Texas Legal News

Federal Diesel Tax Deferral: What EO 14435 Directs

When Texas suspended its dyed-diesel road ban on September 28, 2026, the federal dyed-fuel penalty stayed in place, because a Governor cannot suspend a federal statute. Executive Order 14435, signed October 5 and published in the Federal Register on October 9, 2026, directs the Treasury Secretary and the IRS to reach exactly that gap: deferral of federal diesel excise tax incurred October 5 through December 31, 2026, and an announcement that the dyed-fuel penalty will not be imposed on highway sale or use during that window. Two things matter as much as the order itself. The relief is conditioned on Treasury determinations and guidance, and a deferral is a postponement rather than a forgiveness. Here is what the order directs, who in Texas it reaches, and what a Texas attorney can review.

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DHS Proposes a $70,000 OPT Fee

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on October 8, 2026 that would require an SEVP-certified school to pay 70,000 dollars before a designated school official can recommend an F-1 student for initial Optional Practical Training, and 30,000 dollars for any subsequent OPT recommendation, including a STEM OPT extension. Nothing has changed yet: the rule is a proposal, comments are due November 9, 2026, and the fee would reach only recommendations dated 60 days or more after a final rule is published. Texas held 92,020 international students in October 2025 SEVIS data. Here is what the proposal says, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one student or one school.

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Oracle Health Breach Reaches About 3 Million Texans

A filing reported to the Texas Attorney General puts the 2025 breach of legacy Cerner systems at nearly 20 million people, with as many as 2,992,244 Texas residents among them. The records describe names, Social Security numbers and laboratory information, notification letters that went out more than a year after the intrusion was discovered, and class actions already consolidated in Texas. Here is what the notices say, who in Texas they reach, and what kind of lawyer reads a letter like this.

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Court Vacates the $100,000 H-1B Fee Policies

On September 30, 2026 a federal judge in California vacated the agency guidance that required a one-time 100,000-dollar payment with every new H-1B petition, and enjoined the agencies from enforcing it, including as extended by the September 18, 2026 proclamation. The court left the proclamations themselves standing and sent the guidance back to the agencies, which means the question is now how and whether a payment requirement returns through formal rulemaking. Texas is one of the largest H-1B states in the country. Here is what the order actually says, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can check against one employer or one worker.

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New Immigration Filing Fees: October 1 and October 16

Three Department of Homeland Security notices published in the Federal Register on October 1, 2026 set the fiscal year 2027 inflation-adjusted amounts for the immigration fees created by H.R. 1, effective October 16, 2026, and the notice says a benefit request postmarked on or after that date without the proper fee will be rejected. A separate Justice Department notice already raised the amounts for several DHS forms filed with the immigration courts, effective October 1. Two agencies, two dates, two sets of numbers. Here is what changed, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can check against one family’s actual filing.

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Worldwide EB-2 and EB-3 Retrogress October 1

The State Department published the October 2026 Visa Bulletin on September 29, 2026. Employment second-preference dates for most of the world went from Current to January 1, 2025, EB-3 moved backward, China and India advanced, and USCIS says the Dates for Filing chart governs October filings. A separate rule change from August 2025 means the chart that lets a family file is no longer the chart that freezes a child under 21. Here is what changed, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one household.

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Texas opens a Blue Cross Blue Shield investigation over denied and delayed care — what members should know

On September 28, 2026, the Texas Attorney General’s office announced a Deceptive Trade Practices Act investigation into Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and its parent, Health Care Service Corporation, over denials and delays of urgent and medically necessary care and over prior-authorization procedures. A Civil Investigative Demand has been issued. An investigation is not a finding — and it does not reverse anyone’s denial. A member’s own appeal runs on a separate and much shorter clock, and which clock applies depends on whether the plan is insured or self-funded.

