Melany Savitt

Fifteen Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 18 practice groups have been named to The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 Ones to Watch directory. Best Lawyers Ones to Watch is a peer-review honor roll that acknowledges the professional excellence of attorneys who have been in private practice for less than 10 years.

Chambers USA has recognized 28 Tonkon Torp attorneys in eight practice areas in its 2025 Guide. Chambers USA is the world’s leading legal data and analytics provider, highlighting the top lawyers and law firms across the USA for over two decades.

Chambers USA has recognized 28 Tonkon Torp attorneys in eight practice areas in its 2024 Guide.

Tonkon Torp business immigration attorney Melany Savitt was a featured speaker at the American Immigration Lawyer Association’s (AILA) annual national conference in Orlando, Florida. Melany and her co-presenters guided an audience of immigration professionals through the new PERM Labor Certification application form.

Tonkon Torp Business Immigration partners Alan Perkins and Melany Savitt hosted a roundtable briefing on Form I-9.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that H-1B registrations for the FY2027 cap season will open at noon Eastern on March 4, 2026, and will run through noon Eastern on March 19, 2026. The USCIS filing fee remains the same as last year, $215 per registration. Selection notifications from USCIS should come through by March 31, 2026.

Effective January 21, 2026, the Department of State (DOS) will indefinitely “pause” immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries. The administration claims the pause is necessary because applicants from these countries are more likely to rely on U.S. public benefits.

On December 2, 2025 and January 1, 2026, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published Policy Memoranda announcing a pause in processing immigration benefits for individuals from 39 “travel ban” countries outlined in the Presidential Proclamations from June and December 2025. The pause applies to, but is not limited to, benefits applications pending review with USCIS for adjustment of status, extension of nonimmigrant stay, and change of nonimmigrant status.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published its final rule implementing a weighted selection process for the H-1B lottery. The final rule will go into effect February 27, 2026, in time for the FY 2027 H-1B lottery and is unchanged from the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). While DHS acknowledged concerns raised by commenters—particularly about impacts on entry-level workers, small businesses, and nonprofit employers—it concluded that the proposed approach was appropriate and within its statutory authority.

By Alan Perkins and Melany Savitt – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an interim final rule (IFR) without notice and comment that eliminates certain automatic extensions of employment authorization, effective October 30, 2025. Previously, timely filed extensions of certain Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applications received an automatic 540-day extension to minimize gaps in authorized employment while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services adjudicated these applications, which can take more than six months to process.