USCIS Updates Policy Guidance for Certain Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny(merged)

[Ontarkie 14,228]

~~Related threads merged, Topic Title Edited to reflect the actual new article~~

[RLA 323]

Visas should not be affected, for two reasons:

1. Visas applications are decided by consulates, who belong to the Department of State.  USCIS rules do not apply to them. 
2. Visas are permits to enter the US.  That means that visa applicants will typically be outside the US until they get the visa.  It would be silly to send NTAs to people outside of the US.

[Villanelle 4,122]

3 hours ago, bashray said:

 

 

Besides other obvious reasons (fraud, frivolous filing, incomplete application etc) I suspect that adjudicators who happened to have a bias against immigration will now have more unchecked free hand to do whatever they want and issues denial just for the heck of it. I am feeling bad for the people who will suffer the consequences of these biases from these adjudicators. At purely human level, this memo is very very dangerous to the people whose lives are about to get ruined. 

 

 

Are you serious? You believe adjudicators will deny "just for the heck of it" ?? If theres a reason to deny then theres a reason to deny it. If theres not- theres not.

[JC&BS 75]

4 hours ago, missileman said:

"

• Waiver applications submitted with  little to no supporting evidence; or
• Cases where the regulations, the statute, or form instructions require the submission of an official document or other form of evidence establishing eligibility at the time of filing and there is no such submission. For example, an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864), if required, was not submitted with an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485).

This is what is targeted......BASIC filing requirements!!

... but if its lost due to an error at USCIS???

[RLA 323]

1 hour ago, Damara said:

Are you serious? You believe adjudicators will deny "just for the heck of it" ?? 

USCIS employees are humans.  They're just as likely to be prejudiced or to have a bad day as the rest of us.  And they're susceptible to be influenced by their bosses' political leanings.  

 

Personally I don't think that the new policy is meant to increase the rejection rate.  It's meant to streamline the process and to reduce the workload for USCIS.  However, this streamlining does remove some of the protections for applicants.  It's almost inevitable that the latest policy changes (RFE+NTA) will lead to more people being deported who would actually be eligible for immigration benefits.  So I can understand if some people don't like the new rules.  

[jmmc 0]

43 minutes ago, RLA said:

USCIS employees are humans.  They're just as likely to be prejudiced or to have a bad day as the rest of us.  And they're susceptible to be influenced by their bosses' political leanings.  

 

Personally I don't think that the new policy is meant to increase the rejection rate.  It's meant to streamline the process and to reduce the workload for USCIS.  However, this streamlining does remove some of the protections for applicants.  It's almost inevitable that the latest policy changes (RFE+NTA) will lead to more people being deported who would actually be eligible for immigration benefits.  So I can understand if some people don't like the new rules.  

This, especially the part where RLA mentions the possibility of deporting people with real claims to the immigration benefits they are applying to, yes, it is unlikely, yes it is speculation but the facts are:

 

• USCIS employees are humans, humans have biases, emotions, moods and other factors that can affect decision making
• USCIS has in the past lost documents while processing applications
• Some people might not have the resources to fight through court and then pay the same fees to reapply
• Whether or not the intention of this memo was to make the legal immigration process harder, good people with solid cases WILL fall through the cracks

Regardless of your political views, most of you went through the process or had your loved ones through it. Please look back and remember what it felt to have so much about your life (or your loved one's life) depending on this processes going smoothly. I can only speak for myself, some nights I wonder, even though I have been married to my USC wife for more than 2 years, spent 20+ hours reading through everything I could find while preparing my application. What if I have to leave and not be able to live here with my wife.

 

-M

 

 

[Going through 5,671]

 This part I wholeheartedly agree with:

 

If all required initial evidence is not submitted with the benefit request, USCIS, in its discretion, may deny the benefit request for failure to establish eligibility based on lack of required initial evidence. Examples of filings that may be denied without sending an RFE or NOID include, but are not limited to:     

• Waiver applications submitted with  little to no supporting evidence; or
• Cases where the regulations, the statute, or form instructions require the submission of an official document or other form of evidence establishing eligibility at the time of filing and there is no such submission. For example, an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864), if required, was not submitted with an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485).