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Dyed Diesel on Texas Roads: What the Waiver Leaves in Place

Governor Abbott declared a statewide disaster on September 28, 2026 and suspended the Texas rule that keeps dyed diesel off public roads, along with state oversize and overweight permit requirements for fuel, agricultural and timber loads up to 95,000 pounds. Two things the proclamation does not do are worth knowing before a red-dye fill-up: the federal dyed-fuel penalty is a separate statute a Governor cannot suspend, and the Texas Low Emission Diesel suspension is contingent on an EPA authorization that had not issued. Here is what changed, and what a Texas lawyer can review.

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SBA Storm Loans: A November 9 Deadline in Eight Texas Counties

The U.S. Small Business Administration declared a disaster for Bexar County and seven surrounding counties after the severe storms and tornadoes of August 28, 2026. Homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofits in Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina and Wilson counties can apply for low-interest federal disaster loans, and the filing deadline for physical damage is November 9, 2026. Here is what the declaration covers, how it interacts with an insurance claim, and what a Texas lawyer can review on the paperwork.

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USCIS Tightens Weekend and Holiday Filing Deadlines

USCIS Policy Alert PA-2026-15, issued September 23, 2026 and effective October 23, 2026, narrows the rule that let a paper filing due on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday arrive on the next business day. Deadlines counted in a number of days keep the extension. Deadlines tied to an event, such as filing before a child turns 21, no longer get it. Here is what changed, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one family.

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Supreme Court Revives the SAVE Citizenship Database

On September 25, 2026 the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a district court order that had blocked the expanded SAVE database, so states may again run voter records against it. Texas has already used SAVE comparisons, and Texas Election Code Section 16.0332 gives a voter who receives a proof-of-citizenship notice 30 days to respond before the registrar cancels the registration. Here is what the Court did, who in Texas this reaches, what the 30-day notice actually requires, and what an immigration or civil rights attorney can review for one person.

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DPS Voter Registrations Went Unsent to Counties

The Texas Department of Public Safety did not transmit an unknown number of voter registration applications from its online driver license portal to county voter registrars, with some records dating back to October 2025. The state began delivering the backlog to counties on September 22, 2026, less than two weeks before the October 5 registration deadline for the November 3 election. Here is what state officials have said, who this reaches, what the Texas Election Code says about provisional ballots, and what a Texas civil rights attorney can review for one voter.

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Why Your Texas Home Insurance Was Declined or Not Renewed

On September 23, 2026 the Texas Department of Insurance launched a public page showing, by ZIP code, the reasons home insurance companies gave for declining, canceling or not renewing policies. Behind it is House Bill 2067, a 2025 Texas law effective January 1, 2026 that removed the words “on request” from the Insurance Code: an insurer now has to put its reasons in writing for the applicant or policyholder, and report those reasons to TDI every quarter. Here is what the statute requires, what the new page shows, and what a Texas lawyer can review on the paperwork.

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Judge Orders Air Conditioning in Every Texas Prison by 2029

On September 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman issued a 150-page order finding that conditions in Texas prisons without air conditioning violate the Eighth Amendment, and directing the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to install air conditioning system-wide no later than December 31, 2029. Just over a third of the agency’s 104 facilities were fully air conditioned as of September 1. Here is what the order says, who it reaches, and what a Texas civil rights attorney can review for one person or one family.

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Social Media Screening Reaches TN, TD and I Visa Applicants October 1

On September 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of State announced that beginning October 1 it will broaden its online presence review to applicants for TN and TD visas under the USMCA and I visas for foreign media representatives, and instructed those applicants to set the privacy settings on every social media profile to public or open. Texas is the leading destination in the country for Mexican professionals holding TN status, and Mexican citizens are the ones who apply through a U.S. consulate. Here is what the announcement says, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review before an interview.

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Fifth Circuit Voids the Out-of-State Handgun Purchase Ban

On September 18, 2026, a divided Fifth Circuit panel held that the 1968 federal provisions barring a licensed dealer from selling a handgun directly to a resident of another state violate the Second Amendment. The court reversed a Fort Worth district court and rendered judgment for the plaintiffs, one of whom is a Texas firearms dealer. The ruling departs from the same court’s 2018 decision in Mance v. Sessions and conflicts with the Second Circuit, which makes further review possible. Here is what the panel decided, what remains unsettled, and what a Texas gun law attorney can review for one dealer or one buyer.

