USCIS to Start Requiring In-Person Interviews for Employment I-485 Applications

USCIS has just announced that they are expanding the requirements for interviews to employment-based I-485 adjustment of status applicants. Effective October 1, 2017, USCIS will phase-in interviews for (1) employment-based I-485 adjustment of status applications and (2) refugee/asylee I-730 applications who are in the United States and petitioning to join a principal applicant.   Under current practice, interviews for employment-based I-485 applicants are waived except in certain very limited cases.

Trump Executive Order

This change complies with Executive Order 13780, “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States,” and is part of USCIS’s “comprehensive strategy to further improve the detection and prevention of fraud and further enhance the integrity of the immigration system.”

USCIS’s main rationale:

Conducting in-person interviews will provide USCIS officers with the opportunity to verify the information provided in an individual’s application, to discover new information that may be relevant to the adjudication process, and to determine the credibility of the individual seeking permanent residence in the United States.  USCIS will meet the additional interview requirement through enhancements in training and technology as well as transitions in some aspects of case management.

The change in policy does not require congressional approval and can be implemented promptly and as a matter of policy and discretion by USCIS.

Additional Extensive I-485 Adjudication Delays and Hurdles Expected

The practical result of this additional adjudication requirement for employment-based I-485 adjustment of status applications is that processing times will increase significantly from the current processing times which are extremely long anyway (9-12 months).

Each year USCIS processes well over 100,000 employment-based adjustment of status applications and currently the vast majority are without an interview.   The requirement to conduct an in-person interview will likely cause extraordinary adjudication delays.  Many USCIS service centers and field offices are already severely backlogged and without hiring additional officers the additional wait times for I-485 interviews will increase greatly.    At this time there is no indication that USCIS will get funding to hire additional adjudicators.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where will the interview be conducted?  Normally, the interview is scheduled at a local USCIS field office having jurisdiction over the place of residence of the applicant.    This makes it important to have a current and updated address with USCIS on file for any pending I-485 applications so that the case gets routed to the most applicable field office for interview scheduling.

What kind of questions are expected?    For the vast majority of interviews are likely to have the adjudicator go through and confirm with the applicant the I-485 form contents.   It is likely that the officers will request documentation for continued eligibility such as Form I-485 Supplement J,  employment history and verification and updated medical exams (if needed).

Are derivative family member applicants also going to be subject to an interview?   It appears that derivative family member applicants will also be subject to the interview requirement.

Would some people be exempt from the interview requirements?   It is not clear yet.   USCIS has long has discretion to waive I-485 interviews for certain groups of applicants, but this directive seems to expand the pool of people to be interviewed.    We will monitor developments on this point and provide updates.

Are attorneys going to be allowed during the interview?   Yes, attorneys are allowed to accompany an applicant during I-485 interview and many applicants chose to bring an attorney with them.    In many cases it may be helpful to, at a minimum, consult with an attorney and prepare for the interview.  This is especially true for interviews conducted shortly after the interview expansion starts on October 1 as it is possible that there may be unanticipated questions or requests for documents.

What kind of additional I-485 approval delays should be expected?   At this time we do not know for sure.    But given the volume of additional interviews which will have to be scheduled with the existing adjudicators at the field offices and the volume of physical case files which have to be transferred from the central processing service centers to the local offices, we expect significant additional delays.

Conclusion

The additional in-person interview requirement for employment-based I-485 applicants comes at a time when USCIS is struggling to manage the already-great backlog in adjudications and very long processing times.      At this time,  the exact timing impact of this new requirement is not clear but it is safe to say that employment-based I-485 applicants will face additional processing times and hurdles, including having to appear at an in-person I-485 interview.

Our office will continue monitoring related developments and provide updates.    In the meantime, we recommend I-485 applicants to consider ensuring that USCIS has their correct residential address on file and to consider preparing for a likely in-person interview at a local field office.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any help in preparing or otherwise assisting with I-485 applications or the required interview process.    Also, please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to obtain developments on this and related topics