USCIS Pauses and Re-Reviews Many Immigration Applications: What You Need to Know

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently announced major changes that will affect many people who have pending or already-approved immigration applications. These changes take effect right away.

The new policy puts certain applications on hold, orders USCIS officers to take a second look at already-approved cases, and stops all processing of asylum applications for now. These steps come after the national guard attacks in Washington, DC, and a new presidential policy focused on security.

Here’s what this means.

What USCIS Is Doing

According to the new memorandum, USCIS will now:

1. Pause processing of all asylum applications

USCIS will place a hold on every Form I-589 (asylum and withholding of removal), no matter where the applicant is from, pending a comprehensive review. This hold will remain in place until lifted by the USCIS director. No specific date has been given. 

2. Pause pending applications for people from 19 “high-risk” countries

If someone lists one of these countries as their country of birth or citizenship, USCIS will stop work on their pending case until it is fully reviewed. This applies even if the person entered the U.S. years ago.

3. Re-review certain approved cases

If someone from one of the 19 countries entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021, USCIS will re-review their already approved immigration benefit. Officers may also extend this review to people who entered before that date.

‍

Which Applications Are Affected?

USCIS says many types of immigration cases could be paused or reviewed again, including:

• Form I-485 (green card applications)
• Form I-90 (green card replacements)
• Form I-131 (travel documents / advance parole)
• Form I-751 (removal of conditions on permanent residence)
• Form N-470 (preserving residence for naturalization)
  

Keep in mind that this list may grow and employer-filed petitions could also be affected if the worker is from one of the listed countries. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as we receive more guidance from the government.

‍

What the Re-Review Includes

Every affected person will go through a rereview process. As part of this process the policy states USCIS may:

• Schedule an interview;
• Require a second interview, even for applications that normally do not require one;
• Ask for more evidence; and/or
• Delay a decision until all reviews are complete
  

USCIS states that the goal is to identify security or public-safety risks. Officers will look at identity, background information, and possible security-related grounds of ineligibility. USCIS also notes in their policy document that interview waivers will not be permitted for applicants from the 19 countries listed above.

‍

Who Is Most Likely to Be Affected?

You may be affected if:

• You were born in or are a citizen of one of the 19 listed countries and you have a pending immigration application.
  
• You are from one of those 19 countries and your application was already approved, but you entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021.
  
• You have a pending asylum application (from any country).
  

Please note that because USCIS is using “country of birth or citizenship,” even people who are no longer nationals of a listed country may be affected.

‍

What This Means for Applicants

If you are affected by this policy change, you should prepare for:

• Longer processing times
• Extra security checks
• Requests for more documents
• Being called in for an interview or re-interview

Unfortunately, this means delays for many people. USCIS says the review process is necessary for national security, even though it will slow down certain cases.

‍

Possible Future Changes

The administration is also considering expanding the list of countries. If that happens, even more applicants could face paused cases or re-reviews.

We know that changes like this can feel overwhelming and stressful. Please rest assured that SimpleCitizen will continue to monitor these updates and provide clear information as the situation develops. Please reach out to us if you have questions and we will help however we can. And, as always, we’re happy you’re here.

This is legal information. Nothing in this post is legal advice. For legal advice about your personal immigration situation consult with a licensed immigration attorney.

‍