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Who Is a Parent Under a Texas Surrogacy Agreement?

On September 17, 2026, the Supreme Court of Texas declined to block a medically fragile Dallas newborn from being moved out of state, leaving in place a trial court order that had dismissed the woman who carried him from the custody case. The dispute has put a rarely discussed part of Texas law in front of the public: Subchapter I of the Texas Family Code, which says a gestational agreement only binds anyone if a Texas court validated it before the embryo transfer, and says what happens when one was never validated. Here is what the statute requires, what the courts have done so far in the Dallas case, and what a Texas family lawyer can review for one family.

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Texas AG Warns of Website Privacy Demand Letters Hitting Texas Businesses and Nonprofits

On September 17, 2026, the Texas Attorney General issued a consumer alert about a surge in demand letters arriving at Texas businesses and nonprofit organizations. The letters allege violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act based on ordinary website tools — cookies, pixels, analytics and search bars — call them unlawful wiretapping, and demand immediate payment to avoid a lawsuit. Some arrive with screenshots of the recipient website and a draft complaint attached. What the alert actually says, what the underlying California statute is, where a pending California bill stands, and what a Texas lawyer can review before anyone responds or pays.

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Public Charge Rule Takes Effect Today — and the Lawsuits Did Not Stop It

The DHS public charge final rule reached its effective date on September 18, 2026. Four days earlier, on September 14, two separate lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York — one by a coalition of state attorneys general, one by a group of cities and counties — asking the court to vacate the rule under the Administrative Procedure Act. Filing a lawsuit does not by itself suspend an effective date, and no court order blocking the rule has been publicly reported. Texas is not a plaintiff in either case. What the rule actually does, what DHS says it does not do, what the two complaints claim, and what an immigration lawyer can review for an adjustment application going out this week.

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USCIS Issues New Denaturalization Referral Guidance, Effective September 14

On September 14, 2026, USCIS issued Policy Alert PA-2026-13 and rewrote the part of its Policy Manual that governs how the agency identifies naturalized U.S. citizens for possible denaturalization and refers those cases to ICE or the Justice Department. The guidance took effect immediately, and USCIS extended the public feedback window to October 14. The alert does not change the legal grounds for revoking citizenship and it does not revoke anyone. Only a federal court can do that, and the government carries a high burden of proof. Here is what the new chapter actually says, the sixteen categories USCIS now says it prioritizes for referral, the five Texas federal cases the manual itself cites as examples, and the questions an immigration lawyer can review for a specific situation.

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USCIS Keeps the Old I-765 and I-539 Editions; a New I-485 Edition Still Starts September 18

The form-edition switch that USCIS announced for September 15 did not happen. After a federal court postponed the duration-of-status rule on September 14, USCIS updated its Form I-765 and Form I-539 pages to say it continues to accept the 08/21/25 edition of the work-permit application and the 08/28/24 edition of the extension application, and is not accepting the 09/15/26 editions it had said would be mandatory. Three days later, on September 18, a different switch still goes ahead: only the 09/18/26 edition of Form I-485, the green-card application, is accepted from that date, with no grace period. Which edition applies to which form, what a rejection for an outdated edition means, and what an immigration lawyer can review before a Texas filing goes out this week.

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Seven Noncitizens Charged With Illegal Voting in North Texas; 117 More Cases Referred

On September 15, 2026, federal prosecutors in Fort Worth announced charges against seven noncitizens, six of them lawful permanent residents, for voting or trying to vote in federal elections or falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. The same day, the Texas Secretary of State said it had referred 117 potential noncitizen voting cases to the Attorney General. A charge like this carries both a criminal case and an immigration consequence, and a registration notice from a county carries a 30-day clock. Here is what the record shows, what the statutes say, and the questions a criminal defense or immigration lawyer works through.

