Immigration Updates
Immigration law is changing fast. Here’s how to stay current.
New policy memos, new rules, and new court rulings are reshaping marriage-based green card cases month by month. This page brings together Attorney Joseph Botelho’s update videos, free handouts, and plain-language explanations of what changed and what it means for your case.
Required viewing for every student
The course teaches the system. The YouTube channel keeps it current.
Immigration law is changing faster right now than at any time in recent memory. USCIS policy, forms, fees, and interview practices can shift within weeks, and a recorded course can’t be rewritten every time they do. So when something changes, Attorney Botelho records a video explaining it and posts it on the Botelho Immigration Courses YouTube channel.
That makes the channel part of your course. If you’re enrolled in The Marriage Green Card System, check it regularly, and always check it before you take your next step. A rule that changed last month can decide your case.
When the rules change
New memos, final rules, court rulings, fee changes, and form editions, explained in plain language along with what to do about them.
Beyond the course
Many videos expand on topics from the modules and go further than the lessons do, from discretion and public charge to responding to an RFE.
Check before every step
Before you file, before you answer an RFE, and before your interview, look for anything new. It takes minutes and can save months.
Start with the playlist USCIS Updates for Marriage Green Cards, then subscribe and tap the bell so you’re notified the moment a new update is posted. The channel always has the newest videos, including ones not yet listed here.
Adjustment of status · Policy Memo PM-602-0199
USCIS changed how marriage green cards are decided.
Must readFiling for adjustment of status? On May 21, 2026, USCIS issued Policy Memo PM-602-0199. If you are filing Form I-485, read this section, watch the videos, and use the three free handouts before you file.
USCIS Changed Marriage Green Cards in 2026: 3 Free Tools to Protect Your Case
What PM-602-0199 did, in plain English, and a walkthrough of the three free handouts on this page: the checklist, the statement template, and the interview worksheet.
The law didn’t change. The lens did.
Congress didn’t amend the statute, and USCIS still has to accept your I-485. What PM-602-0199 does is remind officers that adjusting status from inside the United States has always been discretionary, what the courts call “administrative grace.” In practice, there are now two gates instead of one.
The key takeaway: a clean record alone is no longer enough. You have to affirmatively put your positive equities on the scale: family ties, character, contributions, and the human stakes of your case. That’s exactly what the three handouts help you do.
Gate 1 · Unchanged
Do you qualify?
The same eligibility requirements you already know from the course.
Gate 2 · The new emphasis
Do you deserve it?
Officers weigh all your positive and negative factors together and decide whether to grant the green card here, rather than abroad.
Adjustment of Status 2026: Master PM-602-0199
The complete memo, step by step: what it actually says, eligibility versus discretion, who is most exposed by visa category, the dual-intent and “90-day rule” traps, and how to build a fully documented I-485 application.
How to use the three tools
One system: gather, write, defend.
Use them in order. Each one feeds the next: the categories you gather become the sections you write, which become the answers you rehearse.
1
Gather
Start with the Discretionary Equities Checklist. It organizes everything you need to collect into seven categories, with a checkbox for every document. Work one category at a time.
2
Write
Move your evidence into the Discretionary Statement Template. Its nine sections line up with the checklist. Replace the bracketed placeholders with your facts, delete the instructions, and sign before a notary.
3
Defend
Prepare with the Four Interview Questions Worksheet. It walks you through the four discretionary questions we expect officers to ask, with example answers and space to draft your own.
Free downloads · Required reading for adjustment of status
Filing from inside the U.S.? These materials are no longer optional.
The Marriage Green Card System teaches you how to prove you qualify for a green card. Since May 21, 2026, qualifying is only half the test. Under Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, USCIS officers treat adjustment of status as a discretionary benefit: after confirming you’re eligible, they weigh your positive and negative factors and decide whether you should receive your green card here, rather than through a consulate abroad.
That means an I-485 that simply meets the requirements, even with a clean record, can draw closer scrutiny, a request for evidence, or, when negative factors are present, a denial. You now have to show USCIS why your case deserves approval: your family ties, lawful immigration history, tax compliance, community roots, and good character, documented and presented on purpose. The course teaches you to build the eligibility packet. These downloads add the discretionary layer the memo now calls for. They’re the same materials we use with our own clients, free to every student.
Before you fileFiling Form I-485 from inside the United States? Read the client guide, complete all three handouts, and include your discretionary evidence and signed statement in your filing.
