidance confirming that Employment Authorization Documents with original expiration dates of June 12, 2024 and December 12, 2025 are extended by court order through July 1, 2026. DHS has stated it disagrees with the stay and is working with the Department of Justice on next steps.
The stay protects beneficiaries for now. But DHS is actively appealing, and the July 1 EAD deadline is close. If you hold Ethiopia TPS, do not wait. Speak with an attorney about your options before that date arrives.
3- ICE Quietly Rewrote the I-9 Rules in March. Many Violations Just Got Upgraded.
On March 16, 2026, ICE updated its Form I-9 Inspection Fact Sheet without Federal Register notice or public announcement. The change reclassified more than ten common employer errors from “technical” to “substantive” violations: missing signatures, missing employment start dates, incomplete document data in Section 2, and remote-verification procedural failures.
In practical terms, this eliminates the ten-business-day correction window that employers had relied upon since the 1997 Virtue Memorandum. Errors that were once correctable clerical mistakes now carry immediate fines of up to $2,861 per form, with no grace period and no opportunity to fix them once ICE issues a Notice of Inspection. When an NOI arrives, the employer has just three business days to produce all I-9 records. That window is not enough time to remediate a compliance problem. The only remaining path to cure defects before they become fineable is a proactive internal audit.
This comes as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, allocated $170.7 billion for immigration enforcement and authorized 10,000 new ICE officers. Acting ICE Director Tom Homan has publicly stated that worksite enforcement will be a central priority of the next phase of the administration’s crackdown.
What this means for you: If you are an employer, the time to audit your I-9 records is now, before an NOI arrives. Massa Viana Law advises employers on I-9 compliance, conducts internal audits under attorney-client privilege, and trains HR staff on the updated standards. Contact our office to schedule a consultation.
4- H-1B Cap for FY2027 Is Reached. Selected Petitioners Have Until June 30 to File.
USCIS has confirmed that the FY2027 H-1B cap has been reached, including the 20,000-visa advanced degree exemption for U.S. master’s degree holders. All selected petitioners have been notified. The filing window runs from April 1 through June 30, 2026. Missing this 90-day deadline forfeits the selection entirely.
This cap season carries two major changes. First, a weighted selection process effective February 27, 2026 now favors higher-wage and higher-skilled beneficiaries. Second, under a Presidential Proclamation effective September 21, 2025, certain petitions filed for beneficiaries outside the U.S. or requesting consular notification require an additional $100,000 payment through pay.gov before the petition is submitted. Petitions subject to this requirement that are filed without proof of payment will be denied without exception.
A certified Labor Condition Application from the Department of Labor remains required in all cases. Employers should confirm whether the $100,000 payment applies to their specific petition before filing.
What this means for you: If you are an employer with a selected beneficiary, or a worker whose employer needs guidance, contact Massa Viana Law now. The June 30 deadline does not move, and preparation time matters.
5- Immigration Judges Fired for Blocking Deportations. What It Means for Pending Cases.
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration fired two immigration judges, Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, specifically because they dismissed high-profile deportation cases involving international students, including Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University PhD student detained in March. The Times also reported a broader pattern of systematic pressure on immigration judges, including threats of disciplinary action against those not seen as supporting mass deportation efforts.
Immigration judges are DOJ employees, not lifetime appointees, and can be removed by the executive branch. The firings have raised serious concerns among immigration attorneys and civil liberties organizations about judicial independence and the due process rights of people with open cases. The immigration court system already carries more than three million pending cases.
For anyone in removal proceedings or awaiting a hearing, case reassignments and personnel changes can shift timelines without notice. The situation is moving quickly.
