Since last January, many immigration policy and regulation changes have taken effect.    In general, scrutiny has greatly increased, policy application is much less flexible, and significant changes continue to take place with little to no warning.

Good examples are these three recent developments:  

• US Consulates are alerting some visa holders by email that their visa has been revoked and they must apply for a new one
• USCIS is reviewing some past approvals in green card, visa, and naturalization cases.
• Both agencies are actively reviewing the records and actions of noncitizens in a temporary status. Any infraction, even without conviction, may trigger loss of status. 

Those potentially affected should be  alert for any communication from a government agency or any update to their USCIS account.   In addition, any foreign national in the U.S. who has any interaction whatsoever with law enforcement should seek immigration legal advice to understand the potential impact on any subsequent filing or application.

This follows on a year of similar actions.  Last August 19, the government issued new Good Moral Character policy in the naturalization context, placing new emphasis on applicants’ “positive attributes and contributions” in case adjudication. Three days later, there was a very significant follow-up: the implementation of neighborhood investigations to cover the vicinity of an applicant’s place of residence and employment for at least the 5-year period prior to filing the application.  There is also higher scrutiny in marriage-based cases, with an increase in the so-called “Stokes interviews”: each spouse is questioned separately, and their answers are compared for consistency.  More broadly still,  noncitizens with even slight unresolved issues in their records face a significant risk of ICE arrest at their I-130 interviews.  These practices are more prevalent in some parts of the country than others but may be unexpectedly implemented anywhere at any time. 

On the employment-based side, adjustment of status interview waivers are being cancelled and replaced with in-person interviews at field offices, so that every beneficiary must now be fully prepared for questioning.  Even in paper-based I-140 adjudications,  we have seen a  sharply increased level of Requests  for Evidence that seem to indicate new and inexperienced officers.  This leads to delayed decisions and sometimes to unwarranted denials.  

Under the circumstances, immigration lawyers, including our office, continually check for new policy memos.  However, it is unclear what the government’s policy is in communicating with attorneys of record and sometimes changes are not announced in a timely way – or at all.    We advise petitioners, beneficiaries, and applicants in immigration cases to check all their relevant records and emails, and to maintain close communication with their attorneys, so they are not caught by surprise to their detriment.