On August 28, 2017, Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon expand in-person interview requirements for certain individuals seeking adjustment of immigration status [link].1
According to the report, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that beginning October 1, 2017, those seeking adjustment of status in the employment-based preference categories will be required to undergo in-person interviews. The in-person interview requirement will also apply for all Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petitions.2 The new policies appear to stem from President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13780, which in addition to including the so-called “travel ban” also provided for the uniform baseline of screening of those seeking immigration benefits in the United States [see article].
The Washington Times report quotes the Acting Director of USCIS, James W. McCament, as stating that “[p]art of our USCIS strategy to support this uniform baseline is the incremental expansion of interviews for those benefit types which would provide permanent residence in the United States.”
AILA noted in a Practice Alert that it remains unclear how the new interview requirements will be implemented at an operational level and that it has not yet verified the information with DHS officials.
We will update the website with more information on the interview requirement issue and other moves to create a uniform baseline of screening as it becomes available. Please also see our article on recently implemented enhanced screening procedures for certain visa applicants undergoing consular processing [see article].
