Robin Catmur-Smith

Managing Director of the International Student Resource Center

Robin Catmur-Smith is Managing Director of the International Student Resource Center at the Talent Mobility Fund, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting international students and scholars in the U.S. She brings over 30 years of experience in academic immigration services, most recently as Director of Immigration Services at the University of Georgia, where she led a team of nine and oversaw visa advising and sponsorship for thousands of international students, scholars, and faculty. Prior to UGA, she served as Director of the Office of Visa and Immigration Services at Dartmouth College. A recognized leader in the field, Robin has received NAFSA’s National Award of Excellence, has presented, trained, and chaired sessions at national and regional conferences for decades, and has served as a mentor to many colleagues in the field. She has contributed to NAFSA and AILA publications and served on the SHRM Advisory Board for the Council for Global Immigration. She holds an M.A. in Liberal Studies with a focus on Globalization Studies from Dartmouth College and a B.S. in International Development from UC Davis.

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U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries starting January 21, 2026

The New York Times reports that a lawsuit has been filed against the U.S. Department of State seeking to block the immigrant visa ban.
USCIS Increase to Premium Processing Fees

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services USCIS will publish a final rule in the Federal Register that will be effective March 1, 2026.
USCIS Policy Memo – USCIS pauses benefit applications for individuals from 39 countries listed in Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10998 and re-reviews approvals since Jan. 20, 2021

USCIS Policy Memo – USCIS pauses benefit applications for individuals from 39 countries listed in Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10998 and re-reviews approvals since Jan. 20, 2021
Weighted Selection Process for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions – Update

USCIS published the final rule – subjecting all cap-subject H-1B petitions to a new weighted selection process on 29 December, 2025. The rule will be effective on February 27, 2026.
Expansion of Travel Restricted Countries

In June 2025, the Trump Administration imposed full travel restrictions on citizens from 12 countries under Presidential Proclamation 10949.
Presidential Proclamation regarding a new $100,000 fee for some H-1B petitions

A coalition of Attorneys General (AG) from 20 states have filed a lawsuit challenging the new $100,000 H-1B fee.
U.S. State Dept. Announces Increased Social Media Vetting for H-1B and H-4 visa Applicants

The U.S. State Dept. announced increased scrutiny of social media accounts held by H-1B and H-4 visa applicants as of December 15, 2025. Similar to the current requirement for F-1 and J-1…
USCIS Policy Memo – Halting all asylum applications, pausing pending benefit applications, and re-reviewing approvals for the 19 countries listed in Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10949

Presidential Proclamation 10949 was issued on June 4th, 2025. Entitled, “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats”,…
The Hill article: The Importance of International Students to the U.S.

Increasingly, the U.S. is realizing the importance of international students and scholars to our colleges, universities and institutions, our communities, our economy, and our stature in the world.
Proposed rule to eliminate ‘‘D/S” (Duration of Status)

Final publication date for the D/S rule is still unknown, but given that DHS stated in its Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that the final rule will be published at least…