On June 9, 2021, in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order 14012 on restoring faith in our legal immigration system, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released significant policy revisions in an effort to “eliminate unnecessary barriers to our nation’s legal immigration system and reduce burdens on noncitizens who may be eligible for immigration benefits,” said Acting USCIS Director Tracy Renaud.
The new policy guidance updates the USCIS Policy Manual to “clarify the criteria and circumstances for expedited processing; improve request for evidence (RFE) and notice of intent to deny (NOID) guidance; and increase the validity period for initial and renewal employment authorization documents (EADs) for certain noncitizens with pending adjustment of status applications.”
Clarification of Expedite Criteria
USCIS considers expedite requests by benefit requestors on a case-by-case basis. There is updated criteria under the new policy that sheds further guidance on under which circumstances expedited processing may be warranted. Expedited processing is reserved for special situations that USCIS considers for immigration beneficiaries who urgently need their petition or application adjudicated by the Service on a case-by-case basis. In its new guidance, USCIS clarified the criteria for when an employment based case may be granted expedited treatment due to severe economic loss stating specifically that “a company can demonstrate that it would suffer a severe financial loss if it is at risk of failing, losing a critical contract, or required to lay off other employees.” For an individual, “job loss may be sufficient to establish severe financial loss for a person, depending on the individual circumstances.” Organizations designated by the Internal Revenue Service as non-profit, “whose request is in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States” may request that a benefit be considered for expedited processing, even if premium processing is available for that benefit.
Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny
USCIS has moved to replace a 2018 USCIS policy that permitted officers to deny immigration benefits outright for lack of initial evidence with the reinstatement of a 2013 policy which instructed officers to issue Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs), instead of outright denials, in cases initially filed with insufficient evidence. The reinstatement of the 2013 policy affords petitioners and beneficiaries the opportunity to “correct innocent mistakes and unintentional omissions. In general, a USCIS officer will issue an RFE or NOID when the officer determines additional information or explanation may potentially establish eligibility for an immigration benefit.”
Two-year Employment Authorization Documents for Most Adjustment of Status Applicants
In an effort to remedy the current backlog of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), which hold a validity period of one year, USCIS will now permit EADs for “applicants seeking adjustment of status under Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)” to be issued for a maximum of two years, an increase from the standard one year of validity. Because the extension applies to all applicants applying for adjustment under Section 245 of the INA, employment-based and family-based adjustment applicants are included under the new policy.
We are seeing many welcomed changes throughout the US immigration system by the Biden Administration. This new policy manual further cements the administration’s commitment to our nation’s immigration policies and the fact that “USCIS is committed to promoting policies and procedures that ensure we operate in a fair, efficient, and humane manner that reflects America’s heritage as a land of opportunity for those who seek it.” as Acting USCIS Director Tracy Renaud noted.