USCIS News Release: Major USCIS policy change means do visa application right the first time or risk denial and deportation!
USCIS Updates Policy Guidance for Certain Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny
Release Date: July 13, 2018
Navigating the complex immigration laws to obtain legal status in this country has never been an easy task. The Trump administration has just made it harder and increased the chance that you will be penalized if your filings are not correct when you first submit it. Starting September 11, 2018, USCIS will be following new policy guidance that instructs the agency to deny visa applications without giving the applicant a change to submit additional evidence to establish eligibility. This means that if you do not submit everything that you need initially, you will not have a chance to fix your mistakes and your application will be denied. You will have to re-file in order to obtain the benefit sought, or even worse, you will be placed in Removal/ Deportation Proceedings, pursuant to other recently-released policy changes that instructs immigration officers to issue Notices to Appear (NTA) in Immigration Court to anyone whose application is denied and who is unlawfully present in the United States (this includes both individuals who entered the country illegally and individuals who are out of status, such as those who overstayed their visa).
Since 2013, USCIS policy guidance instructed adjudicators to issue Requests for Evidence (RFE) or Notices of Intent to Deny (NOID) when an application or petition for an immigration benefit was submitted without all of the required evidence. This gave applicants an opportunity to submit additional evidence (within a certain time period) to establish eligibility before the application was denied. Applicants who failed to respond to the RFE or NOID in the given time period, or whose response still failed to establish eligibility, had their applications denied.
Starting September 11, 2018, if all initial required evidence is not submitted with the benefit request, USCIS may deny your request without issuing a RFE or NOID. Examples of these denials given by USCIS in the press release include, waiver of inadmissiblity applications submitted with little or no supporting evidence and failing to submit a properly completed Form I-864, Affidavit of Support with a Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status, when it is required by law. Previously it was standard to issue RFEs in these cases, now the applications will simply be denied.
The experienced immigration attorneys at The Shapiro Law Firm have helped countless clients successfully respond to RFEs and NOIDs, preventing them from the delay and expense that comes with re-filing immigration applications. We have also prevented clients from being placed in removal/ deportation proceedings who would otherwise have been.
Although we have always recommended contacting us to assist you with your initial filing, rather than waiting to find out you did something wrong, it is now CRUCIAL that you contact us before filing, especially if you are in the country illegally or are out of status. You may not be given a second chance to correct your mistake and/ or establish eligiblity. Instead, you may find yourself in Immigration Court, facing possible deportation.
Hiring an experienced immigration attorney to assist you from the beginning of your immigration process has always been the key to preventing unnecessary delay and cost. We always make sure that our clients' filings are correct and complete before mailing them off to USCIS. But now, failing to submit all of the required evidence up front can mean not just denial, but possible deportation.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE! Contact us today to get help with your immigration filings so that you can rest easy knowing that your immigration filing is correct and complete!
Questions about filing for an immigration benefit? Click here to contact an experienced immigration attorney at The Shapiro Law Firm, LLC today.
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