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Duration of Status Stays in Place: Court Postpones the September 15 Rule

One day before it was to take effect, a federal judge in Boston postponed the Department of Homeland Security rule that would have replaced duration of status with fixed admission periods of no more than four years for F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors, and 240 days for foreign media representatives. The September 14, 2026 order applies nationwide, is a postponement rather than a final judgment, and leaves the existing framework in force while the case continues. Here is what the court decided, what it did not decide, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a Texas student, scholar, employer or campus.

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El Salvador TPS After September 9: What USCIS Has Actually Said

The September 9, 2026 expiration date for El Salvador’s Temporary Protected Status came and went without a published decision. Late that day USCIS posted an alert on its El Salvador TPS page stating that an announcement will be made “at the appropriate time” and that, until then, Salvadorans present in the United States under TPS “retain protection including work authorization.” No Federal Register notice has followed, immigration lawyers are divided on how much weight an unsigned web alert carries for a Form I-9, and the two most recent precedents point in opposite directions. Here is what is published, what is not, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one Texas household.

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Addicks-Barker Upstream Harvey Case: Government Ends Its Appeals

On September 4, 2026, the federal government let its window to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Addicks and Barker upstream flooding case close without filing, according to the property owners’ lead counsel. That leaves the Federal Circuit’s December 22, 2025 decision in Ablan v. United States, which held the government liable for taking a permanent flowage easement over private property upstream of the two dams during Hurricane Harvey, as the final word on liability. Nine years after the storm, the case moves to deciding how much each owner is paid. Here is what the ruling settled, what is not compensable, how the compensation process is expected to work, and which questions belong with a lawyer.

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Sharpstown Apartments Go Five Days Without Power in the Heat: What Texas Tenants Can Look Into

Houston firefighters treated two people for heat exhaustion on Monday, September 7, 2026 at the Falls of West Point apartments on Parkfront Drive, where roughly a quarter of the complex had been without electricity since Thursday morning. CenterPoint says the failed equipment belongs to the property, not the utility. It was the third Houston complex to lose power in the heat over the holiday weekend. What the Texas Property Code requires a landlord to repair, how the seven-day notice clock works, what Houston’s new air-conditioning ordinance adds, and the options a tenant rights lawyer can review.

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Ukraine TPS and the October 19 Date: What Is Actually Published

The Federal Register notice that extended Temporary Protected Status for Ukraine runs from April 20, 2025 through October 19, 2026, and USCIS alerts to Form I-9 and E-Verify employers on August 14 and September 3 repeated that the designation and related benefits are set to terminate on that date. But the statute also called for the Secretary of Homeland Security to make a determination at least 60 days before expiration — a date that fell on August 20, 2026 — and no determination has been published. Texas is home to Ukrainian communities in Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio, many of whom arrived after the 2022 invasion. Here is what the official documents say, what the statute says about silence, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one person’s situation.

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Brownsville Hit-and-Run on Boca Chica Boulevard: Pedestrian Killed, Driver Arrested

Texas DPS says a 24-year-old Brownsville man kept driving after his Jeep struck and killed a pedestrian on State Highway 4 west of FM 511 just after midnight on September 6, 2026. Troopers found him hours later; he is charged with failure to stop and render aid in a collision involving death, a second-degree felony in Texas. What the charge means, what a family can look into after a hit-and-run death, and why the first weeks matter.

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El Paso Worker Killed by Heavy Machinery on Paseo Del Norte; OSHA Investigating

Ramiro Aaron Sanchez, 36, of West El Paso died September 2, 2026 when heavy machinery fell on him while he was performing maintenance at a job site in the 7200 block of Paseo Del Norte. His employer, Caterpillar dealer Wagner Equipment Co., says it is cooperating with investigators, and OSHA is reviewing the site. What Texas law offers a family after a death at work: workers compensation death benefits, the non-subscriber rule, third-party claims and wrongful death.