Processing through a U.S. consulate abroad instead? The memo is aimed at adjustment of status, but read the guide’s section comparing the two routes before deciding. Leaving the U.S. can carry serious risks of its own.
The USCIS Adjustment-of-Status Discretion Memo: What It Means for Your Form I-485
A six-page, plain-English guide to PM-602-0199: what changed and what didn’t, a risk-at-a-glance table by visa category, the positive and negative factors officers weigh, how to build a two-layer evidence packet, adjustment versus consular processing, travel while your I-485 is pending, and a seven-question decision framework.
Discretionary Equities Checklist
Your evidence inventory: seven categories, a checkbox for every document. Start here.
Discretionary Statement Template
A fillable sworn declaration in nine sections, the most powerful document you can add to your filing.
Four Interview Questions Worksheet
Prepare for the discretionary questions at your interview, with frameworks and practice space.
USCIS Policy Memo PM-602-0199
The actual memo, issued May 21, 2026. Read it alongside the handouts.
Tip: read the guide first, download all five, then watch the walkthrough videos above so you can follow along on your own copies.
Public charge · Final rule effective September 18, 2026
The public charge rule changed. Here’s what it means for your I-485.
On July 20, 2026, DHS published a final rule rescinding the 2022 public charge regulation, effective September 18, 2026. It applies to adjustment of status applications postmarked or electronically submitted on or after that date, and those filings must use the revised Form I-485. If you or anyone in your household has received public benefits, watch these before you fill out a single box.
Your Green Card Application Just Changed: What USCIS Actually Looks At
What the 2022 rule did, what the rescission changes, the five statutory factors that never changed, the exemptions still on the books, and four myths already circulating.
Don’t File Your Green Card Until You Watch This: The Public Charge Trap
Will Medicaid, SNAP, or CHIP hurt your case? It depends on who received the benefit and when. Covers what “means-tested” means, benefits that never count, and the I-485 line that can turn a benefits question into a misrepresentation problem.
Public Charge Rule Changes September 18: Which Rule Applies to You
Why your filing date, not your decision date, decides which rule governs your case; the revised I-485 and why old editions will be rejected; and benefits received by a U.S. citizen child in their own right.
Removal of conditions · Form I-751
Received an I-751 RFE? A request for evidence is not a denial.
Received an I-751 RFE? Do These 3 Things Immediately
How to read the notice line by line: the response deadline that controls everything, what the evidence section is really asking for, and the barcoded cover sheet that goes on top. Plus what to send when you don’t have joint financial documents, and the language that means your notice isn’t an ordinary RFE.
Court ruling · 2026
Was your immigration case frozen?
The 2026 Ruling Explained in Plain Language
A federal court ruling changed things for many immigration cases. With no legal jargon: what happened, whether it affects your situation, and the questions to bring to a lawyer.
Asylum · For practitioners
The USCIS no-interview rule.
The USCIS No-Interview Rule Just Changed Immigration Practice
An interim final rule effective July 28, 2026 lets USCIS refer affirmative asylum cases without an interview, shifting the weight of the case to the written file. Made for attorneys, paralegals, and accredited representatives who prepare I-589s and declarations.
When it’s past do-it-yourself
Some cases need an attorney. Here’s how to tell.
These handouts are built for straightforward cases. If any of the following apply to you, this is the moment to use your Confidence Credit Guarantee and speak with an attorney.
- An overstay longer than 180 days, or any unauthorized work
- A prior visa denial, border issue, or any criminal history
- Any prior misrepresentation, an RFE on discretion, or a denied I-485
Your course tuition credits in full toward representation at Botelho Law Group PLLC, a separate law firm.
What we follow
Changes can hit your case with little notice. We track them for you.
USCIS policies, National Visa Center procedures, embassy interview requirements, filing fees, processing times, travel rules, and immigration laws can all change quickly, affecting your timeline and even your eligibility. Our goal is clear, practical information that helps you avoid the mistakes that delay or damage a case.
Topics we cover
Agencies we watch
Never miss an update
New videos go up on YouTube first.
Subscribe, turn on notifications, and check the channel before every step of your case.
This is educational material, not legal advice. The Marriage Green Card System, these videos, and these handouts provide general legal education and do not create an attorney-client relationship. USCIS policy, regulations, and adjudication practices change over time; verify current requirements before filing. Botelho Immigration Courses is offered by Botelho Financial Group LLC and is a separate entity from Botelho Law Group PLLC. For advice specific to your situation, schedule a free consultation with Botelho Law Group at 508-500-1551.