Quiz: Can You Keep Up With the Changing U.S. Immigration System?

September 28, 2026

The U.S. immigration system is often talked about as an orderly line that people can easily join and move forward in with time. That’s far from the case. In reality, it’s more like a complex web of narrow and frequently changing pathways.

Since January 2025, the federal administration has made sweeping changes to each of these pathways.

Do you know the many ways our immigration system has changed under the second Trump administration? Test your knowledge with our quiz.

1 / 8

Family-based immigration, through which a family member abroad is able to join a member already lawfully in the U.S., is the most common pathway to permanent residence in the United States. What recent major change has affected many families seeking reunification?

Visa processing is being accelerated to reduce backlogs

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens no longer have to complete interviews

Travel bans have restricted visa eligibility for millions of people seeking to join family members in the United States

A cap has been placed on the number of families that can be reunited each year

2 / 8

Many U.S. employers rely on employment-based visas to fill critical positions. How has the process of hiring foreign-born workers recently changed?

Visa fees were reduced to help employers fill workforce shortages

The annual cap on work visas was raised dramatically to meet labor needs

Employers were required to pay significantly higher wages before sponsoring foreign workers

New fees, vetting requirements, and administrative restrictions have made hiring all foreign workers more difficult

3 / 8

Our reputation for having some of the world's best universities, particularly here in New England, attracts ambitious students and researchers from around the globe who help drive innovation and strengthen our economy. What recent change has been made to the student visa application process?

Students seeking degrees in certain sensitive scientific or technical fields (such as A.I., aeronautics or biotechnology) became subject to additional restrictions and screening requirements

All students faced expanded online screening and new restrictions on how long they may remain, transfer schools, or change academic programs

Graduates became eligible for longer periods of work authorization

Student visa processing became faster and less expensive

4 / 8

The Diversity Visa Program is a lottery that provides opportunities for about 50,000 people each year from countries with historically low immigration to the United States to apply for visas. It counterbalances exclusionary immigration policies from our nation’s past and helps further diversify our population. What change has been made to the program?

The number of available visas has increased

The program has been suspended

Winners now receive expedited visa processing

The program has converted into a “points based” system, in which preference is given to applicants based on factors like education levels, English proficiency, age and special skills

5 / 8

Humanitarian parole has provided a legal way for people fleeing war, political instability, humanitarian crises, and other urgent dangers to enter the U.S. temporarily when no other immigration option was available. Programs such as Uniting for Ukraine and the CHNV program for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have allowed hundreds of thousands of people at risk to enter the country legally. What recent change affected this pathway?

The CHNV parole program was terminated and other humanitarian parole pathways, including Uniting for Ukraine, were suspended or restricted

The CHNV program was terminated, but Uniting for Ukraine was preserved and expanded

Humanitarian parole was expanded in response to escalating crises in Sudan and Burma

Participants in humanitarian parole programs automatically became eligible to apply for greencards

6 / 8

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) allows people from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions to live and work legally in the U.S. while their countries of origin remain unsafe. In January 2025, 17 countries had TPS designations. What has happened since then?

TPS was terminated for some countries but extended for others following reviews of current country conditions and consultations with U.S. agencies

The Trump administration moved to end TPS for almost all recipients

Many TPS holders were given a pathway to citizenship

TPS was converted into a renewable visa program with stricter eligibility requirements

7 / 8

Since its creation in 1980, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has provided a legal pathway to safety for millions of people fleeing persecution, conflict, and violence. Refugees undergo years of security screening, background checks, medical examinations, and interviews before being approved to enter the U.S. What changes were made to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in January 2025?

Refugee admissions were expanded in response to growing global displacement

Refugees who had already completed security screening were allowed to come to the U.S., but new refugee applications were paused

Refugees became eligible for immediate U.S. citizenship

Refugee admissions were suspended, preventing more than 100,000 refugees who were already approved for resettlement from coming to the U.S.

8 / 8

While refugees apply for protection from outside the U.S., asylum is intended for people who have already fled their homes and reached the U.S. For decades, U.S. law has allowed people who fear persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group to seek asylum here. What recent development has affected this pathway?

Asylum seekers can now be turned away at the border, claims can be rejected without an assessment of their claim or a hearing, and courts have been restructured to accelerate denials and deportations

New immigration courts were opened to reduce asylum backlogs

Applicants received guaranteed access to legal counsel

Asylum seekers were required to provide additional evidence at the beginning of the process before their claims could move forward