US visa, green card approval gets tougher as new USCIS rules take effect: What applicants need to know
USCIS said it has reaffirmed that applicants are responsible for proving they qualify for an immigration benefit when submitting their application. According to it, the revised policy will enable more efficient use of agency resources, accelerate case processing.
The United States has introduced stricter rules for processing immigration benefit applications, including visa and green card requests, with the goal of making it harder for applicants to submit incomplete or deficient forms. The new policy, effective immediately, empowers U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers to deny applications outright if they lack the required supporting documents or evidence.
This change marks a shift from the previous approach during the Biden administration, which encouraged officers to issue Request for Evidence (RFE) letters before rejecting applications, even if they were incomplete. Critics argue that the revised policy undermines due process and administrative fairness, particularly for individuals navigating the complex U.S. immigration system.
Former Adviser to former US President Joe Biden, Ajay Bhutoria, has criticized the new policy as a "major step backwards" for due process, administrative fairness, and procedural justice.
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