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Court Blocks the August 2026 Birthright Citizenship Order: What It Means for Texas Families

On September 2, 2026 a federal judge in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction that bars federal agencies from enforcing Executive Order 14418, the August 6 order that directed the State Department, DHS and the Social Security Administration to stop recognizing the citizenship of certain children born in the United States to non-citizen parents. The injunction protects a certified class of children born after February 19, 2025 whose mother was undocumented or lawfully but temporarily present and whose father was not a citizen or green-card holder. What the order said, what the court did, how it fits with the Supreme Court ruling of June 30, the Texas executive order on birth tourism, the proposed passport rule reported this week, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a Texas family with a newborn.

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New Form I-864 and Sponsor Credit Reports: What Texas Green Card Families Should Know

On August 31, 2026, USCIS published a new edition of Form I-864, Affidavit of Support (edition date 08/24/26), along with new editions of Forms I-864A and I-864EZ, and made them mandatory the same day with no grace period. The older 10/17/24 edition is not accepted if it is postmarked or submitted on or after August 31. The new form also contains a privacy release that authorizes USCIS to request information from consumer reporting agencies about the sponsor, and USCIS has said a credit or security freeze may block that request and cause delays. What changed, who in Texas it reaches, what the agency has and has not said about credit information, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a Texas sponsor or family.

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Texas Opens a TriWest Investigation Over Denied TRICARE Claims — What Military Families Should Know

On September 1, 2026, the Texas Attorney General opened a Deceptive Trade Practices Act investigation into TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the contractor that has run TRICARE’s West Region — which now includes Texas — since January 2025. The complaint pattern: claims denied because TriWest wrongly recorded that a patient had “other health insurance.” TriWest’s own May 19 letter acknowledged the problem. An investigation is not a finding — but a denied TRICARE claim carries a 90-day appeal clock, and the DTPA has deadlines of its own.

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Texas Sheriffs Must Sign ICE 287(g) Agreements by December 1, 2026: What It Means at a Traffic Stop

Senate Bill 8 took effect January 1, 2026 and gives every Texas sheriff who runs a jail until December 1, 2026 to request and enter an ICE 287(g) agreement. ICE data reported this week counts 432 Texas agencies with 514 agreements, 314 of them under the task force model that lets local officers ask about immigration status during routine police work. What the statute says, how the three ICE models differ, the Central Texas case in which a man deported after a window-tint stop was allowed back in August, and what an immigration or criminal defense lawyer can review for a specific stop, arrest, or detention.

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Tropical Storm Edouard: Southeast Texas Disaster Declarations and the Claim Deadlines That Start Now

Edouard came ashore September 1, 2026 with 60 mph winds and more than 20 inches of rain in parts of Hardin and Tyler counties. Jefferson County, Port Arthur, Hardin and Polk counties declared local disasters, tens of thousands lost power, and the state opened its damage-reporting tool. What the official record says as of September 2, who it reaches, the wind, flood and TWIA claim rules that apply, and what an insurance or tenant lawyer can review for a specific home, business, or lease.

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Texas Right to Repair Takes Effect September 1, 2026

House Bill 2963 adds Chapter 121 to the Texas Business and Commerce Code on September 1, 2026. Makers of covered consumer electronics must make documentation, replacement parts and tools available to owners and independent repair shops on fair and reasonable terms. The chapter reaches only equipment first offered for sale in Texas on or after that date, carries thirteen categories of exemptions, and says the Attorney General is the only one who can enforce it. What the enrolled bill says, and what a consumer protection or business lawyer can review.

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A U.S. Citizen Deported After a Texas Traffic Stop Is Back in the Country

On April 3, 2026, a Texas DPS trooper stopped a pickup near Fredericksburg for a window tint violation. A passenger, Brian Jose Morales Garcia, said he was born in Denver and had his birth certificate at home in Austin. Officers called ICE anyway, and he was removed to Mexico on April 7. On August 30, 2026, after his lawyers filed additional records in a federal lawsuit, the government allowed him back into the country while the case continues. Homeland Security has disputed his account throughout. Here is what the record shows, what a federal watchdog has counted, and the kinds of claims an immigration or civil rights lawyer reviews.

