Employment-based green card applicants will be subject to mandatory in-person interviews

Beginning Oct. 1, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will require employment-based visa holders who are applying for lawful permanent residence to attend an in-person interview. Under current policy, such interviews are generally waived.

Key points:

• After the policy takes effect Oct. 1, USCIS will phase in its implementation, although no timeline has been set. Ultimately, all employment-based adjustment-of-status (green card) applicants will be required to attend an in-person interview.
• USCIS has not issued any information about staffing, but applicants should expect additional delays in the green card process.
• According to a USCIS announcement, officers will seek to verify information provided in the application, discover new information and assess the credibility of applicants during the interviews.

Background: The policy change is part of President Donald Trump’s extreme vetting policies as announced in the revised travel ban Executive Order (“Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”).

BAL Analysis: Employment-based green card applicants should anticipate that they will be required to attend an in-person interview with a USCIS officer. They should also expect delays as the agency’s workload is adjusted to handle a greater number of the mandatory interviews.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact BerryApplemanLeiden@bal.com.

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