USCIS Expands In-Person Interview Requirements for Adjustment of Status Applications for Employment and Refugee/Asylee Relative Petitions

By Roujin Mozaffarimehr

On August 28, 2017, The USCIS announced that in-person interviews will now be required for applicants with adjustment of status applications based on employment (I-140 petitions), as well as Refugee/asylee relative petitions (I-730 petitions). This new requirement will be phased in at the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2017.

This new requirement is being implemented to comply with Executive Order 13780, “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States. The USCIS has confirmed in its announcement that this is part of the agency’s “comprehensive strategy to further improve the detection and prevention of fraud and to further enhance the integrity of the immigration system.”

It is expected that these in-person interviews will allow officers to verify the information in the adjustment of status application and to confirm the credibility of the applicant, and that these goals will be achieved through “enhancements in training and technology as well as transitions in some aspects of case management.” The USCIS notes that this requirement may be expanded to other adjustment categories in the near future.

We will be monitoring the details of the interview process closely so that we can effectively prepare our clients for these interviews accordingly.