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Asylum interview reschedules now require “exceptional circumstances”

Three USCIS processing alerts took effect on August 21, 2026 for people with an affirmative asylum application pending. A reschedule request now has to establish exceptional circumstances rather than good cause; the Failure to Appear Warning notice is no longer issued; a reschedule request after a missed interview or missed biometrics appointment is due within 10 calendar days; and supporting evidence is due at the asylum office at least 14 calendar days before the interview. All of those windows are counted in calendar days, not business days. Here is what the agency published and what an immigration lawyer can review for one person in Texas.

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DV-2026 Diversity Visa Year Ends September 30 — What It Means in Texas

The State Department’s September 2026 Visa Bulletin states that the year of entitlement for everyone registered for the DV-2026 program ends September 30, 2026, that no diversity visas may be issued after that date, and that availability through the end of the fiscal year cannot be taken for granted. Separately, the Department paused all diversity visa issuance in December 2025, and on August 25, 2026 a federal judge in Washington held that pause and a related USCIS processing pause unlawful — but limited the relief to the named plaintiffs. Texas is home to established communities from many DV-eligible countries, and the people most involved here are often the relatives, employers and neighbors helping with documents and fees. Here is what the official documents say, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a specific case.

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Texas Approved Two 765-kV Transmission Lines Across 30-Plus Counties

On August 28, 2026, the Public Utility Commission of Texas voted unanimously to approve two 765-kilovolt transmission lines running southwest from Bosque County and northwest from San Antonio into the Permian Basin, across at least 30 counties. Hundreds of landowners had protested. Here is what the approval does and does not decide, what the Texas Landowner Bill of Rights and Chapter 21 of the Property Code say about easements and condemnation, and what a real estate or administrative lawyer can review for a specific tract.

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Court order blocks the USCIS adjudication holds for a certified class

On August 28, 2026, USCIS posted an alert describing an August 24, 2026 order from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Edlow. According to the agency, the court certified a class and enjoined Policy Memoranda PM-602-0192 and PM-602-0194, the memoranda that placed pending asylum and other benefit applications on hold, and ordered USCIS to adjudicate applications in the normal course. USCIS states that it strongly disagrees with the order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review. Here is what the agency published, the chronology behind it, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one specific person in Texas.

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New Form I-589 edition required starting August 28 — older editions rejected

USCIS published a new edition of Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, dated 07/28/26. Starting August 28, 2026, USCIS accepts only that edition; until today the 01/20/25 edition was also accepted. The consequence is not just an inconvenience. Under 8 CFR 208.4, an asylum application counts as filed on the date USCIS receives it, and asylum has a one-year filing deadline. This walks through what the agency published, what the regulation says about rejected and refiled applications, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one specific person in Texas.

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July Texas Floods: FEMA Individual Aid Still Pending

Flooding that began July 12, 2026 damaged homes, roads and bridges across a stretch of Texas from the San Antonio area to the Mexico border. An emergency declaration was approved on July 18 and covers 28 counties, but it is the narrower of the two federal instruments. Texas has asked that 30 counties be made eligible for FEMA Individual Assistance, and as of August 28, 2026 that request is still pending. Here is the difference between the two declarations, why no household application exists yet, and which insurance and Texas statutory deadlines are running in the meantime.

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El Salvador TPS and the September 9 Date: What Is Actually Published

The Federal Register notice that extended Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador runs from March 10, 2025 through September 9, 2026, and a USCIS alert to E-Verify employers on August 12 repeated that the designation and related benefits are set to terminate on that date. But the statute also required the Secretary of Homeland Security to make and publish a determination at least 60 days before expiration — a deadline that fell on July 11, 2026 — and no such determination has been published. Salvadorans are the longest-tenured TPS population in the country, and Texas holds one of the largest shares of it. Here is what the official documents say, what the statute says about silence, and what an immigration lawyer can review for one person’s situation.

