US Visa Alert: Missed Deadlines Could Affect Green Card and H-1B Applications Under USCIS Rules

All persons applying for US visas, Green Card or an H-1B visa will be required to pay extra heed to deadlines for filing immigration papers as new USCIS regulations will come into effect on October 23, 2026.

USCIS has released a policy announcement under the name of “Definition of Day for Purposes of Filing Deadlines” on September 23, 2026. It provides clarification about when an individual can apply for next business day extension and when the application should be filed on actual due date. This update becomes especially important for people whose qualification for an immigrant status is contingent upon age as well as those who file their applications online. Still, the updated regulations do not do away with all the weekend and holiday extensions.

US Visa Rules: What Changes From October 23?

As per the new guidelines, even some paper applications that have deadlines based on days can still be extended in case the deadline is on Saturday, Sunday, or a federal holiday. In such a scenario, USCIS may accept the submission on the last business day following the date.

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