 

On the plus side, will potentially (hopefully) speed up things with USCIS in processing applications all-around.

 

On the down side, what would be the outcome if initial documentation/evidence is lost by USCIS themselves (which does happen on occasion) after the applicant did send it in, and then results in a denial without an RFE sent first?  An applicant can prove delivery....but how to prove what's exactly inside the envelope at the time it was sent?

 

I also predict in the future that there will be less opportunity for appealing a decision for other types of applications/reasons for denial, than what we have now.

[sarahandyunus 133]

This is worrisome considering USCIS's track record for misplacing documents / issuing RFEs for information that was already supplied. Seems that now they can lose paperwork and just deny on the basis that it's "not there" rather than issue an RFE for it....

[Triple28 65]

The plus side as USCIS noted that they will speed up the processing for eligible cases.

 

The downside are:

- Your application will be denided due to missing evidence because of USCIS employee's fault. And you cannot prove it.

There was one F4 family had to submit their documents to NVC 3 times before they can get a completed status.

Because the NVC employee kept noted that their support documents were missing, although they submitted all of them.

 

- People will be panicked and they will have to ask lawyers's help in preparing documents, so the lawyers will be busy (instead of USCIS employee) and of course they will have more money.

 

 

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

My my how did I miss this thread... 

[nowayout203 62]

Also, given USCIS processing times lately for I-485... it's likely that your petition/application will sit for the same (or maybe slightly less) amount of time, by which point you're in "authorized stay" pending the I-485 adjudication. If USCIS happened to lose your paperwork and blamed it on you by denying the application due to missing evidence, your "authorized stay" goes out the window and you would immediately be issued a NTA based on the new policy (since you would no longer be in legal status after your I-485 denial).

 

Also, a NTA would essentially prevent you from doing two things:

- Authorized employment (your EAD, if you have one, would no longer be valid)

- Leaving the country, unless you wanted to incur a re-entry ban for failing to appear before an immigration judge based on your NTA

 

Oh, and by the way, if you stay in the US to contest your NTA, you're also accruing unlawful presence in the process. If things are decided in your favor, then it doesn't count; otherwise, remember that unlawful presence days would also lead to a re-entry ban.

Edited July 17, 2018 by nowayout203

[azblk 338]

11 hours ago, nowayout203 said:

Also, given USCIS processing times lately for I-485... it's likely that your petition/application will sit for the same (or maybe slightly less) amount of time, by which point you're in "authorized stay" pending the I-485 adjudication. If USCIS happened to lose your paperwork and blamed it on you by denying the application due to missing evidence, your "authorized stay" goes out the window and you would immediately be issued a NTA based on the new policy (since you would no longer be in legal status after your I-485 denial).

 

Also, a NTA would essentially prevent you from doing two things:

- Authorized employment (your EAD, if you have one, would no longer be valid)

- Leaving the country, unless you wanted to incur a re-entry ban for failing to appear before an immigration judge based on your NTA

 

Oh, and by the way, if you stay in the US to contest your NTA, you're also accruing unlawful presence in the process. If things are decided in your favor, then it doesn't count; otherwise, remember that unlawful presence days would also lead to a re-entry ban.

The are way too many "unintended" consequences  of these two policies that I find it very hard to believe that the USCIS/TRUMP/SESSIONs have not issued deliberately to make AOS a scary adventure. Their mission statement should be decrease the number of legal immigrants to this country by half or die trying. Sessions has been anti immigrant since the times of Bush 43 and he has had a lot of time to think of how he reduced it if he ever got a chance and now here he is.

[Zumbadaddy 57]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/16/politics/visa-policy-changes/index.html

[hyfwangsta 0]

this is terrible news! we just filed our i-130....

[Loren Y 2,755]

Old news. Was announced by uscis late last month.