A policy alert is USCIS guidance to its own officers, not a regulation. It governs how USCIS adjudicates, and it can be revised or withdrawn without rulemaking.
What the document says
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding certain eligibility requirements, including filing, petitions for classification, and change of status relating to the “TN” nonimmigrant visa classification under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), formerly known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Who the document names
The document does not name specific countries or visa categories in its scope language. Read the original to confirm whether it applies to a particular case.
Related changes
Final ruleStated effective date Feb 26, 2026
To implement the Presidential Memorandum of January 24, 2025, reinstating the Mexico City Policy in support of the foreign policy objective of the United States not to support abortion as a method of family planning overseas directly or indirectly, the U.S. Department of State (Department) is adding a new award term for grants, cooperative agreements, and voluntary contributions entitled "Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance." The award term imposes certain abortion-related requirements on foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), United States NGOs, public international organizations, foreign governments, and parastatals. The award term is issued consistent with authorities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA) and other foreign assistance authorities, such as the FREEDOM Support Act, the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, and the SEED Act of 1989, which authorize the Department to provide foreign assistance on such terms and conditions as the President, and by delegation, the Secretary of State, may determine. Consistent with past Mexico City Policy protocol, the provision will be incorporated as applicable into grants and cooperative agreements when new funds are added as well as into new awards.
Federal Register ↗Changes requirements Final ruleStated effective date Feb 26, 2026
To implement the foreign policy objective of the United States not to support the promotion of gender ideology overseas, the U.S. Department of State (Department) is adding a new award term for grants, cooperative agreements, and voluntary contributions entitled "Combating Gender Ideology in Foreign Assistance." The award term imposes certain requirements relating to gender ideology on foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), United States NGOs, international organizations, foreign governments, and parastatals. The award term is issued consistent with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA) and other foreign assistance authorities such as the FREEDOM Support Act, the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, and the SEED Act of 1989, which authorize the Department to provide foreign assistance on such terms and conditions as the President, and by delegation, the Secretary of State, may determine. Consistent with past Mexico City Policy protocol, the provision will be incorporated as applicable into grants and cooperative agreements when new funds are added as well as into new awards.
Federal Register ↗Changes requirements Want changes like this in one place? Follow the visas, countries and agencies it names.
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- Source
- USCIS Policy Manual, checked Aug 2, 2026
- Review
- Classified automatically; not reviewed by a person
- The updates page does not publish an effective date. Where the guidance states one, it is in the linked document. This event does not assert an effective date it cannot cite.
- Affected Policy Manual sections, as listed by USCIS: 2 USCIS-PM P (Nonimmigrants).
Built from the linked government document by published rules, not by a language model. Information about a published document, not legal advice about anyone’s case. Methodology · Permalink