Avalanche of bad news impacting green card applicants in the U.S.
Avalanche of bad news impacting green card applicants in the U.S.
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Avalanche of bad news impacting green card applicants in the U.S.
When it rains, it pours. In the context of US immigration law, this means a deluge of bad news impacting people’s chances of getting a green card.
Like a deadly avalanche, it will not stop until it destroys many a green card applicant’s American dream.
As bad as they are, the torrent of dismal happenings in summation below does not even include the previously discussed policy changes declaring an adjustment of status as a matter of discretion and the looming implementation of the revised “public charge” rule.
First on the list: USCIS officers are no longer required, pursuant to a recent policy directive, to issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) before denying a petition or application.
Why is this bad? Because in the vast majority of cases, a petition or application is usually filed without the required initial evidence, either as a matter of strategy or for reasons of expediency.
However, instead of summarily denying the case, USCIS officers have historically allowed petitioners and applicants the opportunity to cure any deficiency by issuing an RFE or NOID.
Under the new policy, any omission or imperfection during the initial case filing can trigger an outright denial, usually followed by a Notice to Appear (NTA) for removal.
Secondly, there have been a few reported cases in which green card applicants waiting for the adjustment of status interview have suddenly received an NTA, even prior to receiving any decision on their application. This means that anyone can be removed even in the midst of a lawful process.
Incidentally, even if a defense against removal is available, many people find the additional stress and prohibitive cost of going through a deportation proceeding, as well as the risk of being detained, as too heavy a burden that most simply decide to throw in the towel and self-deport instead of fighting their case in court.
Thirdly, thanks to a recent decision by the US Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), traveling via advance parole is no longer considered safe for most people. Previously, this served as a harmless privilege with strategic benefit to those Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries with pending green card applications.
Now, anyone departing via an advance parole who initially entered the US without inspection or whose previous overstay was longer than six months is no longer eligible for adjustment of status and is subject to removal under the “three-year/ten-year bar” rule, as the case may be.
Fourthly, and again thanks to a recent BIA decision, a “wave through” entry at a US border, such as a vehicle passenger whose driver is allowed to drive through a border checkpoint, is no longer considered entry by admission or a parole entry. Previously, anyone waved through a US border was deemed admitted and thus permitted to adjust status in the US, if eligible.
Lastly, reports abound of green card and citizenship applications being denied due to minor inconsistent information found on the applicants’ old nonimmigrant visa applications, especially those pertaining to memberships in organizations. If the trend continues, this will have serious implications, for obvious reasons.
Yes, a respite from the grim immigration reality seems to be in short supply in America these days, sadly.