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Proposed $103,265 H-1B Cap Fee — and the Filings It Would Not Touch

On August 25, 2026 the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule at 91 FR 54817 that would add a $103,265 fee, payable at filing, to every H-1B cap-subject petition, including advanced-degree quota cases, on top of every other fee. DHS arrived at the figure by dividing roughly $8.78 billion in identified interagency costs by 85,000 projected cap-subject petitions. Three things are as important as the number itself: the rule is a proposal and is not in effect; it would not reach cap-exempt petitions filed by universities and nonprofit or governmental research organizations; and it would not reach petitions to extend or amend existing H-1B status or to move to a different employer. Texas has one of the largest H-1B workforces in the country. What the notice says, who it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a specific situation.

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Ross Fire FEMA Grant: What It Pays For, and What It Does Not

The Ross Fire has burned more than 50,000 acres across Palo Pinto and Jack counties, forced the overnight evacuation of roughly 630 homes, destroyed structures including buildings at the Worth Ranch scouting camp, and closed U.S. 180. FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant on August 25, 2026. That grant reimburses the state for 75 percent of eligible firefighting costs. It is not a payment to homeowners, renters or ranchers, and the two are commonly confused. Here is what the grant covers, where private losses are handled instead, and what the Texas Insurance Code and Property Code say about the deadlines that follow.

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Meta to Pay Texas Over $1 Billion — What It Means for Families

The Texas Attorney General announced on August 26, 2026 that Meta Platforms will pay the State of Texas more than $1 billion and change how Facebook and Instagram work for teenagers: stricter age-assurance, a default two-hour daily limit for teen users, notifications off by default during school hours, likes and reactions hidden by default, and a nighttime access mode. One fact gets lost in the headlines. The money goes to the State and to state-run programs, not to individual families, and the announcement does not describe a claims process for consumers. Here is what the state published, what changes on the platforms, and what a Texas lawyer can review.

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Court Strikes Down the 75-Country Immigrant Visa Pause — What It Changes in Texas

On August 21, 2026, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York held that the State Department policy pausing immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries was contrary to law and exceeded the Secretary of State’s authority. The court vacated the policy and set aside visa refusals that rested on it alone. The list of 75 countries includes Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, Nepal, Nigeria and Pakistan — countries with long-established communities across Texas. Two things are worth separating: what the court ordered, and what has actually been published since. As of this writing the State Department page describing the pause still carries a February 2, 2026 update date, and the government has the ability to appeal.

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New Work Permit Form Edition Starts September 15 — No Grace Period

USCIS says it will publish revised editions of Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, on September 15, 2026, and that there is no grace period for the older editions. A Form I-765 postmarked or e-filed on or after that date using the 08/21/25 edition will be rejected; before that date, only the 08/21/25 edition is accepted. Form I-765 is one of the most widely filed applications at USCIS — adjustment of status applicants, DACA recipients, asylum applicants, TPS holders, certain spouses, F-1 OPT students and J-2 dependents all use it. What the alert says, what a rejection can mean for work authorization, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a specific case.

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Proposed N-400 Fee Increase — Citizenship Filing Fee Would Rise to $1,330

A Department of Homeland Security proposed rule published at 91 FR 37500 on June 23, 2026 would raise the Form N-400 naturalization filing fee from $760 to $1,330 for paper filings and from $710 to $1,280 online, raise the Form N-336 appeal fee to $1,475, end the $380 reduced fee for lower-income applicants, and end fee waiver eligibility for both forms. Military applicants under INA sections 328 and 329 would stay exempt. This is a proposal, not a final rule: the written comment period runs through August 24, 2026, and the current fees and fee-relief options remain in place unless and until a final rule takes effect. What the proposal says, who in Texas it reaches, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a specific case.

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Duration of Status Ends September 15 — What Changes for International Students in Texas

A DHS final rule published at 91 FR 44976 takes effect September 15, 2026. F and J nonimmigrants will be admitted for the length of their program and no more than four years instead of open-ended duration of status, the F-1 departure window drops from 60 days to 30, and anyone needing more time files Form I-539 with USCIS. A coalition led by NAFSA filed suit and asked a federal court to block the rule on August 18. Texas is the third-largest host state for international students. What the rule says, what is still unsettled, and what an immigration lawyer can review for a specific case.

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